POP LOH

after 17 weeks at tekong, i finally POP at marina bay floating platform yesterday. it was a proud moment for me and my parents. The 27km route march start from SAF Ferry Terminal. it was exciting to march in mainland. the feeling was different with the civilians looking at you. After 17 weeks of military life i was physically and mentally stronger. The toughest activity in the 17 weeks are: FIELD CAMP, 12KM ROUTE MARCH & SITEST. the 12km was the toughest of all route marches because the weather as very hot and it as our first time marching in long four.

Field Camp Reflection:

My field camp experience was memorable and horrible. After the 8km route march to the camp site I was quite tired but we were told to high kneel. My mind was blank at that time. The introduction to high kneel was the start of my nightmare. The building of basha was a bad experience as we rebuild it 3 times to make it stable. I learnt a lot of things, which include field fire orders, danger area and other field commands. I found it hard to remember all those commands and I nearly screw up during the test.

It was my first time eating combat ration. Surprisingly it tastes better than I expected. The worst ones are Bean Stew and Chili Cheese Rice. I nearly vomited while eating those two. I seriously think that the accessories pack is better than the green combat ration.

The Artillery attack was quite an experience. It was shag. Got one time we left a casualty behind and we was asked to leopard crawl down the rocky and muddy slope back to out basha and prone inside. It was raining at that time. That was the worst part of the field camp. My spectacles were covered with mud and my eyes hurt because mud splashed into it during the leopard crawl. I drank sand water from my water bag because the tube opening was covered with mud.

Got one day we received our parent’s letter. I didn’t cry but my eyes turned a little watery. My heart could feel a bit of ache. Thinking of our family during our hardest time was heart touching. We are going through all this is to protect them, it is worth it. I will not forget my feeling at that point of time in my whole life.

The shellscrape experience was fantastic, except the digging part and the insect bites. It was quite scary to sleep in the shellscrape for my first night. There was no light at all and it was hard to communicate with my buddy.

When field camp was over I cannot describe my happiness. It was a bad but memorable experience.


SITEST Reflection

The 3 days 2 nights SITEST was fun. I didn’t have confidence about my performance. My mission failed every time I was the 2IC. I also didn’t have much idea to give but my members was so enthusiastic that once I finished my briefing they start to pour out their ideas and I just kept quiet. What I have to do is just to comment on their ideas and advise which is better. But I don’t think I can make it to command school. Some stations were dangerous with high risk of injury but it was a precious experience.

The worst part of the SITEST is not the test itself but the 12km route march before it. It was very shag and hot. My toes got very gross blisters that I was excused from swimming. SITEST was not as tough as field camp. We didn’t get much shit to do. One of my assessors was a wise man. He taught us life lessons; asked us what we are going to do after national service. He advises us to plan our life or we will regret. He said that we must stand out to succeed in life. I also learnt about teamwork and leadership skills through my detail mates hence my SITEST was a fruitful one.

now im anxious about my next posting on friday: izzit SCS / guards or infantry unit?