SAF Day Parade Guard-of-Honour Contingent
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Saturday, July 14, 2007
I Am A Leader, Follow Me!
It was yet another week of hard manual labour in camp this week. We had to clear the whole old company line of all the beds, mattresses, cupboards, fans, fridge (?!) and all sorts of junk. By the later part of the moving process, people were simply throwing cupboards down the staircase, so maybe we did the contractors a favour by partly demolishing the stairwell. That's commando nature for you - destructive.
Besides being like bangla workers after office hours, we had to go for airborne training with combat equipment. This time I am very very very sure that I will not think twice or hesitate about jumping out the aircraft. The freaking equipment and rifle is so heavy I was seriously worried that my back would just snap any moment during training. Even if I land on the tarmac again I would not complain. I would be happy just to get the bloody load off me.
This week I also met Luke and Clarence in camp. They were back for reservist training. I never knew Luke was a commando medic, and the impressive collection of cars on parked at the reservist car park could very well form a car show on its own. The Beemers, Dodge, WRXes and all that.
I had lunch with Clarence at the cookhouse yesterday and he was happily flashing his pink i/c in front of me. :-/ And he can go for lunch in t-shirt and shorts. My time will come.
And on top of my 3 x extra duties, I now have to clear all the rubbish in company line every morning and evening and wash the toilet for the whole week, myself. That is punishment for leaving camp for nights off without waiting for the DO to clear arms. My 2IC was so furious he gathered all the leaders and gave me a good dressing down.
"If you are a man, never mind I can excuse your ignorance. But you are a f***ing leader!", he screamed at me. I really thought I was never gonna book out again. Now my 2IC is a really nice guy, a captain at the age of 27 and a US Ranger. This is the first time he lost his cool ever since becoming 2IC.
After that, when everyone else went for nights off, my CSM talked to me and thereafter I went to apologise to my 2IC. He talked to me nicely and explained certain things and reminded me again that I am a leader.
So despite whatever personal problems I have, I still must act professionally and responsibly. Now I must write out and memorise the Leaders' Creed. It's tough being a sergeant, sandwiched in between the men and the officers' corps. But I will do my best to fulfil what is expected and befitting of a leader.
Leading by example, I will accompolish all my assigned tasks to the best of my ability. I am a leader by choice and by vocation. I will lead by example
Endurance will be the hallmark of my leadership. I will place my mission as paramount importance and I will not rest until I have completed my mission
Aggresively will I tackle all problems. I will never let my commanders and men down, for they rely on me to discharge my duties
Duty is my maxim. I will always be true to my responsibilities. I will never shun the hardest work nor will I avoid the dullest task. I will display the selfsame energy to all tasks at hand
Effectively will I lead my men in battle and in peace. I am responsible for their welfare and will demand for standards both in training and in combat
Resolutely will I honour the trust bestowed upon me. I will use my initiative. I will apply my dare and skill. I will not fail. I am a LEADER. FOLLOW ME!
Besides being like bangla workers after office hours, we had to go for airborne training with combat equipment. This time I am very very very sure that I will not think twice or hesitate about jumping out the aircraft. The freaking equipment and rifle is so heavy I was seriously worried that my back would just snap any moment during training. Even if I land on the tarmac again I would not complain. I would be happy just to get the bloody load off me.
This week I also met Luke and Clarence in camp. They were back for reservist training. I never knew Luke was a commando medic, and the impressive collection of cars on parked at the reservist car park could very well form a car show on its own. The Beemers, Dodge, WRXes and all that.
I had lunch with Clarence at the cookhouse yesterday and he was happily flashing his pink i/c in front of me. :-/ And he can go for lunch in t-shirt and shorts. My time will come.
And on top of my 3 x extra duties, I now have to clear all the rubbish in company line every morning and evening and wash the toilet for the whole week, myself. That is punishment for leaving camp for nights off without waiting for the DO to clear arms. My 2IC was so furious he gathered all the leaders and gave me a good dressing down.
"If you are a man, never mind I can excuse your ignorance. But you are a f***ing leader!", he screamed at me. I really thought I was never gonna book out again. Now my 2IC is a really nice guy, a captain at the age of 27 and a US Ranger. This is the first time he lost his cool ever since becoming 2IC.
After that, when everyone else went for nights off, my CSM talked to me and thereafter I went to apologise to my 2IC. He talked to me nicely and explained certain things and reminded me again that I am a leader.
So despite whatever personal problems I have, I still must act professionally and responsibly. Now I must write out and memorise the Leaders' Creed. It's tough being a sergeant, sandwiched in between the men and the officers' corps. But I will do my best to fulfil what is expected and befitting of a leader.
Leading by example, I will accompolish all my assigned tasks to the best of my ability. I am a leader by choice and by vocation. I will lead by example
Endurance will be the hallmark of my leadership. I will place my mission as paramount importance and I will not rest until I have completed my mission
Aggresively will I tackle all problems. I will never let my commanders and men down, for they rely on me to discharge my duties
Duty is my maxim. I will always be true to my responsibilities. I will never shun the hardest work nor will I avoid the dullest task. I will display the selfsame energy to all tasks at hand
Effectively will I lead my men in battle and in peace. I am responsible for their welfare and will demand for standards both in training and in combat
Resolutely will I honour the trust bestowed upon me. I will use my initiative. I will apply my dare and skill. I will not fail. I am a LEADER. FOLLOW ME!
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Hurt By The Arrow
Today's the last day of my week-long block leave. It has been just wonderful not wearing the no. 4 uniform or PT Kit with 'ARMY' emblazoned across your t-shirt. It is simply relaxing and happy to be out and about doing my own stuff again. I'm not saying army is bad, hey, I've got good friends who are regulars, and to a certain extent you are well taken care of inside, but I'm just not someone who is, and will probably never be used to a regimental lifestyle, being told every hour of the day what to do.
I've been very tolerant and putting up with sh*t from some people and yesterday, 7 July marks my one year in national service. I had a plan of what to do for the whole week of my block leave, but sad to say, some things didn't turn out as expected, some unexpected things happened and everything has been topsy-turvy. Suddenly I am home on a Sunday afternoon at 1.30pm, alone with no one to talk to, no one to have lunch with, just no one.
I dunno how things became like that, but it has already happened. I tried going back to my old sunday routine, playing football in the late afternoon, but so many thoughts just filled my mind that I wasn't interested in kicking any ball, though there was one bugger who was very interested at kicking my feet throughout the whole game.
I feel like I'm losing interest in everything, losing my sense of purpose and direction. What do I do? I miss you...
I've been very tolerant and putting up with sh*t from some people and yesterday, 7 July marks my one year in national service. I had a plan of what to do for the whole week of my block leave, but sad to say, some things didn't turn out as expected, some unexpected things happened and everything has been topsy-turvy. Suddenly I am home on a Sunday afternoon at 1.30pm, alone with no one to talk to, no one to have lunch with, just no one.
I dunno how things became like that, but it has already happened. I tried going back to my old sunday routine, playing football in the late afternoon, but so many thoughts just filled my mind that I wasn't interested in kicking any ball, though there was one bugger who was very interested at kicking my feet throughout the whole game.
I feel like I'm losing interest in everything, losing my sense of purpose and direction. What do I do? I miss you...
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Hello Once Again
I know some of my friends may had a little surprise when they entered my blog URL and discovered that my blog ceased to exist. Well, for those who know, I spent a lot of effort doing up my template and having to delete the whole thing was painful. Yup, but I didn't really had a choice. Please note, I said didn't really had, not don't have. I must be really careful with what I post nowadays.
The story goes like this, apparently some bugger uploaded onto Youtube my whole Red Beret presentation parade, and after tracking it down to someone's girfriend, they discovered that she had uploaded in her previous post many weapon systems that the Commandos use. They, the powers that be, then decided to search online for more such 'security breaches'.
Well, somehow, I dunno how, they found my blog and my entries and pictures of my time in a disputed island in the South China Sea that famous people such as Jolin and Jay call home was a big no-no to them. So one night in camp I was called into the OC's office and was asked if I was the one who uploaded the video. I said," No sir, I have never uploaded anything in Youtube."
He replied," Are you sure?"
In my head I was thinking, what the hell kind of question is that? Of course I'm sure of what I do. After I told him, yes sir I am very sure he said," Okay i believe you. You can go now. I then asked," Sir, what makes you think it's me?"
He answered," Nothing, just random questioning."
My goodness, I can't stand it when people bullsh*t me. 15 minutes later, I was hauled up to my CSM's office. He told me that my blog, along with the pictures I uploaded was discovered. He led me down into his car and told me to get in.
"Sir, where are we going?", I asked.
"Don't worry la, I'm not bringing you to the police station", he replied.
My CSM is really kind-hearted soul and that helped to ease my anxiety and lightened up the mood a bit. He drove us to another building within camp and I was brought into a room with several computer terminals. There the OC told me to go to my blog and remove the entries. I didnt know which entries had pictures that were deemed a 'security breach', thus I hit on the Delete Blog button.
Oh well, just too bad I guess. My entries from 2002 until now are gone, but maybe it's time for a fresh start anyway. When I came home just now, I found my diary among a pile of thrash in the porch, ready to be thrown. Throwing it away is one thing, but the person who found it surely must have read the contents. Great, more secrets exposed.
Anyway, tmr is Mambo. Anyone keen to join me, Ethan and Tim please let us know. :)
The story goes like this, apparently some bugger uploaded onto Youtube my whole Red Beret presentation parade, and after tracking it down to someone's girfriend, they discovered that she had uploaded in her previous post many weapon systems that the Commandos use. They, the powers that be, then decided to search online for more such 'security breaches'.
Well, somehow, I dunno how, they found my blog and my entries and pictures of my time in a disputed island in the South China Sea that famous people such as Jolin and Jay call home was a big no-no to them. So one night in camp I was called into the OC's office and was asked if I was the one who uploaded the video. I said," No sir, I have never uploaded anything in Youtube."
He replied," Are you sure?"
In my head I was thinking, what the hell kind of question is that? Of course I'm sure of what I do. After I told him, yes sir I am very sure he said," Okay i believe you. You can go now. I then asked," Sir, what makes you think it's me?"
He answered," Nothing, just random questioning."
My goodness, I can't stand it when people bullsh*t me. 15 minutes later, I was hauled up to my CSM's office. He told me that my blog, along with the pictures I uploaded was discovered. He led me down into his car and told me to get in.
"Sir, where are we going?", I asked.
"Don't worry la, I'm not bringing you to the police station", he replied.
My CSM is really kind-hearted soul and that helped to ease my anxiety and lightened up the mood a bit. He drove us to another building within camp and I was brought into a room with several computer terminals. There the OC told me to go to my blog and remove the entries. I didnt know which entries had pictures that were deemed a 'security breach', thus I hit on the Delete Blog button.
Oh well, just too bad I guess. My entries from 2002 until now are gone, but maybe it's time for a fresh start anyway. When I came home just now, I found my diary among a pile of thrash in the porch, ready to be thrown. Throwing it away is one thing, but the person who found it surely must have read the contents. Great, more secrets exposed.
Anyway, tmr is Mambo. Anyone keen to join me, Ethan and Tim please let us know. :)
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