You are hereby required under Section 10 of the Enlistment Act (Cap 93), to report for enlistment on 09 Jan 2009 (FRI) at 8.30am to BASIC MILITARY TRAINING CENTRE SCHOOL 1.
I knew nothing about the army, nor did i bother to enquire about it. I wondered if it was due to my lazy attribute or perhaps there was a tinge of an adventurous trait in this Choir boy to just enter with no knowledge and with no worries. It was then i found this ‘hack it la just whack’ attitude hidden in me.
I swear it was a nice ferry ride. As a civilian/enlistee at the age of 18, how often have you sat on a ferry ride with your family?
There are 4 significant events that happened during my army stint.
1) My mom’s passing.
2) Jungle Confidence Course in Brunei
3) Commissioning Parade
4) National Day Parade 2010
My mom’s passing
Dear Recruit Wayne,
Life must be tough trying to adjust your status and way of life. The news came as a shock to you on a Sunday afternoon. There are regrets you have to pick up along the way and it just happened that you have to come across the biggest and heaviest piece of regret you have seen by far. I think it was brave of you to be determined and focused in finishing your Basic Military Course. I’m glad that you finally understood the spiritual reasoning behind your mom’s passing some time in the course of your army life although i wish you could have acted on it more. Still, i’m slightly comforted that your faith is still present and i do hope that it will multiply in time to come.
Jungle Confidence Course in Brunei
Dear Officer Cadet Wayne,
Given that you had been in the army for about 8 m0nths, i am sure you knew that your combat fitness level wasn’t(and still isn’t) as proficient as your physical fitness. Still, you took this course to heart and went off well even though you stumbled upon a skeleton head of some animal hanging from a tree just within 10 mins of your course. It must have been mentally demanding for you to count 64 steps by 64 steps for every step you walk for 5-6 days on top of carrying a signal set for your group. Well, that’s the price to pay for wanting to carry the alice pack, right?
I am sure you remembered one of the nights when you were sleeping on this mountain/hill called .361. It was cold and raining and you were squeeezing with two of your group mates under a humble shelter for warmth. Gosh, you were lucky to be the one sleeping in the middle because that was twice the amount of warmth you could get compared to your friends. All of you were struggling to fight the cold and the three of you knew that you could turn to God for strength to get pass that scary night. So the three of you prayed together and God provided for you guys. A night no one c0uld ever forget.
One thing for sure, you would never do that course again even if you were offered a million dollars.
Commisioning Parade
Dear Officer Cadet/2nd Lieutenant Wayne,
You have always wanted to do your father proud and this was the moment when you nailed it. “Well done,” said your father as he put on your long awaited rank on your scrawny shoulders. You totally miss being in the same corridor with your platoon mates, going to each others’ rooms to talk about life, watch SNSD, play blockus or eating cup noodles in the kitchenette in the middle of the night. Aha! You are still missing these moments right.
National Day Parade 2010
Dear 2nd Lieutenant Wayne,
Who would have dreamed that you would play a role in the National Day Parade as a flag bearer in the Colours’ Party Contingent? To be able to march in a significant national event carrying your unit’s colours is something you can only ever do once in your lifetime. Although the effort you put it during the countless rehearsals on weekdays and Saturdays caused you to be really slack/putting in little effort in your daily work in camp, at least you could takeaway that special moment on 9 Aug. Totally outweigh those rumours/truths about you being slack in camp. Definitely a story worth telling during every National Day when you watch it with your family and kids.
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I have learnt alot.
The army experience is something only you can feel for yourself.
I do not fancy the whole organisation, but the experience is valuable and likeable.
LTA FOO YONG XIANG, WAYNE
In appreciation of your valuable contributions towards National Service (Full-time) rendered from 09 Jan 2009 to 08 Nov 2010.
