Saving Private Gallagher

  July 2018, 5 years since my last trip ‘home’. A little town in the Northwest of Ireland that pretty much no one has ever heard of, yet holds a special place in my heart. Sligo. Last time round, I was a baby faced 16-year-old, just happy to be on a summer holiday. Funnily enough, I’m now a baby-faced 21-year-old who’s also just happy to have a little break, albeit under different circumstances. This is now a solo-trip, one with greater significance than just a regular holiday. 5 years back, I was able to train with Sligo Rovers’ U17 team, an opportunity which at the time was a huge step-up from any of the football I had participated in previously. I was just a boy who loved football, but didn’t really have any ambitions of making something out of it. Sligo Rovers were my Dad’s team, and his Dad’s team and so on and so forth. The small, community club was part of our family and we were a part of the Bit O’Red (Sligo Rovers’ nickname). I had been to countless summer camps in the

    1...2...3...4...Stretch...and relax. With l ess than a 100 days to go, the fateful number that so many National Servicemen look forward to, there won't be many more Army-standard training exercises to endure.      Its been both mentally and physically exhausting, serving a cause that you have no say in, regardless of if you see its merits.      I've been fortunate enough to have football as an avenue to rid myself of these empty cycles of training. Doing physical training thrice a week with no purpose, no objective and no reason to try. Even when we go outfield, there is no inclination to put effort into what you do, there never is. How are you meant to motivate yourselves if there is only negative reinforcement, and even then its so marginal. You become numb to your superiors' disdain or feedback. I guess that's why its so easy to stand out in the army, possessing motivation and a slimmer of enthusiasm can get you so far. Not to take away from those that too, but

   As I sit here and recall the whirlwind of events that have transpired over the last month, I can't help but have a massive grin on my face. I've represented my nation in front of a thousand fans with even more online, cheering myself and my teammates on as we attempted to write history.    One year ago, I was fresh out of BMT, struggling to adapt to the vigorous training schedule in my new posting, going through a heart wrenching break up and thinking that the decision I made to not attend command school in order to allow myself to chase a far-fetched footballing dream was a terrible one. I was in a hole, and I can't say I was happy whatsoever. I was so far away from my lifelong friends, in a situation I never wanted to be in, unable to do what I loved. I had a goal, unknowing if it would ever materialise. Here I am, in a position that I dreamt of for years, and more importantly that I manifested for myself.    Hearing passionate fans scream the Singapore National Anthem

  Loyalty is a trait that never seems to carry a negative connotation, and rightly so. The ability to stick with someone or something through thick and thin is extremely commendable, but to what extent is keeping your loyalty worthwhile? Does forcefully being loyal to your nation for two years (followed by another 10 in intervals) of your life even count?    Being loyal to a just cause, or a person that has earned that loyalty is respectable, but sometimes I look at people serving the army just to get it over with like me in utter disbelief. You have extremes on either end, people so determined to let the army consume their life and revolve around nothing but that position, talking about it endlessly and making others' lives more miserable for the sake of a few rules. In stark contrast, you also have 'chao kengs' or other people of the sorts that take medical leave and have no interest in being of any help to the guys they're working alongside. Loyalty shouldn't lie

       Well...plenty has happened in the last two months since I last posted here. It wasn't a matter of my life being mundane and nothing happening, but rather me struggling with issues ranging from my football 'career' to my future beyond the army.       For the past four months my army life has changed completely, I've been able to live a childhood dream in the form of playing football for a professional team and to represent Singapore in a way that I would have never thought could materialise. However, at the same time my Army commitments haven't taken a back seat and I've had to juggle them both and it hasn't been the easiest at times. Don't take this as a complaint because I absolutely love the opportunity and challenge that 'living two lives' presents, but I can now empathise with the top professional footballers who deal with issues with their mental health. Everybody outside the world of football thinks that its easy to kick a ball aroun

     Excuse me for the extended hiatus, but life got in the way. Between the three jungle visits, football starting back up and a host of other things on my mind I let the blog slip. However, today I feel like I have a peach of an entry and hopefully can share some tasty army life morsels.     Let's start with my top five packing essentials. 1. A   Field chair      Whether we're deployed in a conventional (jungle) or urban (buildings) setting, a field chair is a 10/10 must have. When you're sat on your arse waiting for hours at a time for your enemies to make the trek to your deployment, what better way to relax and enjoy your assortment of snacks and Netflix downloads (which I'll get to later). As you gain seniority you see variations of field chair change, the closer you are to ORDing (finishing your service) the further back your chair tends to be able to recline and thus the comfort levels. I have to mention that the equipment you bring outfield with you is very per