Reflecting and looking forward

     I'd like to start by wishing everyone a belated merry Christmas and a happy New Year! I've written this blog for almost half a year now and the support that I have gotten has been so unexpected and so appreciated, I hope you guys continue to enjoy reading the stuff I write!

    

    As I mentioned in my previous post I was going out for my last bit of my training phase, a dreaded field camp that the seniors in the company have nothing but encouraging and 'great' things to say about. There was a weird feeling going into it within our platoon because our expectations were so high in terms of how much we were going to get fucked. We expected things to be hectic and rushed the moment we got there but surprisingly for the first two days things were relatively normal, it was the standard we were accustomed to. We had to do training and an evaluation in the jungle in which we fought our way through a course which lasted over an hour. It was shit don't get me wrong, but it was a weirdly exhilarating experience. Firing loud blanks, shouting and echoing commands, running and taking up a prone position in the dense vegetation and the mud made it feel like you were fighting a real battle. My uniform was obviously drenched and I'd never quite felt so disgusting when I finished the course but I still managed to walk away from it with a huge grin on my face which surprises even me. I think I would've enjoyed it more if it hadn't rained so heavily the days before, but as people in Singapore love to say: Suck thumb (which means basically shut the fuck up and accept it). 

   

    What wasn't so nice however, was the ensuing two days which were much more stressful. I got to experience riding in the tank which was definitely a once in a lifetime experience and we had to dismount and simulate fighting with the tank. I somehow managed to fall asleep whilst riding in tank which was jerking backwards and forwards, turning sharply left and right. Despite the fact that the tank is ancient and that its been through a load of shit, apparently its quite normal due to the monotonous humming noise the tank produces. Its almost therapeutic sitting inside, you feel like you're genuinely preparing to dismount and step out into some war torn battlefield.

    The last night was when the real fuckery began. For the sake of tradition I'm not allowed to disclose what exercise was conducted, however if anyone is curious you can always ask me privately. But honestly, it was one of the most sadistic but also well thought out exercises that I could fathom. It left a few in tears and led to utter silence in the training shed. 

    As you can imagine, when you're nearing the top of the mountain it's easy to get complacent and start to picture yourself standing up there triumphantly soaking it all in. This outfield was no different, we had reached the last night and were half a day away from putting an end to the past three months of brutal training and treatment. In typical army fashion, we were abruptly awoken with the instruction: 10 minutes camo on and everything on and to be formed up outside the training shed. We had anticipated this, it was a route march. Everyone managed to reach the timing and then our OC realised that one individual hadn't camo-ed on. This just so happens to be the same guy that caused us to have a complete locker and bunk inspection in our 2 week and has just been a consistent trouble maker. He's that kid in class that kisses the teacher's ass but manages to always fuck it up and causes the teacher to resent him and the class more. So yeah no one really likes him, and that situation didn't really help as we had to hold a pushup position whilst waiting for him to camo on. I'd never heard our OC scold anyone but at 5:30 am he didn't hold back on this guy and I was frankly quite taken aback. 

    We finally moved off for the route march whilst it was still dark without any idea where we were going and how long we were going to have to march for. And with every march a second of silence wasn't allowed so we sang as loud as we could without any end in sight. Next thing you know the sun is up, you can see everyone's drained green and black faces but everyone has that same feeling that the end is coming and soon it'll all be worth it. 

    ARTY! ARTY! ARTY!

    A fucking artillery drill. 

    Everyone has to drop everything and prone covering their necks. Some were lucky to be in dry spots on the path, some weren't so lucky. Everyone is putting their bags back on, picking up their matadors (rocket launchers) and having a sip of water when our OC tells us there's been a 'casualty' who has to be carried by stretcher for the rest of the march. It just so happened to be the same guy who didn't camo on which no one particularly wanted to help out. So we threw the fucker on the stretcher and carried him on our shoulders for the remaining kilometre or so constantly reminding him how much of a dick he was and that he was heavy as fuck.

    We finally reached the end, a small grass patch off the coast of the Johor Strait. We sat down and our OC told us it was done, we could take everything off and take a second to ourselves before he spoke to us. He then went on a passionate speech telling us about how the exact position we were sat in was where the Japanese had invaded Singapore in WWII. The path the Japanese forged onto our land before they slaughtered and rape thousands of Singaporeans. It was a deep moment for sure, picturing our helpless ancestors take this brutal treatment so many years ago. It made me understand the need for our army a little bit more, but don't get me wrong I'd still love to not do it, but I felt a stronger connection to Singapore and felt like I was doing a small part to protect my country. Fucking cheesy I know. Anyways we marched back to the training shed and prepared for our beret presentation parade.

    This was by far the coolest moment of the field camp, stood there in the heat in front of two tanks waiting for the deputy commander of armour to pull up in his car. I felt proud as fuck of the guys next to me, we earned that black beret (globally recognised as the headdress for armour soldiers), we earned the right to call ourselves part of armour. He eventually pulled up we conducted the parade and we got our berets, the shit we'd be waiting for. Hugely overrated cause its a bitch to wear and season, but cool nonetheless. 

    Its been a long entry so I'll end it swiftly with an overview of what's coming up. 

    I have no idea honestly. Our schedule is based on when other companies or battalions need us to support their missions. I know I'll be going to Australia in October to participate in some training but other than that I'm most looking forward to the new platoon coming in March and seeing them undergo their training phase. Seeing them go through the same shit we had to endure will be an amazing feeling.

Stay safe everyone, thanks for reading!