Saturday, August 25, 2007

Route Marching

I would venture to say that, at least for recruits undergoing BMT, there is nothing more tiring, more mentally challenging and more tedious (yet ultimately more satisfying) than going for a route march. Love it or hate it (and I’m guessing I know where most people stand on this), tugging huge, heavy field packs and lugging battle equipment across long distances are mandatory and are permanent fixtures in the BMT period.

Having just completed my 16km route march and having the battle scars to prove for it (ie. blisters and a toenail about to drop off), I’ve finally managed to ascertained the must-have list for surviving one of these marches.

1. A light field pack

Of course, this isn’t as easy to make as it sounds to be, what with there being standard items that have to be included in the field pack. However, there’re always ways to save some space and some weight, no matter how minute they might be. Make sure all the Ziploc bags are fully squashed tight and devoid of any redundant air inside; don’t pack anything other than what is absolutely required and/or stipulated; and, while it is good to ensure that the water bag always has enough refreshment to quench your thirst, don’t fill it right to the brim unless you’re sure there won’t be points along the way to refill your bottle.

2. Many layers of socks

While I myself neglected to adorn more than the usual one pair of socks during this last route march, many of my friends were extolling the wonders of wearing more than one pair of green fuzzies: comfortable padding (especially great when walking on rocky, sore-inducing trails) and prevention of blisters and other what-nots that might arise from walking too much too soon.

3. A large song list

And by this, I don’t mean the entire catalogue of army songs. Sure, army songs are fun and are great for raising morale and camaraderie but try repeating the same few refrains over and over again for a few hours straight and you’d fine it makes for a terribly boring and uninspiring pastime. Having a long, extensive playlist of crowd favourites and the latest pop hits is great, however, during those long stretches of tiring paths. There’s variety, everyone loves the songs and it breaks the monotony of endless trudging. Of course, having a great song list is nothing without…

4. Fun, supportive platoon mates

Whether it be egging each other on during the tough times, encouraging each other when the going gets rough or just singing loudly and boisterously during all the songs, route marches are so much better enjoyed when there’s good company.

5. Good weather

Ok, so this last one is not really in your control (and neither was the point before this) but this is just so I can gloat about the fact that the weather was perfect during my 16km march (as opposed to the hellish, searing heat I faced during the 12km one). Pray or hope that, during route marches, the weather would be good. Slightly cloudy skies, a lack of any sort of strong sunlight and cooling breezes really make a lot of difference.

Well, now that the 16km’s over, there only remains the final one: the ubiquitous 24km route march that every soldier has to go through before passing out (hopefully not during the march itself). Here’s hoping to good weather and all the other above conditions during the last one!

Friday, August 17, 2007

Attending B

Being sick in the army is no joke.

As I think many people would be able to surmise, being in the army is both mentally and physically challenging, the latter incredibly so for people like me who have been acutely lacking in major participation in sports or any kind of intensive physical activity since young.

So, due to a challenging schedule and some lack in personal care, I suffered a muscle sprain a week or so back as well as a persistent throat infection and cough, I was given Attend B status, meaning that I’m only fit for light duties and am (or was) unable to take part in any form of physical training.

While there are some who would take to such circumstances and situations as a huge improvement over training (a notion I myself, I have to admit, held for quite a while because who doesn’t love having some rest?) and I had been given this status earlier in my PTP period before, this time around I actually found myself feeling dissatisfied with having to forego training and would have loved to have my sprain healed ASAP so I could return to regular activities.

Perhaps it’s due to the fact that, since I’m already deep into my BMT, training has intensified significantly, which means that, not only would I have missed physical training and would have to work even harder when I recover to catch up, I would also have missed important lessons and training sessions which are much harder to make up for (I missed the first three lessons of basic combat training, for example, and I’m quite sure that, till now, I’m jabbing and hooking the wrong way).

Other than missing out on such essential lessons (and having to work at restoring my momentum in physical training again), I also felt a bit left out when it came to interacting with my platoon and bunk mates.

Sure, it’s not like everyone talks about the day’s training all the time but it still feels (or felt) bothersome to not be able to contribute to a conversation (or feel unqualified to speak up) because I missed the training sessions. For those few days, I felt like I wasn’t a member of the team because everyone had gone through the same things, which I hadn’t. Who knew that physical training and lessons would help forge a certain sense of camaraderie amongst recruits (or at least with me)? 

Nonetheless, I have now more or less recovered from both my ailments and have returned to active training which, while terribly tiring and demanding, still makes me feel much better about myself than being on status. Like I said, being sick is no joke.

Friday, August 03, 2007

mobiHunt

I’ve always been a great fan of treasure hunts and reach-the-end-point competitions, especially those where you have to solve clues at different stages to move on ahead. Perhaps blame it on an over-competitive spirit, having grown up in our dog-eat-dog society, but I’ve always loved the thrill of such competitions and pitting my brains (and my limited brawns) against others in a race against time and space to reach the goal.

Last year, I made a quick and impromptu decision to take part in the SMRT Challenge, an Amazing Race of sorts where contestants, in groups of around 4 to 5, have to figure out several clues to locations around the island, hop on the train to those places, complete tasks and reach the final locations as soon as possible. Though it was a physically (and mentally) few hours, I didn’t regret my decision at all. (Plus, coming in third for the youth category and getting a decent cash prize only helped to reaffirm my choice).

So, recently, I got quite excited because, other than this year’s SMRT Challenge (which I won’t be able to take part in), I’ve heard of another treasure hunt sort of challenge, only with a twist.

The NS Portal mobiHunt, organised by NCS Portal City (which is behind this site you’re reading), is similar to The Amazing Race and other such races, only it’s played with handphones (hence the title).

Based around the Orchard area, players will be given instructions via their mobile phones, clues as to where to go and also information about their surroundings (because how embarrassing is it to be Singaporean and not know lots about the most hip and happening streets in Singapore?).

The top few teams will get cash prizes (ooh!) and, not only that, EVERY SINGLE participant will be getting goodie bags and movie passes (which is reason enough for me to sign up) and some groups even stand the chance to win bottles of wine along the way.

I’m not doing any advertising or anything but it really does sound like quite a lot of fun. I mean, you solve clues, run around Orchard, find out more about the area and, along the way, you get goodie bags, prizes and maybe even cash at the end if you’re good enough. It’s like getting paid to have fun. 

So, for those interested in these sorts of things or want to win some goodies or just want to have an activity to hang out with friends and have fun with, go have a look at http://mesh.portalcity.com.sg/mobihunt/about_mobihunt.html and find out more. If I won’t be in camp on that day, I’ll definitely be joining so I hope to see you all there!

Field Camp

I guess one of the most outstanding and note-worthy points of basic military training would be the six day field camp (although I heard it used to be seven). Although most combat units would have several field exercises, I would think that the first one would be the most impacting and memorable, something which my friends have all agreed on too.

Well, over the past two weeks, I’ve completed my own field camp and, I have to say, it was definitely a very interesting and different experience from anything I’ve ever done, even in the army (well, save for the few outfield trainings we had to prepare us for the camp).

Before I started the camp, I was quite nervous at the prospect of attending the camp. From what I had heard prior to the camp, it would be a time of immense discomfort, with dirt, grime, soil and mud being the permanent fixture of daily life.

While there were definitely moments when it got uncomfortable (not having the chance to shower properly, for one, and having to sleep on the wet, muddy, mosquito-infested grounds, for another), overall I thought it was actually quite an enriching adventure. Besides, as one of my campmates reminded us, it ain’t supposed to be a chalet right?

Learning the basics of jungle and urban movements and operations was quite exciting, if tiring, a welcome deviation from the slight monotony of physical training and drills back at camp. While the living conditions and dirt and general sense of un-well-being are not something I would like to repeatedly revisit, I thought it was a good chance to toughen me up some and, like all urbanized Singaporeans should, return to Mother Nature for a while.

Another thing which actually made my time there more enjoyable (but which didn’t work for many others) was the food. Unlike most of the guys I’ve spoken to whose reactions to outfield rations range from bearable to absolutely intolerable, I have an inexplicable love for quite several of the different rations. Every meal felt like an adventure and I actually got excited several times before eating when I opened the packet to take a glance inside.

Like I mentioned earlier, the field camp experience is not something I would like to have to do several times (or even a few times) but overall it went better than I thought and I think I actually came out of it all the better, both as a soldier and as a person.