Friday, September 28, 2007

The First Week

I’ve never been very good at adapting to new environments and circumstances. Being a creature of comfort and also a lazy oaf who hates the effort of changing to situations, I’ve always hated the process of having to go to new places, meeting new people and getting used to new lifestyles.

Getting settled into BMT life was a huge culture shift for me and it took me ages to finally get myself used to the life, only to have to leave the island (the thought of which now conjures up only wonderful memories) and head on to a new unit.

This past week has been a pretty harsh one, what with having to try to integrate myself into my new unit and company as well as starting with the training, which goes at a more intense and faster rate than in Tekong.

Whereas Tekong training was more gradual and built up over time, I have, within the first week of training, learnt to use and assemble a new rifle, gone through an IPPT as well as an SOC session, learnt about company and unit policies, taken (and passed) a safety regulations test for driving tanks and have also gone through several lectures and practicals, overloading my brain with an overwhelming amount of information about the maintenance and operation of the tank that I’m suppose to use in my vocation as a driver.

The first few days were especially tough (made even more so by the fact that the physical training here is much more grueling than what I had gone through in BMT and also by the fact that I had barely exercised for my whole block leave), so much so that I actually lost my appetite and, when I slept, would literally wake up every half an hour for the whole night.

Still, despite my initial feeling of being overwhelmed in a job that I felt a bite more than I could chew, the last few days have been better, perhaps because I finally stopped aching so badly (my body has either adjusted to the training or gone beyond pain) so badly or just because I’m more used to the process. I’m finally eating (more or less) properly and sleeping more.

Perhaps as good as I had hoped, I’ve also made a few new friends in my section which, as most NS guys will attest to, will make the process much more enjoyable.

Next week sounds more exciting (albeit scarier), with the prospect of actually getting behind the wheel (so to speak) and driving the tank by myself for the first time. So, until the next entry, have a great week ahead!

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Life in armour

After a relaxing week catching up on all the movies, games and friends that I have been missing while in BMT, it’s time to head to my new unit for the next part of NS life.

My initial posting had been as a combat system operator in the Navy, a vocation I was excited about because I’d always wanted to enjoy sea life. Alamak, my company contacted me later to say I had been re-posted to be an armoured infantryman, instead. This was disappointing after the initial euphoria in the morning.

Not that I have anything against armoured infantry, but after three months of basic infantry training, I was looking forward to a sea change!

Of course, I will be putting in my best in my new unit as I believe that, when life’s circumstances take an unexpected turn for me, there is a reason.

I’ve heard that armoured infantry is among one of the harshest physical vocations around. It sounds daunting but it should make me strong and fit for life, I guess. Also, the camp is just a mere 8 minutes drive from my home, much nearer than either Tekong or Changi Naval Base (where I was originally posted to).

I’m packing up the pile of green and brown items lying in my room and making sure I have everything I needed to book in on the first day (and probably things I wouldn’t need, too). I’m mentally prepping myself to start the next chapter.

Come back here often to read more of what I will be finding out soon, on life in armour!

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

POP!

By the time you read this, I’ll no longer be known as Recruit Gabriel Wong. After an arduous three months of training and getting the biggest culture shock of my life, I’ve finally passed out (not literally, although that almost happened several times too) and will be leaving the wonderful island of Pulau Tekong (and I mean this earnestly) for, probably, a mainland unit.

As you might have witnessed, the last three months have been quite a hurricane rush, as I’m sure it would be for only any new enlistee. I remember the first few days well. I wasn’t used to the food, wasn’t used to the ungodly waking hours, wasn’t used to the intensive physical training, wasn’t used to living with eleven other guys in one room and everyday felt like it went on forever. At that time, POP seemed so far away, a barely visible destination that seemed never to come. Heck, even the first bookout seemed impossibly far away in those first few days.

The following weeks were much better though. Perhaps it was due to the fact that we were kept so busy by the barrage of activities and trainings that I didn’t have time to bemoan my uncivilian status or perhaps the fact that I had finally acclimatized myself to the system, the time spent on the island became much more bearable. In fact, at times it was even enjoyable.

Looking back on the past few months, I’m quite proud of myself for surviving so far. Granted, it definitely won’t be as tough as the training I’ll face ahead and I actually had a pretty smooth sailing ride, but still, both physically and mentally, what I went through in PTP and BMT were a big departure from my comfort zone that I’ve been living in all my life.

Of course, like everyone who has gone through BMT, what I loved most about the whole three months, was the fact that I made pretty good friends, both in my platoon and especially in my section. I remember on the first day, I thought I wouldn’t fit in, wouldn’t find good friends, wouldn’t enjoy my time there. Thankfully, I was proven really wrong. I’ve made an awesome group of bunkmate friends and, now that our days of living together 24/6, eating, exercising, sleeping together are over, I actually feel quite sad to be leaving the bunk.

Over the past few months, I’ve grown used to the company line, to my pretty awesome commanders, to my new friends and bunkmates and to the whole BMT process and it’s actually with a bittersweet feeling that I left the island for (what I think would be) the last time today. I definitely welcome the block leave coming up (who wouldn’t want to wake up only when the sun has risen?) but I’m quite sure I’m going to miss the place.

Still, life must go on and I just hope that I’ll get posted to a unit that I would be able to enjoy myself and yet grow as a person and, of course, as a soldier, in. POP loh!

Saturday, September 01, 2007

Weathering Storms

If there’s one thing you can admire fully about Pulau Tekong, it’s the weather. No matter what you hope for it to be and what the sky looks like barely minutes before, the weather in Tekong has this inexplicable ability to change to the most inconvenient climate possible at the worst possible time.

Take, for example, this particular training session I had a few days back. Everyone was tired and aching severely from the past few days of intensive training and, at the start of the session, we were all quite heartened to see dark clouds forming over the parade square where we were due to train. Alas, it was not to be and as we continued on, it not only did not rain, the clouds actually moved away to reveal a searing hot sun behind them. It was only as we headed back to our company line (pretty much all dead) to do our cool down that the downpour started, drenching all of us just as we were preparing to head back to our bunks.

Another popular joke that the weather likes to play on us is giving us false hopes before actually making matters worse than before. What do I mean? It seems that several times, it would start raining about an hour before lessons and, just as everyone is rejoicing at the thought of being able to forego training for some rest in our bunks, the rain would stop exactly before our allocated training time. So, not only do we have to continue with our training, we often have to now contend with wet grounds, equipment and cascades of mud.

The worse example of the weather’s trickster ways would be during my field camp. Arriving at our camp site on the first site, we all pitched our basha tents and, just as we started to dig the drainage system (but not having actually done it yet), it started pouring (and I mean, POURED), thereby drenching us in the uniforms we would continue to don for the rest of the day, flooding our unprepared tents and ensuring that we would be trudging around in thick layers of caking mud for the rest of our stay there. The rain then continued for several days as we stayed in the damp jungle and got terrible heat rashes and related conditions from the humidity. To top it off, on the final two days when we finally emerged into the open for our urban operations and our battle inoculation course, the rain decided to disappear and be replaced by a freakishly hot sun, burning all of us while we were running around under it. It was no wonder so many fell sick.

As my POP approaches in a week or so, I’ll be leaving Tekong with many fond memories of my experiences in BMT. The weather, however, will be something I’m really, really glad to leave behind (hopefully).