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!