..:: 336. The One With Chinablack 4th anniversary ::..

oh that wed nights off was unforgettable. firstly saw a lot of people, including my bmt buddy, sec sch frenz, sispec frenz also. It's free entry and free flow that night. i got in with priority entry. hee... no nid to queue. It's havoc time inside. steven's gals were hogging the bar counter and there was this huge ice sculpture of a female. As expected, a straw protruded from its nipple and the bartender would pour shots down from its head and you just drink! i had lots of cups of housepour then when one cup of that special... all i remember was that it was red in colour. dunno mixed how many type of liquor... 5 mins later, everything just seemed spinning... first time i feel so 'seh' with one gulp of that 'special'. it was wicked man.

then my friend and i had to leave early cos we had to book in by 630 the next morning... haha steven drank so much he puked so much.. not forgetting he ate durians before that. i was also 'seh' la but my will power... haha... managed to book-in in the morning safely.

the day was hell la. trying hard to keep awake.

i hate stand-by bed! stand there longer than cleaning my bunk man...
sian tml muster parade again... so much homework haven do... caught 'stealth' at j8. exciting adrenaline-pumping movie abt fighting planes though starting a bit sian. but at the back, it was damn cool.

next week happy week. national day plus pay day... :)

Who else am I gon' lean on
When times get rough
Who's gonna talk to me on the phone
Till the sun comes up
Who's gonna take your place
There ain't nobody better
Oh, baby baby, we belong together

..:: 335. The One With Nights Off ::..

heh. nights off today cos its senior's commissioning ball dinner... instructors all went for the dinner.

anyway my sis also down with stomach flu... guess its really infectious... my camp mate also got it before me. also dunno whats the cause. but hey how come a lot of pple thot i chao keng... especially these people who are my close frenz?!?!?!... maybe fewer laughters and bitching times so my immune system goes down .. lol what the heck no link.

when i booked in that day, haven got the chance to change up, i got 'turn out'. rush down in 7 mins with everything... though i not required to go down but i wanna get my stuff standardised. anyway the few days when i wont there, there was no 5bx, no OC. dunno why i went back, terror like awaiting for me :(

ok now gg chinablack le. anniversary so free entry and free flow. see ya on sat :)

Forgot to tell u guys something... arghz. i'm hooked on

mariah carey's we belong together (remix) feat jadakiss & Styles P

she's damn hot for her age! did you know the mtv for we belong together is a follow-up for it's like that

..:: 334. The One With Wacky Acronyms ::..

just thought of including some of the weird acronyms used by my chief instructor who is a major... he is kinda weird. firstly, he appears to be super calm but when he opens his mouth, its full of philosophy... he can tell you the different behaviours a man can have and all the learning models... its scary when he could turn a simple word into acronyms... he visited us on thur while we were having dinner outfield, he picked one of us and asked 'how does a vehicle commander guide a vehicle?' while peeling his orange...

then this poor guy knowing that vehicle comd must stand in front instead of at the back (one of our guys alerted us of this mistake cos he was caught by the CI). then CI shot back abruptly, 'i asked you how, not what.'

we were all stunned. we were ready to bury out heads cos we all knew he would pick pple to help that poor chap to answer. In the end, that guy said 'i'm not sure about the hand signals but i'll try it.'

then came another outburst.

'hey, u know what u mean by try it?'

We all tried to define whats 'try it' but he had interesting definition.

He wanted a few of us to try to come out a word for each letter, in other words, acronym for 'try it'...

It became Test Repeatedly Yourself, Immediately To

All of us were speechless, i personally felt it was lame. though it made some sense but i still cant stand his uncanny look.

Then he posed another question, 'you know why the driver suffers the most when there are two vehicle comds?'

He then brought up another acronym OODA and said it originated from air force and said OCS tried to come up with their own but... shant reveal more, such stuff unsafe to blog...

anyway OODA meant observe, orientate, decide, act so the poor driver had to observe orientate and if the vehicle comds are unclear, he would have a heard time.

such a simple thing must use so chim acronym meh? i know he's well-learned but no nid to flaunt until... arghz now in SOCE we have 3 people to fear.

OC for his 7 min turn out
wing SM for his stand-by stores, nagging and extras
CI for his surprise talks, weird logic

However our head of training curriculum is a fun guy... though he added me on msn, but i dared not accept.

he also had funny acronyms too like :

KLKK: kia lai kia kee (walk here walk there)
KISS: keep it short and simple
FUCK: friends u can keep
CBL: cho bo lan

i know standardisation is a form of discipline but i still cant understand whats the rationale for standardising the length of toilet roll...

now that the seniors have commissioned... all the attention is on us now. sian. fri got our first stand-by stores. yeah, no fri book outs :] we havent not even touch our stores yet so i dunno why they want the stand-by? orh, maybe they want us to practice arranging it. so we are something more than construction workers now. thats a feat man :)

i must agree to my wing comd back in foxtrot about area cleaning...
i am training you all to be officers not cleaners

something i agree... yes room must be neat and tidy, hygenic... but not till everything standardise like the arrangement of your toothpaste, toothbrush... button up all your clothes (when stand-by, you have to rush to unbutton everything then wear. how smart?).

think your parents are unreasonable? haha chill and listen to more army stuff. you must be thankful your parents are still sane. be back for more ridiculous stuff :]

..:: 333. The One With Changi General Hospital ::..

Discharge Summary

Final Diagnosis: Infectious Diseases - Gastroenteritis

Main Complaints/History:

19 YRS/CHI/MALE
HAS DIARRHOEA FOR 4 EPISODES, NO BLOOD, WATERY X 2/7
HAS 3 EPISODES OF VOMIITING, NO BLOOD
FEVER NOTED TODAY
A/W MILD LEFT SIDE HEADACHE, THROBBING, HAS HISTORY OF MIGRAINE
NO ABDO PAIN
CAME BACK FROM BRUNEI 6/7/05

Physical Examination

TEMPERATURE: 37.8
PULSE RATE: 086
RESPIRATION: 16
BLOOD PRESSURE: 121/072
ALERT COMFORTABLE NON TOXIC
HYDRATION FAIR
NOT JAUNDICED/PALE
HEART SOUNDS NORMAL AND DUAL
LUNGS CLEAR ON AUSCULTATION
ABDOMEN SOFT
RIGHT ILIAC FOSSA NONTENDER
NO HEPATOSPLENOMEGALY
BOWEL SOUNDS HYPERACTIVE

Prescription

PANADOL
STEMETIL
BUSCOPAN
KAOLIN

Cost: free (NSFs no nid to pay :])

saw a few elderly at the hospital... felt very sad for them... i always have this soft spot in my heart... reminds me of the days i volunteered at the CGH.

one of our instructor that was attached to us left to continue his studies... gave us a meaningful gift...

..:: 332. The One With Lousy Week ::..

before i start, forgot to acknowledge the previous source was from ocs heritage website. :]

this week's been super super tiring. we had bridge building and PT sessions. The whole week was dedicated to site marking, prep for building (prep site and stores), building and dismantling. Whats more shack was the manual work we had to do. carry super heavy stuff like a rocking roller which weighs like more than a ton. 4 guys carrying already got problems. had to strain my back even though i kept my back straight cos of height difference. the stores to load took forever. we worked under rain and shine. just like high-class construction workers. we took like 5-6 hrs to load and unload stores.

tue we had our PT session and we did lots of chin-ups and push ups (we owe our OC 500 so had to return) my triceps like grew twice as big...

i was pretty satisfied with what i have learnt. cos i was the runner so i could go around helping. i learnt how to use auto level (measure grd level) from exercise PC, then all the stacking of timber with the rest. bracing, panel party and last day sling party. what was disappointing was that we didnt learn the jacking down of bridge and we didnt launch the whole bridge. Something that led to the last day where i was super pissed off...

we were fast and managed to launch the bridge by thursday and the OC was 'kind' to give us nights off. But i thot catching a few more hours of sleep was more worthwhile than going to club cos the past few days we slept after midnight.

then the last day, we finished dismantling and returning stores before dinner. somehow platoon 1 got like 5 turn-outs. We were asked to finish up the food at a promotion dinner -_-. what most of us wanted was of course to book out. we had our stand-by bed at around 2300 but by then we already sensed something amiss. cos when we came back from the 'second' dinner, we were told there will be a test on the building of the bridge. I cant see why they couldnt do the test on thur night? our PC then told us after the stand-by bed that we will not be booking out. i was the least affected or at least ith another 6 guys cos we got guard duty on sat.

i was damn angry cos i was told previously my guard duty was on friday but now changed to sat which means weekend guard duty is a 24-hr thing. i can only book out on sun at 8am. I had so much things to do. Thats not the worse.

We started our test at midnight... it stretched all the way till 3+am. whenever u answered wrongly when the instructor posed u a question, you have to join the queue at the back. what pissed me off was how come they cant let those doing guard duty have priority cos the rest they could catch their sleep once they book out but we cant. Those that came later than me went off first. in the end 4 guys including me who are supposed to do guard duty were left in the rom with a few others. we were told at 3+am that we had to stop doing, submit another copy of the test on monday morning. *fuming* If thats the case i would have slept earlier and hand up the answers on monday. I was pissed off cos those guard duty people were stuck at the same question on jacking of bridge. firstly they didnt really show how to use it, secondly, how long it takes to just ask a question instead of making us re-do the whole test.

insufficient sleep... i am falling sick ... as i am typing now i having a fever... haiz... how come i can blog? cos the guard house got computer. lol. but i nid to sleep more. my shoulders and back are aching like crazy. standing at the sentry for 2 hrs is no joke. damn tiring.

i hate this week.

..:: 331. The One With My Assignment ::..

MAJULAH SINGAPURA

Mari kita rakyat Singapura
Sama-sama menuju bahagia
Cita-cita kita yang mulia
Berjaya Singapura
Marilah kita bersatu
Dengan semangat yang baru
Semua kita berseru
Majulah Singapura
Majulah Singapura

The Origin
The National Anthem was written in the wake of nationalism during 1956-57. Its composer, the late Encik Zubir Said, had written it on the basis of two words, "Majulah Singapura" or "Onward Singapore". The patriotic song was first performed by the Singapore Chamber Ensemble on the occasion of the opening of the newly renovated Victoria Theatre. It was launched on 3 December 1959 together with the National Flag and the State Crest, at the installation of the new Head of State, Yang di-Pertuan Negara, at the City Hall steps. Upon independence in 1965, "Majulah Singapura" was adopted as the republic's National Anthem.

Its Meaning
ONWARD SINGAPORE

(English Translation)
We, the people of Singapore
Together march towards happiness
Our noble aspiration
To make Singapore a success
Let us all unite
In a new spirit
Together we proclaim
Onward Singapore
Onward Singapore

THE PLEDGE
The Origin
Initially penned by Mr S Rajaratnam in 1966, the Pledge was written against the backdrop of racial riots in the 1950s and 1960s. Mr Rajaratnam revealed that the dream was about building "a Singapore we are proud of". He believed that language, race and religion were divisive factors, but the Pledge emphasizes that these differences can be overcome if Singaporeans cared enough about their country. The draft text was handed to the then Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew, who polished the text before submitting it to the Cabinet.

OUR PLEDGE

We, the citizens of Singapore,
pledge ourselves as one united people,
regardless of race, language or religion,
to build a democratic society
based on justice and equality
so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and
progress for our nation.

The Officer's Creed

I am an Officer of the Singapore Armed Forces.
My Duty is to lead, to excel and to overcome..
I lead my men by example.
I answer for their training, morale and discipline.
I must excel in everything I do.
I serve with pride, honour and integrity.
I will overcome adversity with courage, fortitude and determination.
I dedicate my life to Singapore

The Officer's Creed was unveiled by Lieutenant-General Winston Choo, Chief of Defence Force in the inauguration ceremony of the restructed officer cadet course (OCC) in 1990. It was also approved by the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Mr Goh Chok Tong at that time.

CDF described the creed as encompassing the values which the SAF cherished: loyalty to the country, leadership, professionalism, ethical conduct, discipline, care of soldiers and a fighting spirit. This is in turn being emphasized in OCS to officers and officer cadets.

DUTY, HONOUR, COUNTRY

The first motto of OCS was 'Duty, Honour, Country'. These motto and moral ideals started with the SMC batches. The stated ideals of OCS were also inscribed in the former OCS song. These three hallowed words reverently dictate what a cadet ought to be, what builds courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be a little cause in faith, to create hope when hope becomes forlorn.

'Duty' is the dedication to service, and is the sense of obligation, which leads on to do his best in every situation. It is the willingness to live within all regulations or directives regardless of origin. 'Honour' is the integrity of an officer, in both word and deed. It is especially important in today's battlefield as the cohesion and the solidarity of the combat unit in battle and its reliable and effective performance rest heavily upon the honour of its leaders on all levels. 'Country' reminds us that all Singaporeans are expected to be loyal to our country. This obligation as officer in the military is much greater as he is a member of the organisation that could do Singapore and its citizens the greatest amount of damage if misled.


TO LEAD, TO EXCEL, TO OVERCOME

The current motto 'To Lead, To Excel, To Overcome' was introduced to OCS in September 1990 when the Officer Cadet Course (OCC) started and is quoted from the Officer's creed. It was directly taken out of a speech made by then CDF Lieutenant- General Winston Choo. He said: "In battle, the Officer's Creed will guide your thinking and actions. In dire combat, when courage falters and further struggle seems hopeless, ' To Lead, To Excel, To Overcome' will be a rallying call to build courage and restore hope."


Life in OCS



INITIATION FORTNIGHT
In the first two weeks of the tri-service term, special activities in addition to the normal lessons and training are conducted for the new cadets. The fortnight impresses on the cadets the need for a strong character, self-discipline, personal accountability and sound military habits.

These activities include an orientation run around SAFTI-MI to familiarise cadets to the SAFTI landmarks and a cool dip where cadets will jump from a 3 metre diving platform to test their confidence and force them to summon up their courage in the face of a challenge. Frequent turnouts are conducted to instil a sense of discipline and to remind the cadets of the importance of being ready at all times for 'operational uncertainty’. A tower run at the SAFTI Tower reminds the cadets that they are training in a Tri-Service Institute and as they co-operate with one another as they climb up the tower, they should learn to integrate and bond as tri-service cadets.



INITIATION CEREMONY
The highlight of the Initiation Fortnight is the Initiation Ceremony held at the end of the fortnight to initiate the freshmen cadets to the Corps of Officer Cadets. In the early days of the school, there was no Initiation Fortnight and thus the Initiation Ceremony was held on the second day of joining OCS.

The cadets are turned out on the day of the ceremony to instil in them a sense of urgency and discipline. The ceremony marks the beginning of the grooming process of the cadets to become commissioned officers of the SAF. Senior cadets are involved in the ceremony to signify the passing on of the OCS tradition of the "Light of Leadership" as symbolised by passing the torch and sword from the senior to freshman cadet. The Sword of Honour winner will also share his experiences with the cadets in order to motivate and challenge the freshmen cadets to excel in the Officer Cadet Course.

During the ceremony, the freshmen cadets are also familiarised with the Values of an Officer, i.e. the 7 Core Values, the Officer's Creed and also the Institute motto. The cadets are given the responsibility of not only learning to be a skilled practitioner of the art of war but also to be a bearer of personal attributes of a leader. Upon initiation, the freshmen cadets will now be completely immersed in the leadership training of the Officer Cadet Course.



SENIOR BAR PRESENTATION
The Senior Bar presentation signifies the beginning of the Professional term where the cadets will undergo their final 23 weeks of their training before commissioning as officers. The presentation is preceded by a 24km route march taking place the night before and will end close to dawn on top of Elephant hill. The location enables the cadets to have a panoramic view of Jurong Industrial Estate.

It is here that the cadets are reminded of the purpose of their training that is to defend the achievements of their nation that amongst other things have transformed a wasteland into an industrial estate that has brought prosperity to the nation. While the lives that the cadets lead are built upon the hard work of their predecessors, they should not take peace for granted and instead they must work hard to ensure the defence of the nation is adequate to maintain the prosperity of the nation. As officer cadets, they play an important role in leading the defence of the nation.



APPOINTMENT CERTIFICATE PRESENTATION CEREMONY
The certificate presentation marks an important milestone in the life of the cadets as it confers upon them the appointment to the rank of 2nd lieutenant in the SAF. Before 1983, the graduates would gather in the Istana where the presentation would take place. However, the presentation is now held on SAFTI grounds a few days before the commissioning parade. Swords, scrolls and prizes are presented to the cadets dressed in their No.2 Dress Kit and the Sword of Honour winner will give his valedictory speech. The event evokes a sense of pride and achievement for the graduating cadets.



COMMISSIONING PARADE AND DINNER
The Commissioning Parade marks the end of the gruelling, testing and challenging course for the cadets with a grand and spectacular finale and also marks the graduation of the cadets into officers of the SAF. The cadets dressed in the No.1 dress of officers will march onto the Parade Square. They are inspected by a Reviewing Officer, perform a march past and undergo a forward review. Religious leaders will also bless the occasion. The graduating batch will also hand over the SAFTI Colours to the most senior batch of officer cadets.

They will also recite the SAF Pledge. Parents are then allowed onto the Parade Square to fix on the epaulettes on the newly commissioned officers.

Following the commissioning parade, the cadets will end the day with the Commissioning Dinner.

SAF PLedge

We, Members of the Singapore Armed Forces, Do solemnly and sincerely pledge that: We will always bear true faith and allegiance to the President and the Republic of Singapore. We will always support and defend the constitution. We will preserve and protect the honour and independence of our country with our lives.




The Combat Engineer Insignia

Gold Colour
The sterling qualities of the Engineers, namely their steadfast spirit and durable nature.

Black Colour
Our ability to provide continuous support throughout hours of darkness.

Castle
The solid construction power of the Engineers as seen in the bridges, fortifications, roads and obstacles often built by them. The interlocking bricks show the strength, endurance and high degree of teamwork required to accomplish engineer tasks.

Bayonet
Offensive spirit of the Engineers in piercing the enemy defences.

Twin Bolts of Lighting
Destructive demolition power of the Engineers

Motto
Seek- The essential Knowledge and Skills
Strive- towards greater Heights
Excel- In all task required of a combat Engineer

..:: 330. The One With 3rd Week in SOCE ::..

hey guys, i have survived yet another week in hell :)

Mon. this week had been a rather emotional week. firstly, i was upset my name was not called during the last parade meaning i would be staying in SOCE as a field engineer - something i dread most.

Tue. i woke up feeling depressed cos almost half of the wing would be going to different vocations like armour or bridging engineer, some went for chemical defence and even some dealing with explosives. Didnt even have time to say farewell... we got a turn-out (7 min stand-by fieldpack) while waiting for lesson to start. well its part of the oc plan to train us to be operational ready. For now, everytime i felt like i am being tekan, i would tell myself, i am training to be operationally ready. We did it for two times and i was totally shacked.

We then proceeded on to build a bridge manually. due to height difference, carrying the super heavy bridge had given me a backache. *suck thumb* endure is the only way. i also went deaf today cos all the slamming and overturning of the bridges. I have decided to do less eye-power the next practical lesson cos its really impt to have hands-on experience which in the first place is not easy cos only a few people were required to perform a certain task so the rest just eye power.

My PC mentioned something about sport psychology which inspired me at that moment. Shall try that next time i training my cadets in competitions.

Another PC commented that our fieldpack stuff were packed nicely during the last parade. I was happy but i still miss my friends... only left steve and daniel.

Wed. We had another round of orientation run which turned out to be a continued mission where we got to run again after cooling down. my PC wanted a turn out but luckily my OC didnt want it.

had lectures the whole day about plant engineering. Our Chief Instructor came in and reprimanded us, well at least some of us for sleeping during the lecture. He wondered why officer cadets always look so tired...

I must agree that when you desire and keen to learn, you will try to stay awake and be engaged in the lesson. Just like in movies, you will stay awake throughout the show. However, there would be certain parts of the lecture where you are totally lost. Inevitably, dozing off became really common.

I was pointed out by the CI. Was surprised he still remembered me. I thought he pointed me out for saluting to him in PT attire but it was not the case. Apparently, i was the cadet duty officer that day, hence i was required to hand in 3 forms by 0730. The normal reaction would be handling the documents personally to the officer in charge. However i was told that i could just slip the form under the door gap of the office. I did not miss out the safety briefing which the CI thought i had missed it.

Thur. Fri Boring. Lecture on thur from 0730 to 2330. At 1500, we had IPPT categorisation test. managed a 9:30 for my 2.4km. Fri we had lesser stuff to do cos instructors were preparing for the sword presentation at OCS... but nevertheless our on-the-ball OC turned platoon 1 out as they were the stand-by platoon.

Sat. Went to bendemeer sec for some red cross footdrill training. standard was no where near ours... but then the 'T' generation is here. reads: tofu. then met up with the infantry guys.

Miss those infantry OCS times... they having lots of admin time at night... learnt a new term from them. IBM which means individual body maintenance which is actually sleeping... drink beer at a bar then coffee...

i cant think properly now. gonna KO soon but got this sudden urge to complete my blog entry... i got so many things to do... arghz...

OC wants:
words, meaning, origin of

national anthem
national pledge
officer's creed
seek strive excel
duty honour country
SAF pledge

compilation of lessons learnt

CI wants:

reflections of this week
mind map of what i have learnt this week

Others:
Plant test on Mon
Muster Parade on Mon
Bridge building next week + lots of turn out
Assignment
De-rust all metallic items
Wash clothes
Polish my mess cup

Braindead...

..:: 329. The One With Chinablack ::..

wanted to go momo but 21 yrs and abv. hey at least i know one more club i could frequent next time :) yest nite was my fourth time to chinablack in my ocs life. a totally different experience.

1. finally got to club with my bmt buddy

2. had to queue from 11 to 1.30am to get in. The staff there smart enough to hold the crowd till 1am cos it was free entry from 9pm to 1am. Apparently, we had to pay 18 bucks. Furthermore, after 1.30, the cover charge was 12 bucks and we were ushered in like 1.22am. -_-

my legs were tired before they could pull out some stunts. The crowd was unusually crowded. Maybe free entry? super crowded i couldnt have my dancing space. everyone was like a vibrator.

weird sightings:

1. a couple of uncles and aunties having a hard time figuring out how to put cha-cha, tango, line dancing into R&B, hip hop songs

2. quite a distinct amount of lipids wobbling on the dancefloor and podium?!?!? I really tried my best not to look but trust me, its distracting...

3. first time i was 'elbowed' by i think quite a massive arm and i mean fat! cos it really hurts.

4. first time i got 'butt smash'. reads: to emphasise the amount of damage that same guy with 3x my butt size gave.

5. a few people standing on podium talking? is reception up there better?

6. yest nite was more 'grinding' songs than fast, 'dancable' songs :(
reads: grinding, u know what it means right?

7. people leaning against the podium. i'm sorry that my knee knocked into a girl's head. dunno whether she's too drunk to shift or she loved being hit cos i hit her twice. stepped on a guy's hand when he placed his hand on the podium. never felt so restrictive and uncomfortable... they should just stay away from the podium

8. still so many people at 5am.

ok. saw lots of familiar faces at orchard road... think i'm gonna abstain from clubbing for a while. energy draining sia. next week shall 'nua' at home and watch some vcds. now gotta go cut hair. tml got some dreaded CO parade. still thinking should i pay monthly installment for my camera so i could also get a mp3 and have money to spend? but then again, i can only use my mp3 player when i book out.

..:: 328. The One With First Day at SOCE ::..

that wed was a screwed-up day. firstly, i thought i would go for a laundry service ard 3pm and then head for SOCE at nee soon camp. unfortunately, i realised i have depleted my allowance cos i used my card for my friend's 90+ bucks worth of ice wine. desperately, i rushed home to use the washing machine. suay suay, my G2000 long sleeve white shirt and the collars of my ocs white admin shirt all had turned light green.

dashed out of my hse after packing my stuff and it was close to 5pm and i had to be there by 6pm. while waiting to cross, i saw my bus just drove past me. frantically, i had to source for my friends whom i could hitch a ride. i got on the next bus, sensing something amiss... i think my card has no value liao... and i was spot on. feeling paiseh, i dug into my coin section and found i only had around seven cents plus. lucky the uncle did not make a big fuss. i sunk into my seat, feeling stunned.

in the end, i shared a cab with my gd friend. when we were reaching the gate, a super big bridging vehicle had to go into nee soon camp too... what gd timing. we had to wait for like 5 mins when we were already running late. running and pulling the duffel bag made me damn shack.

lucky us. we made it just on time. but my shirt was totally drenched.

oh btw the seniors were very nice, they showed us how to do a 7-min stand-by field pack. everyone fall in the parade square and once the IC shouted, everyone made a mad dash up to their bunk to get their stuff and came down to arrange.

more crazy stuff at SOCE though... like 5-min stand-by bed. Rationale very simple, we have to be operationally ready and your bunk should always be in stand-by condition so 5 mins touch up would be enough.

think i touch on stand-by bed before, i find it really useless to standardise things in the cupboard just for the sake of stand-by bed. when i become platoon comd, i definitely ask my men to arrange their stuff they would be using neatly. Putting a toothbrush and toothpaste for display is useless... people definitely would use shower foam, facial wash.

first few days in SOCE were kinda scary. We spent lots of time with the OC. No one dared to sleep in his lectures. firstly, no one would want extras. secondly, his lectures were so impt that you could not afford to sleep. His style was to have a simple test after each lecture he taught which was good in a way as the stuff really got drilled into your head.

He also spoke with lots of negativity. At least my wing comd in foxtrot gave more encouraging words like 'if you show me you have positive attitude in learning, i would pass you'. For my current OC, he loved to emphasise the number of cadets he failed... 'if you let me see or have a slight feeling that you are not confident in leading, i would not hesitate to fail you.' one of our course mate had a same name as the senior, he said, 'we also have a gabriel, but you know where is he? He is now a sergeant' meaning, that cadet out of course liao.

arghz... i didnt make it for the EOD selection. I felt so stupid, but then again my frenz told me the behaviour survey was part of it too... guess i'm not very engineer kind of person, or rather i'm more counsellor than architect. so now my hope lies in bridging... cos i dun wanna stay in field engineer and get tekan in SOCE...

we had an orientation where we were warned by the seniors to keep singing and keep in steps if not it would become a tekan session. In the end, we still did more 100 push-ups cos they were part of physical training.

today fri was kinda slack cos we were told we came in one day early. -_- i desperately needed the day to rest lo...

today was fun cos we got to take our basic driving theory test. i hope i can get a license thru the army. that would be cool. seeing so many signs, the test seemed difficult. had to re-do a few times to get a 90 mark pass. some did like more than 10 times still couldnt clear.

before we booked out, we had a 2 hr long test to see how much we have learnt the past 2 days. had to bring back precis and study... yawnz...

pretty happy i got to enjoy a 5-day work week. booking out on fri was nice even though its 2330. but i dun think i would get to enjoy much fri book outs. schedule gonna get more packed and tue we would know where we would be split into for the next 7 weeks.

pay day coming... hee...

desperately wants to club. any takers?

..:: 327. The One With Brunei Overseas Training ::..

Disclaimer: Super long post. May be unsuitable for some readers.

SOCJOT - Support Arms Officer Cadet Jungle Orientation Training

Reaching Changi Airport and having a look at the departure schedule, i could not help but had this surge of excitement like i was going on a holiday even though it was an overseas training.

some of my ocs infantry buddies were kind to see us off... melvin, calvin, alvin and denzel... flight was at 2+ am and when i touched down at brunei around 4+ am, i was frustrated cos i had not finished watching my krisworld movie provided by the SIA. It was quite a turn-off when one of my instructors took over the captain and use the PA system to tell us to fall in and stuff. that rowdy voice

From the airport to Lakiun Camp was like a freaking 7-hr transport. First by bus then ferry then bus again. Most of us simply 'concuss' throughout.

Place there was ok, all of us sleep in double-decked beds. heard the whole place was built by 30 SCE (unit of combat engineers, not the numbers) mmm... sleeping near the entrance was good cos can fall in easier but got fatigue duty, easy to kena. Can charge phone but mine no reception. sianz.

training started with letting us try out combat swim. the instructors over at the Lakiun Camp were very nice and funny. Got this warrant who could not pronounce propoerly... combat swim became combat shrimp. Obviously he became the first person everyone imitated. Then came this LTA-who-got-promoted-to-CPT instructor who loved to use 'long zong zhang zui' aka All 'bathe' together meaning all get wet together during combat swim. 'lup cheong' also his fave pet peeve.

Then came the compass course which i already knew i was a left drifter long time ago in one of the SISPEC exercises. dunno why have to do it again. perhaps familiarise again ba but its super waste time.

Next day, we had our guided navex. I had a very experienced warrant with us so he taught us some of the jungle survival skills. it was damn fun eating fruits that he plucked and were edible. It was a good exercise as for our batch jungle survival course was taken out. I also ate leaves... tongkat ali... some afrodisiac stuff... bitter as usual but not as bad tasting as the TNT flakes that i had tasted. 0_0 lol.

Then the 4-day exercise started. Ex Nomad and Ex Mountain Rat.
We had to find 2 checkpoints then head for a log point where we are transported to the base of Mount Biang. We then had to ascend 1388m and descend. Everything done with a fieldpack. total weight about 20+ kg.

Survival Tip: When navigating in the jungle of Brunei, follow the ridge lines rather than do bashing like in Tekong

Why? cos there are a lot of hidden knolls and ravines that are not reflected in the map. Follow the tracks that people have been created would be safer and less chances of being 'hollanded' (army lingo for lost). Following the correct ridgeline can be challenging. What seems to be the correct route may meander until its no longer in your direction of move.

Survival Tip: Plotters are very important cos u'll be travelling for more than 1km for each checkpoint. Look out for white/black tapes, they helped

Survival Tip: Wear gloves

i didnt bring my gloves and my hands got super dirty. Finding checkpoints there was not anything near tekong. Sometimes have to climb a near 90-degree slope or even slide down one in order to cross a stream. My pants were dirty just few mins after we set off cos we had to slide down this muddy slope.

Survival Tip: Request permission to bring jockey cap

some groups did not bring along jockey cap so throughout the exercise, they had to wear helmet. Though its safer but you will get tired and sweat more easily.

Warning: Signal set is freaking heavy cos you need to bring 300% batteries and also some of your own stuff

i set a challenge for myself which was to carry the signal set when descending Mount Biang... Ascending it we took 1.5 hours. Descending in total we took about 7 hours. Shocking right? We could not go down the way we came up cos we had to go a river crossing point which was the end point. As we descend, we kept climbing up cos there were lots of hidden knolls and lots of detours had to be made. Whats worse, our dear instructors decided that the 4 groups should navigate together. Movement was super slow and i thought my spine gonna break. Had to sit down everytime they halted.

By the way for the whole exercise we had to drink river water by putting purifying tablets inside. Definitely tasted weird. See all the mud and sand, i also felt insecure.

Survival Tip: Fill up water bottles to the max if you ever have the chance

we had to fill our bottles to the max at the last possible stream before we start ascending. We were reminded that there would be no water source until you reached the river crossing site. Rationing water supply was super important. A few of the guys i knew, jiasheng, alex had heat exhaustion but both were quite mild. Many left less than half a bottle while descending. Some even gulped down all when someone tried to boost the morale by saying we were reaching. Everyone cursed and sweared after that.

Survival Tip: Can boost morale by putting black tape on some thin tree bark

I dunno how to describe the shagness cos i overcame dunno how many near 90-degree slopes. Sometimes with almost nothing to hold on to except digging my nails into the soil. If you are not careful and fall, you will find yourself 50m rolling down the slopes. If there were any casualties, the whole team would have to be responsible for evacuating the guy. Walking already so shag, imagine you have to evacuate a person. I had to cross 10 rivers/ravines throughout my ex nomad.

The navigators from my group were superb. We found our first check point at 9am, just one hour after we started off at 8am. Our second checkpoint was tough and it was like 2km linearly on the map but in reality we travelled more than 3km and found the checkpoint at 1pm. It was an amazing feat.

We then had to go to the log point to be transported to the base of mt biang. However we were not as lucky this time. We had to back track so many times until we were quite demoralised. We wanted to hit several intermediate points to confrim our location but was not successful. We had to harbour for the night by 5pm.

Survival Tip: Bring hammock and set up big fire to dry clothes

hammock was very shiong to sleep on. but first night i could not sleep cos my group mate beside me was snoring super loud! Putting on dirty and wet clothes the next morning sucked. super low morale.

We planned on hitting immediate points in order to reach a passage point which will lead us to our log point. However we could not find any and accidentally hit the log point. Bedlam broke loose... we were at the log point around 1pm the next day. kinda disappointed cos if we could be starting to climb mt biang...

When we had reached the log point, we got transported to a bridge and was told that we had to walk 3km of granite path and another 2km+ of muddy path to the base of mt biang. wah, i almost fainted. I thought walking 3km was easy but under the hot sun and helmet with the load, i was kinda drained. Then we had to walk this farking muddy path which looked like it would never end. Boots were all dirtied and we had to cross slippery logs and by 5pm, we still had not ascend mt biang.

Survival Tip: Bring slippers though the pack list didnt include. Good for powder bathing and you would not want to wear your boots to move around

By the second day i was feeling disgusting, 1001 types of germs on me and i could not change new set cos i only brought one extra set which was my pajamas set. I realised on that night my ex-buddy was a pyromanic. I think he cannot live without lights. The first night when he was doing sentry duty, he kept flashing his torchlight and i could not sleep. I took a peep at what he was doing:
* (symbolising switching on/off his torch)

*fliped over his jockey cap on his webbing*
*scanned the ground around him*
*opened his fieldpack and adjust the flaps and closed it*
*flashed at one of the hammock (somemore on the face of that guy)*
*scanned the ground again*
*flashed at my face*
*flashed at my fieldpack*
*flashed at the clothes line*

w-h-a-t t-h-e h-e-l-l!!!

second night, he kept asking us to burn the biscuits to keep the fire going when we are not going to cook anymore! Biscuits are for eating even though they can be used as fuel. My friends and i were rolling our eyeballs...

i think it has become a habit and he seriously has no light discipline. That explains why every night when we shared the same bunk he only switched off the lights like around midnight. I wondered if he's afraid of darkness...

third day, we started to climb the mt biang... i thought ex nomad was no kick as the slopes were mostly 60-degree but come to climbing mt biang... every 90-degree slope we see, we all would say 'wah biang'. my thigh muscles and shin, ankle were already hurting. Nevertheless, we could go up rather fast cos our navigators were good. we reached the top at 9am and left messages for the foxtrot infantry people. so guys next time if you are going up, look out for the message. lol.

Survival Tip: During ex nomad, if we encountered a river, we would sing 'cry me a river'. When movement slow, we would sing 'I like to move it move it' fun and kinda boost the morale

Coming down was nightmare... we were led by the logistics people whom hollanded until out of area of operation... But we cant blame them... navigation was really difficult and may require recce at times. In the end, tempers flared cos everyone was tried and short of water. Travel in single group was definitely better. At least if you walked the wrong way, you only got your own group to blame and it made travelling easier and faster.

When we reached the river crossing site at 5pm, we were told that 2 out odf the 4 groups that reached together could get to cross the river and head back to camp. We were pissed but then no choice had to harbour for the night and only cross tml morning. I was angry also cos i used up my clean pair of uniform thinking that we would have made it by today. In the end i had to sleep with only my underwear on... it was cold only at 4am.

Survival Tip: There were not much mosquitoes. I didnt get bitten except for some sand flies but only itch for like a few mins. heng.

Survival Tip: Secure your helmet if you are not wearing it

A few guys got their helmets roll off the slopes and you would never get them back if they roll down.

Survival Tip: Bring chocolates if you are not eating the 4 days of combat rations

Survival Tip: Keep all the wrappers

Over there, they got trash inspection and they account for every single trash. every tissue wrapper must get back every single one. Before we set off they would do an inspection of whatever you brought out. Each green pack has to be accounted for and all the other stuff.

Survival Tip: Get a clean mess tin cos you would want to cook

Survival Tip: bring extra sets of uniform (they will issue uniform)

Survival Tip: If during inspection, you are short of wrappers, cut some and black tape them to increase the number of wrappers

Survival Tip: Bring only white trash bags and all the plastic bags will be accounted for

Survival Tip: Sharp objects like jack knife, fork all must be in your duffel bag

you wouldnt want to be hold up at the scanning area at the airport

For your information, of the 15 teams, only 4 teams managed to find two checkpoints and whats great was that the 4 teams were all engineers team. :]

Some headed straight to climb mt biang after they found one. :[

We all came back early cos we settled our stores early and had lots of canteen break and basically lazed around.

Then we moved out of the camp at 0530 on 5th july. Took bus then ferry to HQ Lancer to put down our hand luggage and headed for R&R (rest and recreation).

We went to visit the largest mosque in brunei built by the 29th Sultan of Brunei. All those in gold are made of real 24-carat gold. 29 domes, 29 doors, 29 steps... Brunei was quite a nice place... perhaps its tax-free. The mosque looked super grand.

Then we went to look at a building the sultan built to store gifts given by others. Got to know about his life and also a few replicas of the gifts, the crowning ceremony and tools they used.

Lunch was supposed to be buffet but we kena cheated. Hungry ghost at our table and i simply lost my appetite looking at him scooping a lot into his bowl. -_-

We then went to visit the famous water village and explored one of the resident's home. Cooling... and water taxi was cool too...

After which we got to visit a place where they displayed the oil refining stuff and the arts. boring... cos most of us were more interested in shopping.

yeah its shopping time but i think the shopping trip was the most sucky one. Only can see but cannot buy. Why? The only thing cheap there was VCDs/DVDs... 3 bucks leh. and the quality was good. During the bus trip, we got to watch wars of the world. Pirated so we could not buy. arghz. we were so tempted and the CDs shops were like the only thing. In the end, we all sat down, ate and chatted.

dinner was really buffet but no refill. sucks right?

Survival Tip: Take the dishes for the whole table

That way you get to eat more and no need to keep queuing cos the food would be gone before you know it.

Night time was the finale, my fave. We went to the super big 20 hectares amusement park. But only like a few rides were opened. I tried everything like at least twice and i actually went for some which i did not even imagine i would go for... vertical drop... rollercoaster that flip you 360-degree... adrenaline was rushing man... many of us our lup cheong were like in our mouths... balls all shrunk that night.

Survival Tip: Take off your specs and stuff before going for rides
Got one guy i know his specs flew... lol

Nothing beats coming back home in SIA plane... watching krisworld and still cant finish what i watched... arghz.

stay tuned i guess... i used almost 2 hours typing this entry... now haf to wash uniform and gotta book in soon. arghz. heard soce is a terrible place... *prays*