There is this LAN shop near my house that I always frequent, not because I can't use the computer at home, mind you. It's a nice place to hang around during weekends because of the different people that I've met and learned their way of life, their hospitality and all. Work for them is rather hectic, with tight schedules from customers bringing their computers in and expecting them to fix everything within a short time...
Still, being a LAN shop and all, it's quite a relaxing place to sit down and watch people come and go while sitting back and think of the recent things that have happened in camp. Physical training, VOC and other bits and pieces of nonsense that keep each day fresh and new in camp, and leave you not knowing what to expect for the next day. But it probably is this kind of suspense that actually makes me quite enjoy National Service. Or was there something else that is powering up my internal drive for doing my best and more during my period of National Service?
Last week in camp, someone was holding to a fresh new copy of The Straits Times and telling people that some NSF guy from 3 SIR died in outfield training, or something like that. And I, being an NSF myself right now, expected a great uproar among the public, and remained silent, thinking that I'd rather just sit back and see what the hell went on before developing my own opinion of the unfortunate chain of events that would ensue. I was right - there was a big uproar. Lately, there was this female fella who probably didn't think through her head when she said something along the lines of "Singaporean NSFs being weak" or something like that.
Nuts, shit like that happens every time, despite people always throwing reminders into the air "not to comment on things going on in camp" and "be more sensitive about what you type in Twitter and Facebook." This fella's gonna get flamed and condemned by many, for sure.
NSFs being weak, seriously?
Try out our own everyday PT just for a week. But it is definitely the soreness of the limbs and constant adrenaline that comes from long distance running (sometimes up to 10km, and then some), and regular interval training, amongst other sorts of physical training, that turns "boys to men." But that isn't all. We go outfield and feed mosquitoes (and they don't even thank us when we donate blood to them), endure many nights without sleep, and dragging our weary bodies and struggling to keep alert and finish our mission in all sorts of military exercises, all in the name of national defence, to protect our loved ones, to protect our livelihoods,
to protect the small little red dot on the Southeast Asian map that we call home.
And take note - not everyone can endure heavy loads for extended periods of time without sleep, and we all know the constant sting of the headaches that come along with not having enough sleep (A-Level, Polytechnic and University students will know this pain very well, those in the workforce especially). And we also get punished for things like "Shag, cannot think issit!?" and for being "blur cocks" when we forget our fundamentals and basic soldier discipline when we start getting mentally tired out and make mistakes out in the field.
Rightfully so, for when a soldier makes a mistake, he endangers all the people around him, and in real war there are sometimes no second chances.
All of these to build up soldiers that can function well in the face of fatigue and still stay fighting fit to defend our country. This is NOT weakness. Hell, even the neighbouring countries also maintain a cordial relationship with Singapore, because they realise that to be hostile and lay aggression towards Singapore means they have a heavy price to pay, because of the established image of Singapore, over many years, having a defence force strong enough to be reckoned with. All with the sweat and blood of our fathers, uncles and brothers, who gave every ounce of their strength and time to contribute, which actually counted even if it was considered to be quite insignificant.
While everyone else enjoys civilian life in peace and prosperity, people like us NSFs have to put up with 2 years of being detached from the rest of society. While you guys use iPhones, we use brick-like candybar Nokia phones with no cameras. While most of you guys enjoy the comfort of air-conditioned lecture halls or office rooms, we sweat it out during everyday training. All in the name of protecting our own livelihoods, just so people can say we are weak after devoting two whole years of our life contributing silently to our defence, just so you guys can sleep snugly in your beds, worrying only about what to choose for breakfast tomorrow?
Even in places like the USA, where everything is being protrayed by the mass media to be top-notch in terms of defence and technology, where everything seems to be good as shown in movies, things that are being displayed are sometimes far from the truth. People sometimes even have to keep firearms in their houses as a deterrent against violent tresspassers who attempt at messing up their own turf, while in Singapore, we can walk through street alleyways alone sometimes without a fear that the next minute someone's gonna rob you. Thank all these to the NSFs serving in the civil defence force (hey, people also serve NS in the SCDF as well, in case you're wondering. True story, my friend's serving down there.)
And down here, we do suffer from attrition as well. People get injured doing what they do during intense training as well. People suffer from bone stress fractures from time to time, sprained ankles, dislocated shoulders among other things. And yet, more often than not, those who suffered such injuries continue to serve our nation, albeit in different lesser roles like being the armskotesman, mess boys, storemen, and clerks, among other roles. And there is always that "garang soldier"
who voluntarily continues to serve in active duty even though they are awarded medical status protection to excuse them from certain tasks because of injuries and conditions like having shin splints and muscle pulls, and the occasional foot rot.
Strength is not just measured physically, but also mentally. Sometimes there are also NSFs who suffer the loss of loved ones during their period of service. Sometimes even sergeants and officers are not spared from such catastrophic turns of events as well.
Being able to deal with the loss of their own family members, and still stand up to the challenge of leading their men to finish their tasks during missions and make their operations successful despite physical and mental fatigue, is not something the average person is able to do. It takes a tremendous amount of mental discipline to do so, which sometimes only the harshest training that NS provides can accomplish in NSFs that stand up to their call of duty for two whole years.
You, who say Singaporean NSFs are weak, stand up, try doing what we do, and feel our pain first before saying anything.
