The real professional term as an infantry officer cadet has started.. The first 3 weeks were slack, just merely lectures etc... JC visit to SAFTI MI brought me back to NJC again where I saw familiar faces.. But it didnt realy bring back much memories actually.. people who know me will know that I will say that I'm from Catholic High.. I wont say that I'm from NJ.

Did Hunter 1 (a navigation exercise) on sunday. Walked through closed terrain with my 15kg load.. Had to climb up steep inclines up hills and down again.. cross swamps and slide down muddy slopes.. this was followed by Ex Wolf (a night attack) and Ex Dump-in (a hasty defence) on Monday, tues, and wed.. thurs and fri was recovery day.. did hunter 2 yesterday..

next week going back to tekong for EX hunter , EX robinson crusoe (a 32km navigation exercise where we'll climb up and down hills with our 15kg load) and EX castaway (a survival exercise)..

damn I really feel the combat fatigue building up..

Going to brunei in 2 weeks time! my frens in artillery went before us.. It was marked with freak incidents.. 2 of my frens were struck by lightning and they were paralyzed for 30 mins (ok la, the lightning struck the tree behind them and the ground conducted electricity), 2 of my frens were chased by hornets and 1 of my fren burnt his back.. They went there for 9 days only mind you.. and they already say is damn shag and scary... I am going for 21 DAYS. =)

That being said, i'll make sure I get the Jungle COnfidence Badge.. That's the pride of all Infantry Officers!

It's the 3rd week of professional term now, training intensity has started to pick up. Last week was a physically and mentally week for me, navigating with Full Battle Order in Lower Mandai for just a mere 7 hours has drained almost all my energy..


Going to brunei on the 15th Nov for my infantry package as well as the Jungle Confidence Course (JCC). JCC can be considered to be the scariest thing that an infantry officer cadet can go through in his life. For people who dont know, JCC is a 9 day event where we are left totally on our own in the dense and thick brunei primary forest. Those taking geog will understand what a primary forest means. Thick canopy, humid environment etc... The first 5 days will be navigation exercise, where in our groups of 8, will be tasked to find checkpoints in the forest, bearing our 15kg-20kg load at the same time. Not to mentioned the fact that for the full 9 days, we will only be given 3litres of fresh water and 1.5 days of ration. YES. 1.5 days of ration and 3litres of water ONLY.

The seniors who when JCC shared with us their experience. One group spilt up and this particular guy was left entirely on his own. It started to rain and he tried to call out for his group but the splatter of the rain on the leaves drowned his voice. He said he almost broke down. but  i bet he cried la. if I were him I would be freaking scared too.... >< when we run our of water, we are supposed to refill using the river, and more often then not it will be murky water. my seniors say they imagined it to be 'teh-bing', means iced tea and gulped down the water...The bad thing about brunei is that ot never fails to rain everyday. So for 9 days we will wear our soaked uniform and our feets will be soaked for 9 days too. When night comes, my seniors say it's so freaking cold that they hugged each other to sleep.

A lot of scary things happen there too. I heard 1 Officer Cadet died of extreme dehydration. Apparently he did not want to drink water from the river. My instructor fell down a cliff and hurt his back. Some got  cornea cut due to the torns on the leaves... All these injuries will only mean 1 thing -- helievac, or evacuation by helicopter. Because helicopter is the only, and the only way of reaching us in the jungle..

The last 3 days will be survival exericise where we are left entirely on our own, we must build traps, water collection points, carve out fork and spoon etc... all that are required for survival in the wild...

The Survivor's Creed

For one to survive, one must die...
The survivor's preservation takes over humalitarian principle,
but there must be no suffering..

In short, it means that if we got to kill to survive in the wild, we will kill.. but the animal should not suffer, thus it must be a fast kill...

and we will be required to kill (by ripping off the head) and dissect a bird in Brunei....

MY GOD.

It had been a really long time since i've blogged...

It's already 8 weeks in OCS, 4 more weeks to the end of this service term, and 7 more months to the commissioning parade...

Up till now I still am not used to the life as an Officer Cadet.. the lack of sleep, coming back from exercises at unearthly hours eg 2am and having to wake up the next day at 5.30am, lack of personal time (having only 15mins to ourselves to do our personal admin stuffs like msging ppl), and not to mention, the lack of LIFE (booking out on sunday morning 10am and having to book in again at 8pm the same day)...

I bagged 3 extra duties and 1 weekend confinement from the last field camp. That would mean 4 weekends burnt cos extras=doing WEEKEND duty. I guess I O.C.S bah.. (Only Can Suckthumb). that's what my instructors always say.. even if you get punished for the most minor mistake, or even things that are not even your fault but you happen to get dragged down for some apparent reasons, you only can suckthumb and take it.

But dont get it wrong, i dont hate OCS nor am I regreting that I'm in OCS, in fact I am proud to be an officer to be.. Training in OCS is definitely going to be tough, but this moulds character, and at the end of 9 months, you know that you're really worthy of the rank and worthy of people addressing you as "Sir' .

"tough training dont last, tough men do.."


OCS COMMISSIONING PARADE - This will be my GOAL and my constant MOTIVATION!!

I came across a blog of a recently commissioned officer. He reflected on his experience as an infantry officer cadet, the sweat and tears during training, and the brotherhood forged. For some reason my heart started to wrench and I teared. It was really touching. The picture above was taken from his blog as well. The commisioning parade is the happiest, saddest and proudest moment for officer cadets.

Anyway, it's the tradition of OCS to have a Social Night to mark the end of service term and the progression into Professional Term for Officer Cadets. It's a night of reflection on the tough training that we are put through, how we've worked together, and a farewell moment for people who are leaving OCS and having training at the schools of the respective vocations. (only infantry cadets remain in OCS for their professional term, the rest are posted to other units for training). It's a social event where social ettiques and graces are emphasized. Gf is not able to make it and thus right now I'm super desperate for a PARTNER!! The details are as follows

Date : 18 Sept
Time : 7-10pm
Dress Code : Formal
Location : TBC
Cost : $80 per person

I'll pay for the $80 and the cost of the dress and transportation fees as well. Not getting a partner means that I have to sign 7 extras! So pls help!!!

 

Going to be enlisted tomorrow. ><

Having a kind of mixed feeling now. the jitters prior to enlistment, and being scared of what will be thrown upon me in there. but at the same time, I am also feeling a sense of excitment, and kind of looking forward to enlistment!

It's like being back to the NCC life. When I roughed it out in sec 1 and 2, and gradually climbed the hirechary to be the Company Sergeant Major. It wasnt easy, but looking back, it was fulfilling. =) My proudest achievements in my life (at least up till now) is attained during my time with the NCC! Hopefully I will be able to excel in NS as well, to be the best that I can be!


"HQ Overall Outstanding Cadet", "Platoon Best, Specialist Course"


Cat high (NCC) has given me lots of opportunity to lead, learn and excel. I think my life in Cat high has made me grown as a person much much more then what I experienced in junior college. My graditute and respect for the teachers in Cat high far exceeds my graditute for the teachers in NJ. This is because they have given me a lot, they have taught me a lot, and they have earned my respect through their relentless commitment and selfless giving to the students. Amongst them are Mr Jeffrey Goh and Mr Krishnan Pillay.

Army will be the next growing stage of my life. It wont be easy, but the sense of satisfaction and achievement after you have passed out (completed the whole training) will be damn great, and this is always my motivation.... =)


"Training to be soldiers,
to fight for our land,
once in our life,
2 years of our time..."