National service
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I have not been through NS but here are my thoughts on it.
I for 1 think it does waste my time to a certain extent though it's only 2.5 years.While i will go through it and do my best in it i most prob wont like it.But it is a good learning experience for me and i do look forward to serving it.I believe it will bring the best out of me and well....honestly make me a man and a wiser man at that.It will also give me displine(sic) and make me excersie...
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Damn, you guys are getting me all excited with this talk over NS! I've got a few cousins who were either officers or naval officers though, and boy, they're sure fine guys now.
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i belive that most things that don't kill u really makes u a stronger and better person...
i had a real bad time in sispec... kena mark by my sergeant major from day one... wah lan... really wanna die man...
after that, got posted from one sick coy to another one across the parade square while all my friends got posted out of that hell-hole...
what to do? end up as infantry spec lor... then go unit, then i found out that the training is nothing cos the unit politics are much worse and more deadly than the tough training
but u learn from that as well... they'll be good times and bad... and i'm happy to say that what i've learnt in there, about surviving in an organisation, about working with pple, managing pple, has stood me in good stead, compared to other pple who ended up as lobos... they just don't see the big picture.
so i got nothing against the experience... it still makes for good talk over beer... -
Well gentlemen, there we have our answer to Ayukat's post. What NS teaches us is that a positive attitude is essential in any situation, especially rough ones like NS where you are the unwilling, going into the unknown to do the unneccesary for the ungrateful. Fail to learn that one lesson and wasting that two and a half years becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Learn that lesson and the experience will serve you well for the rest of your life. It's a Zen thing.
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Honestly speaking I've refrain from posting in that BAR thread for a number of reasons...
But that guy is simply nonsense...I have nothing but a load of "fury" in my stomach simply by just looking at his posts...and he refuses to accept the fact that all the things he's having now is not going to be possible if a credible defence force is not present...
I have nothing but contempt for him...
I may not have always agreed with all of the SAF's policies, I might have dragged my foot on some occassions but at the end of the day, but I still discharge my duties
At the end of the day, things (technical, tactical or "tactical" wise) I learnt can never be found anywhere else in the world...
Friendships forged remain as deep as you last..For people like Ayu, they will NEVER understand the meaning of Brotherhood..
Tragedies make you know that things in life don't always go the way you figured it to be,esp when living in a sheltered life...
Truimphs make u remember the fact that you conquered something and will be the driving force behind any future obstacles you face... "I've seen worse than this before, I can do it!!"
Going thru these 2.5 years has changed me in way i never knew I could and I do not feel it is a waste of time... -
I hear what you're saying, Kaczynski, and I agree with it, but we're in Voltaire's trap as much as any other person who has served in the military: "I may not agree with a word you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
At times like this, a useful mantra may be found in Rudyard Kipling's "Tommy":I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o'beer,
At the end of the day, you know you're a better man than Ayukat, not only for the skills that you have kept an open mind to learn, but also for that fact that you know better than to throw your toys out of the pram like an impetuous child. Also, never argue with an idiot - he'll drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:
O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's ``Thank you, Mister Atkins,'' when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's ``Thank you, Mr. Atkins,'' when the band begins to play.
I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside";
But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide,
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.
Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy how's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.
We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints:
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind,"
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind,
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's "Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind.
You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country," when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
But Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool - you bet that Tommy sees! -
Hear, hear, Gedanken.
Aside from what has already been mentioned...20 years after my ROD particular friendships made in NS have held the test of time. These men continue to be there for me today when I've needed a favour or two, no questions asked. I would not have known them but for NS, and today they are not only in Singapore but around the world. -
wah lau... but in the first place, as G has mentioned, the young punk never served NS before!
what right has he to say such things? all he sounds like is a cowardly weasle. -
He could be basing too much on what he sees in movies, like his later posts. He could have older pals telling him lousy experiences in NS but not telling him the positive side of things. Thus, the dark side clouds him.Originally posted by CX:wah lau... but in the first place, as G has mentioned, the young punk never served NS before!
what right has he to say such things? all he sounds like is a cowardly weasle. -
yes, the brotherhood, which u r not able to find any else where.Originally posted by Kaczynski:Friendships forged remain as deep as you last..For people like Ayu, they will NEVER understand the meaning of Brotherhood..
these bros who r not only able to enjoy the fun together, but also able to suffer together, through the 10+yrs of NS...
these r the people whom u know u r able to trust, when the button is been pressed... -
not only that... even out of camp, out of uniform, u need someone to talk to, listen to you crap and have a beer with, just scroll through the list of old NS buddies... chances are, at least some will gladly join u for a drink and laugh about old times.
its been some years and my NS buddies still meets up once in awhile... -
At the end of the day, these guys were the ones you had to count on to watch your back - that kind of thing goes a long way. I think lion02 would know the unit culture well enough to know that saying "I would not go on a mission with you" is the deepest form of insult.