Memoirs of a recruit (part 6)

The past week has been a week of highlights... Range and Field Camp!

Home On The Range

After days of practising in the IMT, it's time for us to go fire using live ammunition.

And that means Range for 2 days.

It's not that kind of stuff where you simply drop by at a site and do what you have to do for a few hours, then leave. The whole company had to stay there for the whole bloody day, from 8 in the morning to about midnight.

So for 2 days, I could only sleep at around 1 a.m.. That's after we return to our bunks to have shower and shit and do other admin stuff.

The first day was Saturday... and it was allocated for trial shots alone... our actual tests will be on the subsequent Sunday.

Before the start of everything, I was very nervous because of the seriousness of it all... we're dealing with live ammunition! When I finally got my first magazine of live rounds and began my trial shot, I realized that I couldn't really take the noise and the recoil of the rifle when I fire. I tend to blink my eyes at the very moment I squeeze the trigger and the shot was fired -- something which didn't happen in IMT.

One memorable thing about the Range was the starry sky when night falls. You never get to see such a starry sky anywhere in Singapore!

And on the first night of the range exercise, I had fever, and because I didn't want to miss the tests, I used Panadol to keep my temperature under control... on the second day, aside from Panadol, I also drank lots of water to try rehydrating myself... my detail-mate Leon can testify as to how many times I went to the toilet during Range Day 2!

The tests turned out to be OK for me... the most difficult part was prone position without sandbag support. I did the night version for this test and none of my shots got in! However I managed to pass all the other positions of shooting, of which my favourite was the one where we stand in a foxhole with sandbags to support our arms.

Sick again

After trying to keep my temperature under control so as not to miss Range, I finally reported sick first thing on the day after Range.

At the medical centre, I finally found the car magazines which Colin and Shixiang read when they reported sick... they were old issues (year 2000 to 2001), but the cars inside were familiar models (to me, whose knowledge of cars is limited to Initial D cars). There were even a few articles on the Civic EK-9, and after reading those exciting comments about the EK-9, I grew to love that car even more!

Back to my illness, I was under the impression that as long as my cough wasn't cured, my body temperature will keep rising so as to resist the attack of the virus causing my cough, so I told the Medical Officer to change my cough medicine as the one I got last time wasn't effective enough.

So my new medicine contained some familiar pills like Paracetamol (main component of Panadol), Dequalinium and Chloramine. New ones include some brown cough mixture (instead of the pink one I got last time) and Vitamin C pills (which turned out to be very tasty).

Field Camp

Fortunately, I managed to recover from most of my illness by the time the Field Camp began. According to Army rules, however, I was still "on status", so I could not march with the rest of the company to the camp site... all the "status" people were to help do some admin work before boarding the tonner which will take us to the camp site.

The PES C Field Camp has a duration of only 4 days, so it wasn't so tough... for me who was on status, it was even less tough... every morning when they go for exercise and run, the status people will stay at the camp site to help look after the rifles of our platoon mates doing training, together with those who did guard duty on the previous day.

The Field Camp basically taught us not to take cleanliness for granted. There was obviously no toilet, so we had to pee at a selected site (which began to smell like a zoo after day 2). The place where we shit was divided into cubicles using canvas sheets... each cubicle consists of a... hole in the ground into which we drop our "bombs" and cover them with soil after we're done with our business.

And I actually tried shitting that way once... on Day 2 morning.

The training on movement under enemy fire was the most enjoyable one. We got to fire blank rounds (whose recoil was not as great as the one caused by live rounds) and all. It was a rewarding experience, except for the time when I volunteered to be the leader of a group of 3 during a practice drill... in that exercise alone, I got the greatest frequency of weapon stoppages.

The combat rations (long-shelf-life versions of a variety of rice and noodle dishes) were OK for me (though it was not so OK for most of the others), and when there was time for us to cook our own meals (we're given instant noodles)... those were the best moments for me during the whole field camp. I couldn't deny that I fould the instant noodles to be better than the combat rations...

As for clothing, I only had one set of No.4 (the camouflage patterned uniform) for the first 3 days (after which they will give us resupply for uniform). So you can imagine how my No.4 smells of ammonia after I finally got to rip it off my itchy back.

Yes, since we only get to apply talcum powder on the 1st and 2nd nights (they call it the "powder bath") instead of washing ourselves, my back got very itchy at the beginning of Day 3. Even after the camp, my back could still get so itchy that I would go into a convulsion and my face would suddenly get contorted in a way which will make those people around me think I was possessed.

Memoirs of a recruit (part 5)

Here again.

Only because I made a very stupid mistake by forgetting to mention this point in my last post...

E-Mart

After weeks of waiting, I finally got a chance to go to the E-mart in Tekong BMTC.

On that day, probably the most "free" day I'll ever get in my BMT life, we had lots of admin time before and after dinner, so most of us in the platoon decided to visit the E-Mart to shop for stuff we might need in the field camp.

The system there allows us to use the SAF subsidy for buying items which are already issued. For extra items (and there's a wide range of extra tems like tidbits, cup noodles, and even the "Pi Pa Gao", a traditional Chinese proprietary medicine for sore throat!) we pay our own cash.

I bought extra T-shirt, singlet, jockey cap (so that I can then wash my original one which was soaked with sweat), toilet roll (a good precaution, because I dropped my original roll on the wet toilet floor on the next day), Swiss Knife (I lost mine recently) and other stuff. I didn't buy snacks because of my low appetite caused by the gastric problem.

The queue was bloody long, and I waited for a very long time before I was able to pay for my stuff and go.

What's worse... only after exiting the shop did I realize that I forgot to buy the L-torch and Chinagraph.

Too bad... the queue was still long, and most of my platoon mates were done with shopping and we're to go back to our bunks...

P.S. I'm booking in again this evening... and my gastric problem is almost gone now. Now I can look forward to meals like the rest of the guys again!

Memoirs of a recruit (part 4)

"Opinions are like assholes... everybody has one."

This statement was made by one of our sergeants while giving a lecture.

Seriously... deep down, our sergeants are like us recruits... after all, they're at most a few years older than us...

When the sergeants are away, the recruits have fun. When the recruits are away, the sergeants have fun.

...

Oh, you might be wondering why I had the time and the technology to blog on a warm Thursday afternoon... shouldn't I be somewhere on Tekong doing circuit training?

That's because they arranged for our live firing session to be on this Saturday and Sunday, which means we don't get to book out this weekend. So... we booked out on Wednesday night!

0100, Sick bay

The time and place where I slept after my last book-in.

Yeah... my fever was quite persistent (a typical Tekong-fever case), and I had to forget to bring the medicine back home during book-out (causing me to have to rely on Panadol back home), so while I prepared for book-in thinking that I'd recovered from fever, my temperature rose again at Tekong... to 39.4 degrees Celcius!

And I had gastric problems too... caused by the medication.

Obviously I had to report sick.

So I did... and ended up in the sick bay on drip... to rehydrate me.

For the rest of the three days. I was on status (yes... I'm a recruit and you're a recuit too, but I've got status!!!)

It's good to be on status. Yeah right.

We get to occupy the foremost positions of our platoon while queueing for food at the cookhouse. A good thing, but for me it didn't help much... my gastric problem caused me to have no mood for eating at all.

While the others are doing physical training, we do area cleaning... like removing weeds on the roads, etc. The whole thing is so pointless; I suggest that they set aside a piece of land for those recruits on status to grow tapioca instead.

Memoirs of a recruit (part 3)

Last week was the most eventful week in my NS life so far, but it wasn't a very happy one.

We started on new stuff like the IMT (Individual Marksmanship Training), IFC (Individual Field Craft) and I volunteered to be one of the song I/C's (those who lead songs when we march).

And here's the catch... I fell sick near the middle of the week.

IMT done in an air-conditioned room with programs that simulate rifle shooting. The whole thing was nice... and my shots were OK... not professional, but at least not too bad. I think it's effective in letting us practise the things to be done in the live range before we actually go there.

IFC consists of the skills we need when doing combat in the field... I'm not that much of a pro in that area... for the recovery from prone position part, I'm the weakest in my section. I didn't fare so badly for the camouflaging part... except that I only found a suitable hiding spot after much trials which failed when my sergeant asked me whether I thought that was a good place to hide.

I have always wanted to be a song I/C, except that I got sore throat after we got the song lyrics from our sergeants (which meant that we'd better start doing our jobs).

Worse still, the sore throat developed into fever. The procedure for reporting sick was quite complicated, and my bunk mate who was very sick actually had to march with the whole platoon to the cookhouse for lunch before he could actually go to see the Medical Officer.

Memoirs of a recruit (part 2)

Back from Tekong resort.

Yeah... actually I agree with what our Officer Commanding said... we're there to keep fit and we're paid for it! Food and lodging provided... with a gym and a swimming pool (that is, if you have the time to march there...)... it's almost like a condominium!

Heh... OK lah... except for the lack of time and some freedom, life at Tekong as a PES C recruit is wonderful.

Feedback on how we're fed

Well, when we just went to BMTC, we had to finish our meals by the time set by our sergeant... and of course, we're "not to make the sergeant wait".

But there were times when, oh, just take a bloody look at the queue!

So, some smart guy gave a suggestion... the last guy in the platoon to collect his meal will report to the sergeant who will then set the time by which we're to finish eating.

And I tell you... it's a much better system!

2-day-2-night book-in

Last Thursday night we booked in after the Chinese New Year break, just to go for training on Friday (whole day) and Saturday (morning).

We witnessed the power of the M-16 S1 rifle we saw the round hit stuff like sandbags and concrete slabs... the only letdown was that they didn't show what the baby would do to a watermelon.

They did give us a description of it, though... small entrance, big exit. Well, I've heard Maoxin's more detailed narration on that process many times already...

Another highlight of that day was the 3 km route march... we marched 2km before, but this time, in addition to marching around the school and the coastal route (a part of which smelled of sewage), there was a route in the wilderness as well... I really enjoy singing during the march, except that most of us did not know the songs they're leading us in singing...

I think they should give us the lyrics of the songs we're to sing beforehand... and it's only recently that I learnt that we have 2 song IC's in our platoon. Hmm...

Saturday morning we did another circuit training and I got OWNED by the Star Jump and Dips stations... and after that, we cleaned the barrels of our rifles (it's the first time I'm doing it!), sent our arms to the Armskote, had lunch,and signed on the Book-in-book-out-book (I call it the BIBOB... rhymes with be-bop). And just before falling in for book-out...

...it rained.

Goodness, it's the first time it rained since I went to BMTC!

Originally we're to fall in and march in the rain towards the jetty because our platoon commander believed that "we wouldn't melt in the rain". However, in the end we were so slow in falling in that he dropped the plan and we all jogged towards the jetty... haha.

...

Got to book in tonight again... and I'm not complaining!

Memoirs of a recruit (part 1)

It felt like yesterday when I was waiting for my day of enlistment (before which I watched Memoirs of a Geisha on its first day of screening).

And now... it's been a week since I became your friendly neighbourhood recruit-next-bunk!

It's been a very enjoyable week (even with the foot drills) with Leopard Company Platoon 4 Section 1... with a "very funny" platoon commander, sergeants of various degrees of "nice-ness", and of course, nice platoon mates!

First night

Adapting to the new environment was a must, of course. On the first night, I couldn't shit, but the next morning I knew I had to force myself to do so, otherwise it will snowball (or "shit-ball", for that matter) until I get stones in my large intestine.

My first night there was one of the most beautiful memories... the moment I lay on my bed and drew up the blankets was really an "Oh-my-God" moment!

Equipment blues

The water bottles we're given looks cool, but it had this very stubborn layer of substance on the inner side of the bottle which gave the water a bitter taste... so bitter that I couldn't make myself drink it during my first water parade (a platoon-wide drinking exercise).

The problem only disappeared after 2 to 3 days.

Doing the SBO (skeletal battle order) was a problem as well; my water bottle pouches kept dangling outwards unlike those which the others did... I managed to solve the problem only by securing some strap to a hook, a procedure which I forgot to carry out during the initial stages of doing my SBO.

Unlike those who have experience in uniformed groups, for me it's the first time I'm wearing boots. And having to run 4 levels up to my bunk doesn't help either. Because of the size of the boot (my boot is bigger than a step on the stairs), I usually get very clumsy when I go up and down the stairs in boots. I think I nearly fell thrice, and I'm still trying to adjust to that way of walking.

The socks given for physical training were good... with extra padding for areas like the heels and the balls of the feet, but I still miss my good old toe socks! However, maybe because of the good absorbency of the SAF socks, my toes didnt feel that sticky after physical training exercises as I imagined it to be.

Draw Arms!

Getting my rifle was surely an experience (especially with the solemn evening ceremony that marked it), and while I thought it would be hard to strip the rifle (for cleaning and inspection), it was easier than I thought, and being able to learn to strip the rifle greatly boosted my confidence as a soldier (for no apparent reason).

Just when I thought all was well...

When we send arms back to the armskote, we had to oil our rifles to prevent rusting. Most of the time I couldn't apply oil evenly, so I had to use my finger to even out the oil. Never mind, sending arms is usually followed by night snacks and shower.

It's drawing arms that I'm feeling uneasy about... especially when there's little time to clean my rifle before our next activity. I don't want to dirty my cupboard, you see...

And the second time we practised stripping the rifle, I was slower than everyone else.

Laundry

Having to do laundry on my own was, perhaps, one of the greatest changes to my lifestyle BMT made. Since there was no washing machine for us to use, we're to wash our own clothes using pails given to us.

Washing shirts was made easier when I started using the shower instead of just the tap (which really takes damn long).

I was relieved, however, that the clothes were easier to dry than imagined. My No.4 (the long-sleeved shirt with camoflage patterns), which I washed one morning, became completely dry the same afternoon after I hung it out.

And even my towel, which I washed one night (for no reason) just before sleeping, dried up under the fan while I slept.

Time Crisis

It's said that the "personal admin time" will be a time slot (before lights-off time) allocated to us for doing stuff like shower, shitting and laundry, and that the average length of time for that slot is one hour.

However, most of the time, we're given free time for only about 30 minutes... there were days when they only gave us 20 minutes!

Being fast was one of the challenges I had to face there, then. My daily shower, on the average, took no more than 2 minutes, as I usually need more time for laundry. There was one day, of course, I only had time to wash my briefs (which I do daily).

Get shitty

The lack of time means that I couldn't choose the cubicle in the toilet that I wanted to use either.

So for me, a sitting toilet bowl user, it's bad news that the squatting ones outnumber the sitting ones 4 to 2.

To make it worse, in the middle of my week there, one of the sitting toilet bowls got jammed. With the shit still inside. Can you imagine?

And it was left as it was until the day I booked out... which was like 2 to 3 days. I sincerely hope that they called the plumber after we booked out to come remedy the problem before our next book-in (which is this evening).

People

There're quite a few interesting people in my platoon... like Habib and Sufiyan -- the squabbling duo in my bunk (they're in fact buddies who just love to exchange acid-tongued remarks for the fun of it), our very own Kelvin Tan, Nicholas Tse (I'm serious!), JJ Lim (too bad it's not JJ Lin), King Kong (our Malaysian PR who knows little English), King Barry (yeah, that's his name) and... erm... there'll surely be more interesting figures emerging in the future.

Anyway, my bunk mates nicknamed me "Manhunt". Not that I got a very nice bod after only one week of training (unless I'm PES A), but there was one night after the shower when I applied deodorant on my armpits... to allow the deodorant to dry up, I had to keep my arms away from my body for some time... and I was walking around in that pose... you know, I tend to shake my arms around a bit... I don't know lah, but they sort of thought it looked like a comical version of the way guys walk when they take part in manhunts... that's how I got that nickname.

Our sergeants came in various races and attitudes... there was once when we were told to bring down our rifles for sending arms... my bunk mates suggested bringing down our mess-mugs as well (for night snack) even though we're not told to do so.

One of our sergeants was a bit unhappy that we did that, and just when I thought we're going to get scolded, our platoon sergeant merely said that he liked to see us taking the initiative and "knowing what's going to happen next".

Clash of the funnymen

Anyway, I think Habib is the funniest guy in our platoon so far (he, too, said that he's a "very funny man")... he's our armskote in-charge (the one who takes charge of drawing and sending arms). There was once when we were to fall in for physical training and our sergeant wasn't around, we sabo'ed him to conduct our water parade and temperature taking exercise. Halfway through the thing, our platoon commander came by (and was startled by Kong's "41 degrees Celcius" temperature)... the first thing hs said to Habib was...

"Do you know that I'm a very observant man?"

"Yes, sir"

"Do you know you're wearing your socks inside out?"

Meals

The meals were OK there... there were times we got bumper lunches... times when we got beancurd dessert and ice-cream... and times when they gave us worms for breakfast.

No lah... it's just Mee Tai Mak fried in dark sauce... but to me they're just dirty maggots.

Booking in today

Yeah... I'm going back to Tekong today (I'm already starting to miss my bunk!), train for one day, and booking out on Saturday again!

I'll try to cover the stuff that happened in there on this blog... if there's the time.