Friday, April 14, 2006

Army Life...

The past one week has been rather "interesting" as i am making my transition from a civilian to a soldier. Not a pleasant one i would say and my arms have begging me to apply for a death certificate to certify that my arms are officially dead.
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Okay okay, i know that is lame. =p

Anyway, during the time i was in camp, i am exposed to an environment which i will be in for 2 years, or 1 year 10 months to be exact. No complains though. While someone like me in Tekong share a bunk with 9-11 other people, i share my cabin(Navy's term la) with 3 others. And yes, i am right when i said i will be caught in trunks everyday. Wah lao! Even running also wearing trunks...

Maybe it is because of the differences in objectives hence there is the following differences between Naval Diving Unit(NDU) and BMT in Tekong:

1) In NDU, we don't call our superiors Sir but simply instructors. We only call people whose rank is Staff Sergeant and above Sir. Most instructors are 1st Sgt by the way.

2) While people in Tekong have foot drills in their No. 4 everyday, there are only 2 foot drills sessions over 7 days. So most of the time i am in PT kit and either attending some talks or doing physical training.

3) I am not sure about Tekong but in NDU, the buddy system is damn important. You go anywhere must have a buddy accompanying you. You go toilet must have buddy with you. If you forget to bring something from your cabin and you need to retrieve it, a buddy must also go with you. You fall out and retrieve something under the instructions from the instructor also must have a buddy accompanying you. In short, you go anywhere must have someone beside you. If you are caught alone, you drop and give the instructor 20. No questions asked. The rationale for being so particular is because once you are out in the sea, you have to look out for your buddy and vice versa. So if anyone meet with any thing, at least there is someone to alert the instructors and everyone's safety is ensured. It is damn dangerous when diving you know? Especially when you are in the sea...

4) The instructors are particularly interested in your physical and discipline aspects. Other aspects are more relaxed. For example, your boots need to be black and not shiny. If the whole company perform well and meet the expectations of the instructors, you can book out on friday night. Although there is still the stand-by bed and area inspection(NS guys should know la hor), as long as you meet the minimum requirements, you are okay. For physical, they are damn damn demanding. They expect the whole company to reach Gold standard for the IPPT. What is the Gold standard? More than 6 pull-up, 9 mins and 14 secs for 2.4km run. No need to elaborate more hor?

5) NDU unit is the only unit in the whole of SAF to have Hell Week and maybe only Commandos POW treatment training come close to it. I am not sure of the Hell Week thing but heard it is a BIG test on your physical and metal strength. After this will be the diving phase where you learn how to dive. If nothing goes wrong, on 3rd of Nov i will be commissioned as a Naval Combat Diver. Than i will be sent to either Clearance Diving Group(CDG) or Underwater Demolition Group(UDG). That will however be another story. Haha.

So in short, for my two years of service, my main focus will be on physical and diving training and that is all i guess. NDU is not particular on how you look when assembling as a unit. As long as your No. 4 and No. 3 look presentable, your boots are black and your marching don't look like shit, nothing else matters. Most important is that your body is strong so you can perform physical demanding tasks. Imagine carrying oxygen tanks and running around okay?

Talking about life in NDU... well i would say in my company there are all sorts of people from all walks of life. You have a typical nerd whose conversations with you somehow can link back to academic. Than you have those typical Ah Bengs who can't stop sprouting vulgarities. Their sentences start and end with vulgarities. Than there are those whose mouth move but not their hands. I especially remember one guy who simply freak the whole company out. His facial expression, his actions, the way he eat and the way he communicate with people... simply freaking. I am damn scared during the live-firing session he might just... I don't demand much la. Just remember that i have spelled out how my funeral should be like ya?

But luckily they are the minority. Majority are still okay. They are your average guy like me(haha) who follow instructions and generally law-abiding citizens, no, soldiers. We talk about anything under the sun, ranging from girls to cars to anything. We get along well and ya, that should be it.

The food is excellent and they are damn generous with their servings. In fact, i felt like a pig for the first few days. Being fed with lots of food and pumping me up so they can kill me later. Besides, i heard that the cookhouse in NDU is regarded as No. 1 among all the camps. Wow.

Okay, enough for today. Got to stack up FHM and Maxim now. Now now i am not one of those desperate guys who need to see girls in skimpy outfits ya? Need the pictures in the magazines to paste on my cabinet TO distract my instructors during stand-by bed inspection. =)