After going through 3 weeks of training in the Armour Training Institude, my attitude towards training has changed. I remembered that i felt very depressed when i first came in because i realised that i wasn't in some slack vocation i thought i had been posted to. Instead, I am training to be an
Armour Infantry(AI) Specialist!
Secondly, i had to go through 18 weeks of training, the longest specialist training in the SAF. Which means I'll be getting my miserable pay for a longer period of time. On top of all these, my camp is in some corner of s'pore, it takes a very long time for the bus to reach my camp and a very long walk back from the bus stop to my camp. Not to mention the 'quality' food i'll have
My depression was compounded by the living conditions: Small bunks that were stuffy(i could feel the heat wave hitting me as i walked pass the bunk) and old toilets. The the basic essentials for a soldier who is gg to live there for 5 nights.(All these were relative to the bunk is SISPEC which is very very new so it isn't a fair comparison)
But as time passed, i grew accustomed to the place. We solved our transportation problem by indenting a bus to send us from our camp to cck mrt. We resigned our fate to the food there. Our morale and mindset changed for the better after a series of talks with the CO, OC and most importantly PC1,Warrent Koh. They gave us a better idea of what AI is like, what to look forward to(Training in ROC and the 3 days of r&r), what is expected of us etc.
What i like most is the freedom and respect they give us.
Warrent Koh once said:"Who are you?"
We didn't know the answer at first but he taught us this word
We answered:"Commanders!"
He replied:"Then behave like one"
It struck me.
Commanders are not suppose to have a low morale(or show that they have one) or else how are they going to lead their men?
Commanders are suppose to be an expert in everything they do(That's when i strived to do my best to listen to all the lectures to learn as much as i can)
Commanders are suppose to be fit(And i started to push myself to give my all in the pt sessions)
On top of this, i have a bunch of fantastic bunkmates, whats more, most of them were either my sispec or bmt bunkmates. sispec or bmt, they are all fun to be with.
Life is going to get tough but with my friends and my instructors by my side, i'm gg to pass out in the grandest fashion and be proud to be an Armour Infantry Specialist.
I hope this serves as in inspiration to all those who happen to be in a similar situation as i was in.
-Mark-
6/25/2006 07:26:00 am
Warrrent Officer: " Teo Jun Yi,Mark.... ATI(Armour Training Institute)"
Me: "yeeeEEessSS!!!!"
It was like me anxiously waiting for my A level results and when the results were out it was a feeling of indescribable joy n elation. I'm finally out of
that place. Not that it was that bad but i just wanted a change in environment badly.
The sergeants there are nice(some), they r willing to teach and impart what they know. Not all of them do it in the way i like it while others just have an attitude problem. I hate it when they are sacarstic, why cant they be straight to the point? And some other problems i shall not mention.
The few memorable things abt BSLC:
1. Ex Nutcracker. Who can ever forget this? 40++ hrs without sleep and in btw digging trenches for the whole night. Bearing thru' pain, abrasion, breakfast consisting of bread, kaya and.. soil! fatigue and always being bugged by bugs
2. Cleaning of toilets. Its so clean people would rather use my toilet than to go home n use theirs. haha
3. OC giving us a talk and ending off with a promise of a nights off.
4. Going to Cheveron and having my first glass of beer.
5. Eating cup noodles with a cup of cereal drink and listening to Jay Chou late at night wayy after lights off =p
6. Going to taka to eat.. It was someone's treat. hahaa
7. Sleeping in lectures =p
8. Sitting outside the bunk talking to my ai ren on the phone
Hope my new unit for the rest of my stay here in NS will be a fufilling and safe one.
-Mark-
6/01/2006 12:48:00 am
