Friday, February 22, 2008
"Today is our book out day and we are so happy YEAH~"
Three more times of that chanting and singing till we POP. Yeah it is 3 weeks to POP. Damn fast.
2 weeks of confinement, field camp, sit test, tekan session, all that sums up the basics of the basic military training experience.
Even though sergeant X (codename: BM) emphasises a lot on platoon spirit, it is just not possible for 50 people to be united as one. Otherwise, cliques would not have even existed in the first place. Playing section level is the most rampant phenomenum (sorry for the bad spelling) in my platoon. Though I am not entirely against it but it does make me feel left out sometimes, especially during lunch time when you see spaces between people that are reserved for their own section mates.
That is life eh.
************
During situational test (something like completing missions), one of my Detail mates told me that the pigs would fly. So I asked him why, and he told me,
"because your platoon is the only platoon that did not kena tekan."
Which I completely agreed.
Everytime when I talk to company mates from other platoon, the first thing that they will comment is platoon 3 very suay. Why? Cos we have got sergeant BM! He is famous in the coy for making us do all the tekan stuffs, and the extra stuffs. Most of the time, we are always the last platoon to go to the cookhouse whenever he is the Duty Instructor of the day. He will make sure that we march properly before receiving our food. Some sergeants heck care the chin-up regime but he will never fail to make us do it even if the training before the lunch/dinner is already PT. Whenever we come back from Standard Obstable Cross grounds, he will always make sure we run by the furthest route possible and one more round around the cluster of companies before going back to the company line. He will never fail to knock all of us down for falling in 10 seconds late and whenever he sees sloppy movements.
So usually, the other platoons will be slacking while we did all the shit. No wonder that they say the pigs will fly when they see that we did not get tekan at all during the first day of Sit Test.
Oh I forgot to mention, he has also burnt much of our admin time. It is both bitter and sour in our heart when we see other platoon resting and slacking in their bunks when we are wasting our time doing some meaningless things. Though not everything is meaningless (like night PT), but I would appreciate more if we have more time to do our own stuffs so that we dont have to wake up 45minutes before the actual revellie time to wash our laundry, doing person stuffs etc.
However, I don't hate him as much as I did during BMT. I hated him during confinement, thinking that he is some crazy guy shouting and screaming his head off for things that I deemed to be of negligible significance. Now I am beginning to see sme of his rationales, though I still cannot tolerate his style of treating us sometimes. He sometimes asks for nearly impossible demands that I find it ridiculous. Everything is for our own good, yes, but there need to be a limit where we draw the line between stretching our potential and injuring ourselves.
Sometimes, I just feel like slapping him =)
Nonetheless, I am feeling fortunately to be in a more xiong coy actually. At least I know I can tahan (sort of) through all the shit that they throw at us, and the often-deemed-insignificant-requirements are actually little things that will make us feel proud as a platoon, as a company. Though I am whining in most parts of my post, I still feel that I have been to the right company. (not like I have a choice anyway) The only regret that I have is that I haven't got to know my platoon mates well enough. Given only 10 weeks in BMT, I guess I have done the best I could to know as many people as possible. You know, I am not the high profile kinda guy =)
That is all from me for now, next week IPPT and live range, all the best, I want to pass my IPPT and stand a chance to go to the command school. Hopefully, I don't OOC there.
Three more times of that chanting and singing till we POP. Yeah it is 3 weeks to POP. Damn fast.
2 weeks of confinement, field camp, sit test, tekan session, all that sums up the basics of the basic military training experience.
Even though sergeant X (codename: BM) emphasises a lot on platoon spirit, it is just not possible for 50 people to be united as one. Otherwise, cliques would not have even existed in the first place. Playing section level is the most rampant phenomenum (sorry for the bad spelling) in my platoon. Though I am not entirely against it but it does make me feel left out sometimes, especially during lunch time when you see spaces between people that are reserved for their own section mates.
That is life eh.
************
During situational test (something like completing missions), one of my Detail mates told me that the pigs would fly. So I asked him why, and he told me,
"because your platoon is the only platoon that did not kena tekan."
Which I completely agreed.
Everytime when I talk to company mates from other platoon, the first thing that they will comment is platoon 3 very suay. Why? Cos we have got sergeant BM! He is famous in the coy for making us do all the tekan stuffs, and the extra stuffs. Most of the time, we are always the last platoon to go to the cookhouse whenever he is the Duty Instructor of the day. He will make sure that we march properly before receiving our food. Some sergeants heck care the chin-up regime but he will never fail to make us do it even if the training before the lunch/dinner is already PT. Whenever we come back from Standard Obstable Cross grounds, he will always make sure we run by the furthest route possible and one more round around the cluster of companies before going back to the company line. He will never fail to knock all of us down for falling in 10 seconds late and whenever he sees sloppy movements.
So usually, the other platoons will be slacking while we did all the shit. No wonder that they say the pigs will fly when they see that we did not get tekan at all during the first day of Sit Test.
Oh I forgot to mention, he has also burnt much of our admin time. It is both bitter and sour in our heart when we see other platoon resting and slacking in their bunks when we are wasting our time doing some meaningless things. Though not everything is meaningless (like night PT), but I would appreciate more if we have more time to do our own stuffs so that we dont have to wake up 45minutes before the actual revellie time to wash our laundry, doing person stuffs etc.
However, I don't hate him as much as I did during BMT. I hated him during confinement, thinking that he is some crazy guy shouting and screaming his head off for things that I deemed to be of negligible significance. Now I am beginning to see sme of his rationales, though I still cannot tolerate his style of treating us sometimes. He sometimes asks for nearly impossible demands that I find it ridiculous. Everything is for our own good, yes, but there need to be a limit where we draw the line between stretching our potential and injuring ourselves.
Sometimes, I just feel like slapping him =)
Nonetheless, I am feeling fortunately to be in a more xiong coy actually. At least I know I can tahan (sort of) through all the shit that they throw at us, and the often-deemed-insignificant-requirements are actually little things that will make us feel proud as a platoon, as a company. Though I am whining in most parts of my post, I still feel that I have been to the right company. (not like I have a choice anyway) The only regret that I have is that I haven't got to know my platoon mates well enough. Given only 10 weeks in BMT, I guess I have done the best I could to know as many people as possible. You know, I am not the high profile kinda guy =)
That is all from me for now, next week IPPT and live range, all the best, I want to pass my IPPT and stand a chance to go to the command school. Hopefully, I don't OOC there.
sharkfin fullstopped here
Sunday, February 10, 2008
I thought the CNY break is a very long break, but it is going to end today, 2130.
Come to think of it, I booked out on Wednesday
It seems like a long time, from wednesday to sunday.
But seriously, book out time FLIES
and book in time passes like
*description beyond my limited vocab
One more month to POP
it is just 2 months of the 20 months that we have to serve
Life goes on
ORD next year November.
Come to think of it, I booked out on Wednesday
It seems like a long time, from wednesday to sunday.
But seriously, book out time FLIES
and book in time passes like
*description beyond my limited vocab
One more month to POP
it is just 2 months of the 20 months that we have to serve
Life goes on
ORD next year November.
sharkfin fullstopped here
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
During fieldcamp, I tell myself that I am going to endure this shit through. Field camp is the worst tekan camp I have ever been through, so far in my life.
Even the bunks back in the company line is heaven when you are outfield where cleaniness is a luxury. More so when it actually rained for the last 3 days of the camp. We slept with water, mud, dirty cloths, camou on the face. We ate rations that actually taste worse than the cook house food (with the exception of biscuits and chocolates). Some say we were treated like dogs when we do duck walks with the rifle overhead. The stand-by underwear is unforgetable, and everything out/in of the fieldpack in 2 minutes. The mind game that the commanders play with us during the fieldcamp. The chaos in the arti strike night. blah blah blah
Unfortunately, I cannot describe everything in detail.
For those who are going for fieldcamp later, some advice:
1. Get used to high kneeling, we did that everytime when we fall in (instead of standing up to account for strength)
2. Don't be afraid to get dirty, especially during wet weather
3. Always pack your stuffs neatly. Don't squeeze everything in. You never know what is going to happen
4. Dig your shellscrapes properly (or you kena re-dig like me)
5. Get used to the darkness in the night, you would not be allowed to use an untacticalised torchlight. (for my coy, we are not allowed to use it, yet for some unknown reason we have to bring the torch)
6. Be swift in your movement, even in FBO
7. Try to survive, shouldn't be too hard I guess, even I did =)
That is all from me. I hope I can go for the class gathering on friday night. Really miss them loads
and my friends.
and many many more.
Lastly...
HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR EVERYONE
Even the bunks back in the company line is heaven when you are outfield where cleaniness is a luxury. More so when it actually rained for the last 3 days of the camp. We slept with water, mud, dirty cloths, camou on the face. We ate rations that actually taste worse than the cook house food (with the exception of biscuits and chocolates). Some say we were treated like dogs when we do duck walks with the rifle overhead. The stand-by underwear is unforgetable, and everything out/in of the fieldpack in 2 minutes. The mind game that the commanders play with us during the fieldcamp. The chaos in the arti strike night. blah blah blah
Unfortunately, I cannot describe everything in detail.
For those who are going for fieldcamp later, some advice:
1. Get used to high kneeling, we did that everytime when we fall in (instead of standing up to account for strength)
2. Don't be afraid to get dirty, especially during wet weather
3. Always pack your stuffs neatly. Don't squeeze everything in. You never know what is going to happen
4. Dig your shellscrapes properly (or you kena re-dig like me)
5. Get used to the darkness in the night, you would not be allowed to use an untacticalised torchlight. (for my coy, we are not allowed to use it, yet for some unknown reason we have to bring the torch)
6. Be swift in your movement, even in FBO
7. Try to survive, shouldn't be too hard I guess, even I did =)
That is all from me. I hope I can go for the class gathering on friday night. Really miss them loads
and my friends.
and many many more.
Lastly...
HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR EVERYONE
sharkfin fullstopped here