Irrelevant:

Slowly but surely, most of us will adapt to army life and look back to it with fond memories. One of my friends used to claim that somehow, once a person puts on the number 4 (army uniform), all good sense and intelligence will desert him. :scratchhead:

Irrelevant:

When I was a recruit, I had a huge culture shock, even though I was in a uniformed group for my CCA and physically I was in great shape (among the top 5 in a platoon of 40). The main stress point for me is in the use of profanities at every turn, with or without provocation. Although I was rarely the target of abuse, the \"sensitive\" me was equally stressed when my fellow platoon members were the targets.

But slowly but surely, most of us will adapt to army life and look back to it with fond memories. One of my friends use to claim that somehow, once a person puts on the number 4 (army uniform), all good sense and intelligence will desert him. :scratchhead:

sall:

Oppsgal:

I am thinking of letting my kid be independent when reach P1. take the school bus own to go school, with no maids carry bag no parents bring to the waiting spot to wait for bus.

I feel that P1 is a bit too young to be on his own. Maybe from P4, the children are more mature and that is a better age to train to be independent.

LOLMum:

atrecord:

oh, on the overseas training and condoms, yes, it is true. Everyone would be given 2, and I remembered during my first Thailand training, we were given them on the bus. I put them in a pocket in my army jacket (which we were advised to buy as it was cold there during year end).


Of course this camouflaged jacket was something that everyone shunned after NS. And more than 10 yr later, when for some reason I packed my wardrobe, I actually found the packets still there. They were all dried up when I opened them...

quote]


You-a good boy!


after 10 years, the stuff were still there .......... :faint: :faint: :faint:

LOLMum:

my male friends told me about given condoms whenever they travel overseas for training. but thought they were joking.


realised two years ago, it was true cos' my nephews were given these things when they went taiwan. so.........................

better be safe than sorry, i guess. all those young boys............

atrecord:

Some insights into NS, and I'm assuming that in principle nothing much would have changed with time (since my time...):


- the first word that recruits must learn is discipline. A simple word, but it is not so easy for many boys. Many would be used to been treated like princes at home, watch tv or sleep or call pple (or do anything else) as and when they like. In the army, you do as you are told most of the time. Even during the remainder time, you cannot 'anything anyhow do'. This is the culture shock for almost everyone.

- be prepared to be toughened up, usually through enforced physical training (PT) and punishments (which are designed to toughen one up physically and mentally). Other than the lots of PTs (you will be surprised that the human body can go to such extremes), the punishments are also designed to train up the muscles (push-ups, run-and-touch-the-tree-and-come-back, etc.).

- teamwork is key. It is no longer 'I think only for myself'. If there are some weak links in your platoon, section, there is every chance that the whole team will be disadvantaged/punished regularly. Learn (quickly) to help him/them so that the whole team will benefit. The weak links must also learn to quickly help themselves, or risk being 'blanket-partied' if he regularly lands the rest of the team in trouble.

- (This one I'm not sure whether is still the same) Be prepared to be exposed and in fact immersed in vulgarities. It is just the way the army environment is. From a pure-breeding cultured person, it is not difficult (and it usually shouldn't take long) to start uttering obscenities in conversation. It is not uncommon to modify proper English sentences with highly redundant adjectives made of English (or Hokkien) expletives. E.g. 'Why are you still fxxxing sleeping when the rest of your platoon mates have already <hokkien variant> fall in???' My battalion commander had famously defended my platoon when the brigade commander commented that we were very vulgar (during an exercise in Thailand), saying that it is good to have aggressive soldiers...

- If a mummy's boy has always lived a 'sheltered life', he will get to experience new things in terms of 'Area Cleaning', when he will sweep/mop floor, wipe cupboard, windows, bunk, beds, wash toilets, clear rubbish, etc.

- learn to be smart and safe: the various weapons are highly dangerous if safety regulations are not followed properly.

- know first hand the responsibility a singaporean has to shoulder, and how difficult it is to go about doing it - tough training, learn to use a weapon, teamwork, etc.

- (this one I personally think is useful) learn to put things in perspectives and take things easy. if one is very stubborn and particular about everything, it is very difficult to live the 2 yr with so many other people (with all sorts of personalities and characters). u will need to live with/accept others and adapt/be flexible about many things. (Pls do not take offence, but) I honestly attribute this partly as the reason why most local guys are usually not as petty as women.


All in, I do agree that it made a man out of me after I went through the 2.5 yr, which is often labelled as time wasted...

LOLMum:

my male friends told me about given condoms whenever they travel overseas for training. but thought they were joking.


realised two years ago, it was true cos' my nephews were given these things when they went taiwan. so.........................

better be safe than sorry, i guess. all those young boys............

Notto:

LOLMum:

my male friends told me about given condoms whenever they travel overseas for training. but thought they were joking.


realised two years ago, it was true cos' my nephews were given these things when they went taiwan. so.........................

better be safe than sorry, i guess. all those young boys............

i can't believe it!! :scared:

LOLMum:

my male friends told me about given condoms whenever they travel overseas for training. but thought they were joking.


realised two years ago, it was true cos' my nephews were given these things when they went taiwan. so.........................

better be safe than sorry, i guess. all those young boys............

LOLMum:

NS is also when most boys come out as a MAN (no more virgin) okay......

Nebbermind:

BMT was a culture shock for many of my friends. Never in their lives had they heard so much profanities. And I wouldn't even saying it's humbling....more like totally deprived of self esteem!! Sometimes not only u get scolded...your whole family also drawn into the picture!!


Still alot of these friends survived...even those who were still taking schoolbus during JC time!! *LOL*

phankao:

Nebbermind:

BMT was a culture shock for many of my friends. Never in their lives had they heard so much profanities. And I wouldn't even saying it's humbling....more like totally deprived of self esteem!! Sometimes not only u get scolded...your whole family also drawn into the picture!!


Still alot of these friends survived...even those who were still taking schoolbus during JC time!! *LOL*

got schoolbus in JC?

phankao:

got schoolbus in JC?