National Service

it was during lunch the other day that a colleague of mine started talking about National service. I began counting and realised that it is now the 6th year since I stepped into the workforce after graduation from the university. Including the 4 years in NUS and the 2.5 years of compulsory conscription in Singapore, it was more than 11 years since I started my Basic Military Training in arch 2002.

It is also a coincidence that I recently read a reflection from someone who completed his Military Service in Singapore some 14 years back. He mentioned about 4 lessons he learnt in his NS that is very much applicable to his life now. I begin to think... did y NS experience add anything valuable at all?.....

To me, National Service was a complete waste of time. Quite frankly, from birth all the way to late teenage years, I know that my strength is always not in the physical stuff but rather on things that involve my brain. the IQ things. My PSLE, O levels and A levels results were better than national average, but when it comes to the Fitness stuff, that's where I'm falling behind And NS is all about fitness. at least, for the most of it.

I shall not lament on that issue here but perhaps, just perhaps, if I think hard enough, I can think of something valuable out of NS. So I begin to think....

1. "whatever you choose not to interfere means you endorse it"
I remember vividly one Sunday night after I booked in, I got asked to help out in some staging of a hall for the following day's speech by some big shot. Well, it is a request for help as technically, it was a Sunday evening and it is my off day still. Being a nice guy, I offered my assistance and went for it. It took longer than expected and as a result, we were late for Sunday night's roll call. Much to the anger of my Sgt who brought us there for the staging of the hall. To the rest, he was incapable of ensuring we finished the task on time. As a result, he took his anger out on us and punished us to show his prowess to the rest in the company. Yes, he was and is a bastard.
However, during the change parade (which is already banned in the military by that time), there was a new officer who was there. He just got posted in the unit, probably within the first 2 months and he is actually a friend's friend of mine. He knew me as we were from the same JC batch. he went to OCS but not me. being fresh from officers' school, i'm sure he knows what the regulations are. However, he kept quiet. probably not wanted to offend the sgt who has enjoying the sadistic punishment. The punishment went on for more than an hour and even other platoons' commanders were getting curious as to what happened and why were we punished so hard.
All in all, that officer just stood there and did nothing. he did not intervene and just watched on. From that day on, I know OCS to be a place where they train gutless people only to be commissioned by the President of Singapore to do absolutely nothing in the Army but to draw a salary higher than the rest. That's OCS for me. So the lesson I learnt is never allow something to go pass your eyes unchallenged. if you keep quiet, you are endorsing it.
Almost 12 years on, I am now working in the airport. I have responsibilities and my work does not really require me to be at the front line but rather, be in the office, behind some computer sending emails... however, I take it upon myself to walk the ground as much as I afford the time. it may be just a longer toilet break of something like that. Just so that I can see what is going on the ground for myself. There's only so much those reports can tell you. and when I see something that is out of line, I will address it. Be it a supervisor who is not really doing his job well, or a service staff who was rude to a passenger or something. when passengers have crossed the line, I too, will step in to intervene. Thankfully, when passengers see me, they often back down. Whatever I choose not to intervene, I am endorsing it.

2. "The guy doing the lowly job knows best"
I am one of the lucky ones not be chosen to be an officer of a specialist in the Army. well, I was chosen to be a specialist but I did not complete the course. A long story that I will not spend time here talking about it. I have a friend who was in-charge of cleaning the carpark that our battalion uses. well, only the permanent staff (i.e. the regulars) drive to the camp. the ordinary NSFs like us rely on public transport or some, the family members will ferry them to and fro. So every morning, this friend of mine, together with his other platoon mates will have to sweep up the carpark full of leaves and throw away the bag full of leaves. This happened even if it is drizzling. It was really an insult as you'll see A'level and diploma holders all sweeping the compound. Whoever said "you better study hard if not you'll end up as a road sweeper" is not entirely correct.
So one day, the CO is driving into the car park. The guy ultimately in-charge of the area is the Sergeant major. so he instructed them to sweep it really well. the idea is to show that he is really hard working and that the CO can promote him as soon as possible. politics and lots of boot licking in the Army.
then one day, it rained. And the carpark flooded. The CO opened the car door and his boots were sinking into the water. if the CSM had his way, I'm sure he would have lied down in that pool so that the CO can step on him instead of the water. Ya, just like some eunuch in China. totally all out to lick the boots.
As you can imagine, after the incident, the CSM wasn't too pleased. He scolded the platoon who was suppose to clean the carpark and reprimanded them for not doing a good job, resulting in him losing "face" in front of the CO when his boots were all wet. (yes, the boots of the Army CO cannot be dirtied cos he is wimp who has problem cleaning his own boots)
Then suddenly, out of nowhere, my friend said "encik (uncle in malay), you ask us to sweep all the leaves everyday, so the grass all die due to the lack of natural fertiliser, then when it rains, the rain water wash all the soil and sand into the drains chocking them up. naturally, it will lead to flooding."
everyone then giggled at the supidity of the CSM. well, we all know that if the CSM had brains, he would not have signed on to be a regular right?
lesson to me was very clear, if you want to know more about a job, speak to the one who does it on a daily basis. He knows best. Try looking at things from his angle. I never liked a top-down approach on things. respect the guy even if he hold a lowly position. he knows things that no one knows. Not even the CEO of your organisation.

That's all for now....