Training to be soldiers
Fight for our land
Once in our lives
Two years of our time
Have you ever wondered
Why must we serve?
Because we love our land
And we want it to be free to be free.. Yah!
Training to be soliders, the first song that a recruit will learn how to sing while marching in Pulau Tekong.
On 23rd August 2011, I was called to serve the nation. Being overweight, I was placed in the Obese BMT batch which lasted for 19 weeks inside the island. Enlistment day should be the day where I was scared and nervous as I did not know what to expect in the days to come.
It's not about what you leave behind, it's about what you'll gain in the days ahead.
This was the message that greeted me on the Pulau Tekong jetty. It was showing a picture of a couple bidding their goodbyes to each other. Certainly, most of us would be leaving our girlfriends behind while we will be wearing green and doing regimental stuff for the next 2 years. As we walked on, there came the "stairway to hell", whereby enlistees were separated from their parents for a briefing. Going up the staircase, we were lead to a centralized area where we had to take our weight and hand in our beloved pink IC which we will only see 2 years later.
After which, we had to sit down at an area where we were briefed on what we will be give upon enlistment such as our sacred 11B which will represent us as members of the Singapore Armed Forces for the next 2 years. We were also given our identification tags, more affectionately known as dog tags which we are required to wear at all times. Besides the standard stuff, they also gave us an application form for AVIVA insurance in which the premium will be deducted from our allowance of S$420 each month. The moment came when we were handed a small slip of paper containing our company. I was officially a recruit of Falcon Company.
We were then directed to move to another area at the back whereby our CSM, or company sergeant major briefs us about what to do when we enter the main auditorium for our swearing into national service and speech by the Commanding Officer (CO) of BMTC School 1, where Falcon Company is in. After what seemed like forever, it's finally time to be reunited with our parents. We were told to stand in a nice straight row in senang diri position and wait for our parents to pick us up. Next programme, which was also the last of the day was to have lunch with our parents. Menu of the day was chicken rice and an orange as I remember. Finally, an announcement was made for all new recruits to proceed to stand in rows of threes in the parade square (which after that was known to us as platoon level) to bid a last goodbye to our parents and off to the coyline we go.
We were then segregated into our respective platoons before being brought to collect our barang barang which was our field pack and duffel bag which consists of the items we need for our BMT. It was a torturous process as I went through the items. They seem so unfamiliar to me. I looked through the items and imagined myself using them while in the field. How will it be like?
After a long bag check, it was time to rest in our bunks for a little while. We were then told to proceed downstairs to have our infamous hair cuts. The roughness of the blades from the barber could be felt. at every movement. The following activities in the day I have not much of an impression but I remember but I do remember calling my parents, learning how to do a water parade and finally having some bonding session with our commanders.
This pretty much sums up my enlistment day.
