I was on course.

And someone asked me to update:)

So i shall put up my reflections. And maybe my essays. On love. and on life. So hard to think. sigh

My Reflection

It’s the 3rd week of EOAC. The course has just finished Ex. Tulip and we’re currently into Ex. Orchid. This week was another week of learning about battle procedure, about terrain analysis and about consolidating what we learnt in Tulip and applying it in Orchid.

In all honesty, I have not understood the whole process about Terrain Analysis. I can honestly say that we all are putting in our best effort into understanding and application of all the knowledge we have learnt in 2 short weeks. Learning has to be done at breakneck speed, and sometimes, the fishing rods given to us are not enough; we need time to figure out the techniques of fishing, the location of where to fish etc. We definitely require more experience and practice, but I can safely say that all of us have a positive attitude and are consciously aware of the responsibility the organization has placed upon us.

In Singapore, the Army is looked upon as an organization that attracts inept people into the service due to the high paying nature of the job. In fact, most people deride the regulars in the army for being useless in the outside world and join the army as a last resort. MAJ Chang has related the story about Mousedeer to us, and indeed our syndicate is appalled at the apparent lack of concern and “realism” in Exercises today. In the IDF, Taiwan Army, US Army, British Army etc, having served in the armed forces is a cause of pride, but in Singapore, the Army is seen as a impediment to an individual’s life, a necessary evil being thrown in our way at the prowess of our youth.

I agree I have held such views before. And I agree that such views do surface when I am particularly disheartened and when a few of us get together and discuss the negative aspects of the Army. One point during the discussion struck me, has Army become a place where it is “safe-to-fail?” Where failure is not punished, but tolerated for the sake of learning purposes, and in so doing, creating a mindset in soldiers that a mistake, however huge, like missing D-Day H-Hour, like drunken driving, like not handing up reflections etc, will not be punished, but used as an example for future “learning purposes”?

I remember in EOCC, LO was emphasized as not being the lack of discipline, rather it is the disciplined soldier who practices LO that can benefit out of it. LO without discipline is plain NATO (no-action-talk-only) (which again brings up the issue whether our PM can deride an international organization – but that’s beside the point). I was very disheartened when I heard that Mousedeer, a division level exercise, could be reduced to a few huge mistakes and simply dismissed to be an issue we can learn from. Perhaps the old army was better.

Being from Delta Wing in OCS, I was in the company of several SAFOS, SMS or as we put it “scholars” from the best and the brightest of the cohort. Some struck me as being dedicated, to having high morals. Others just struck me as being in the Army for the cash and the opportunities to shine in the political arena later in life. I agree I do not have the moral high ground in this matter – I still deride the Army from time to time, but there is more purpose in service to the nation nowadays. Perhaps patriotism is not a dead virtue in Singaporeans after all. If our SAFOS and SMS do not have the capacity to lead by example, to be that notch higher than the rest of the cohort in integrity, morals, principles and values, then perhaps we will suffer if ever war breaks out. Perhaps in their own journey as leaders of the SAF, they will discover their reason for service, and their heart to serve the nation, but till then, Singapore has to fight to win the hearts and minds of our best and brightest, lest we suffer from a brain drain which is already apparent in my generation.




2LT LEE LIP JIN
53rd EOAC
ranting