In-Camp Training (ICT)

The acronym "ICT" here does not stand for "Info-Communcation Technology" which we commonly refer to in school.

It stands for "In-Camp Training" and I have this compulsive urge to share my experiences during this in-camp that ended on Friday.

Background Info
It will be easier for u to understand my recount of the past 10-odd days with a little background info first.

I completed my 2.5-year National Service (NS) with an INFANTry unit, 4th Singapore Infantry Regiment (4SIR), on 1 Aug 1999. My rank was a Corporal (CPL) and my vocation was a signaller. If u have watched "Saving Private Ryan" or "Thin Red Line" or any other war movies before, u would have seen those soldiers carrying that bulky & heavy object - the signal set. "Roger", "Over" are some commonly phrases that we would use. I swear with my life that the mass of this signal set would kill me before the enemy does.

Thereafter, starting year 2000, I return to serve my in-camp annually with a reservist unit, 622SIR, comprising of most of my former campmates. I missed two of the in-camps previously. Once in 2004 when I was undergoing training in NIE, and the other in 2008 when we embarked on an exchange programme to Chennai. If u still remember, I was away for an in-camp in Feb this year. It was a make-up training for the one that I missed in 2008. The most recent in-camp was the make-up training for the one in 2004.

622SIR has completed 9 of 10 in-camps to date. Come Jan 2010, our unit would complete the 10-year cycle and be placed on the MINDEF Reserve (MR) list. There would be no more in-camps and IPPTs for me. I did my latest make-up in-camp, which was my 9th, with another unit, xxx SIR (exact unit cannot be cited as they may not be very forgiving if I would to complain "a little", factually, later).

5 Aug 2009
I am not too sure how many of u still remember that I was away on this day, a Wednesday, last month. It was a day of preparation for the unit before the actual in-camp. I met a number of my campmates doing their make-up too. We were known as the Make-up Training personnels (MUTs). While the unit was busily sorting out their personal admin stuffs, issuing of new uniforms etc., the MUTs had pretty much nothing to do.

What I remember the most was not how we idled our time away in the canteen from 8.30am to 6pm without any instructions, but an incident involving one xxx SIR's guy, the training institue people and xxx SIR's Commanding Officer (CO). Later I found out that the CO, a very stressed-looking man, is the principal of a reputable boys' school, and I may possibly see him again in 3 weeks' time, in his school!

On the first day of every in-camp, the Regiment Sergeant Major (RSM, similar to the discipline master in a school) would be at the in-process counter to check on the guys' attires & hairs. There was this guy who was told by the RSM to get his hair cut with the barber at the side of the counter. Instead of obeying, he howled at the RSM. Of course, the guy soon found himself in hot soup. The RSM complained to the CO and threatened to charge him.

Fortunately, the CO defended him and allowed him to offer his public apology to the RSM in the presence of everyone in the lecture theatre to close the case. Frankly, I was impressed and thought it was quite wise of the CO in earning his men's respects.

21 Aug 2009
This was the second day of your PSLE oral, but it was the first day of my in-camp. I was not particularly worried as the following week was your Prelims, and there was nothing much I could do. (Our principal, Mr Martin Tan, was worried though, and told me that he would get Mrs Chia, our retired teacher, to take over the class. I am actually quite happy to learn that our principal actually places such great hope & expectations on us. =D )

Back to my story, we had always been labelled as "MUTs" right from the start, and never been treated as part of them. I realised this a week later.

For a start, we were not given any bunks or beds to rest, nor food catered for us during lunch. The 40+ MUTs were housed in a small conference room, half the size of our classroom, for the rest of the day. These were all minor issues to me but not to many others who created a hoo-ha about it.

At about 4pm, somebody from the unit decided to make his appearance to explain the screw-up in their admins & logistics. At 5pm, he moved us to an air-conditioned lecture theatre to watch the Korean movie "Handome Suit" while waiting for the CO to brief us at about 6.30pm.

The chief finally appeared at about 6.45pm. He wanted to establish "an understanding" (not "an expectation" he said) with the MUTs. He offered fat juciy carrots to entice us to cooperate with him during the in-camp as it was an "exam" for them this year. These include, off-day on 28 Aug, and being out-processed on 4 Sep, a day before his own unit on 5 Sep. All of us agreed readily.

We were finally dismissed at about 7.30pm after all the waiting that day. We cannot really blame him as he had too many things to see to on the first day. We were told to return the following Mon, 24 Aug, by 8am.

24 Aug 2009
We were informed that we would not be able to get our beds yet as there was a shortage. I was fine with it as that would mean that I would not have to stay in camp that day since they could not even provide us with the most basic accomodation.

The MUTs were deployed outfield in the morning as the enemies for their troops. I found it seriously fun as the fightings took place in concrete buildings and not the mosquitoes-infested vegetations. Long waiting hours was very common in there, from morning till late afteroon we wait. Patience is something that one must master in there. However, the greatest problem was that they had forgotten about our share of the rations. We had no lunch yet again, and we had run out of water. It really took some genius to discover the neglected lot at about 4pm when our lunch finally arrived. Their troops had already been fed when the battle took place at 3pm. It did not piss me, but I cannot say the same for many others.

The CO met up with us again in the evening to apologise for the hiccups and to re-iterate that "understanding". He explained that due to a shortage in manpower on his side, many of us would be assigned to 'chiong' alongside his unit. With that carrots extended to us earlier on, I did not mind chiong-ing with them, though still praying that I would not have to.

25 Aug 2009

Never Judge a Book by its Cover
Unfortunately, I was needed. I was assigned to the Fire Support Officer (FSO) and his team of FOs (Fire Officers). The FO whom I was attached to was a man 3 years younger than me. Jovial-looking with a pair of funky black specs. We will refer to him here as "Sly Laughing Tiger" (SLT) - an outright backstabber.

Being just one of those annual 2-week in-camp trainings, all of us would usually take it in a rather light-hearted manner. I have to emphasize that this does not mean "not serious" about it.

My first impression of this SLT was good, except for his frequent cursing & swearing for whatever reasons. Friendly, chin-chye (easy-going) & a little child-like, we joked & laughed right on the first meet-up. That was a mistake. I placed my wrong bet on him, unaware of his sly and selfish nature.

I also got to know another guy from the same team. Let's call him "Hao Lian" (HL) or "Boastful". He is not an officer, but was once an army regular. He has since left the service and is currently jobless. HL is a really loud and boastful person. Despite being 3 years older than me, his behaviours & mannerisms made him look very immature. He is also a father of a 5-year-old girl. He would curse & swear, and whined very loudly in the presence of everyone. He enjoyed talking big, and boasting about how capable his ex-wife is to everybody. Deep inside me, I was wondering why this woman was so unfortunate to have married him. But I must say HL is not the scheming sort.

I drove HL to Jurong Point where we bought some toiletries and drinks for the stay in camp. HL was nice enough to give me his pillow when I mentioned that mine was missing and since that he had bought another at the supermarket. I felt it was quite a nice gesture from him.

I naively thought I have met some quite nice people.

26 - 27 Aug 2009

The True Colours
SLT and I spent 2-day 1-night out in the field. SLT addressed me as 'brother' and was kind enough to help me carry my rifle as I was walking breathlessly and slowly under those heavy loads. This is what we called "comradeship", and that was what my campmates would have done too.

As usual, I cracked some of my usual lame jokes, and we laughed it off. However, I realised later that two of them did not go quite well with SLT and the FSO. The jokes were really harmless and no disrespect was intended. My buddies could vouch for me. The irony was that SLT and the FSO played along too. But to my surprise, the lousy jokes were later used against me.

I dropped & broke my specs that night while "chiong-ing" through the vegetations. I did not realise that until SLT mentioned that "it was all clear in front of him" when we emerged from the vegetations. SLT was again very nice to ask me how I would be able to drive home that day. Though an useless question, I felt it was quite thoughtful of him. Watching him rummaging through the boxes for food was funny, like a kid. I had never expected him to turn against me later.

Wesley sms-ed me at about 10pm. He thought it was kind of cool to stay in the vegetation when he learnt about my location. I had to tell him the truth. It was the complete opposite. No people in the right mind would want to do that when they could smell nice and sleep well in their beds at home.

We walked in the vegetation from 11pm (Wed) to 2.30am (Thu) the next day when it started to rain heavily. As SLT and I were near a training shed, we seeked shelter there till 6am. Many others were most likely drenched in the heavy downpour. This was a short mission exercise as normally we would walk for up to 12 hours with our heavy combat load throughout the night.

The whole Batallion Mission Exercise (BME) ended early on Thu at 10am and we returned to camp. As promised by the CO, Fri would be an off-day for the MUTs. I approached the FSO to sign my off-pass, but he spoke to me bluntly that it was subject to performance, and he would discuss with SLT first. From his expressions, I could tell something was not right. However, I knew I had done every thing I could, so I waited for their reply.

The shock did not come from the FSO or SLT. Instead, they got another FO to speak to me. I dislike this 37-year-old guy the most. Let's call him the "Dim-witted Bulldog" (DBD). He told me that I would book-out on Thu and book-in again on Fri at 7.30am to settle some "IMPORTANT" stuffs and then book-out again at 12.30pm the same day. It sounded very ridiculous. The distance from my place to the camp is 40+ km and it takes about 70 mins to get there especially in the heavy morning traffic. It did not occur to me that I would be needed so badly for that 5 hours when we have a whole team of 10+ members.

I was more puzzled than pissed upon hearing that... Hence...

(To be continued...)

Hence, I demanded for an explanation. DBD appeared to be taken aback for a while by my demand. Obviously, he had thought I would accept such lame excuses like a timid recruit. I was expecting some reasons of super great scale that I was not aware of. After some hesitation, he answered perfunctorily that the FSO and SLT felt that I had problems with my attitude. It came as a rude shock. Of all reasons, they actually accused me of that.

I knew I was committed and I was sincere in contibuting to the unit. I was not convinced. I pressed for some concrete examples to justify their accusations and he mentioned the joke between the FSO & I before we returned to camp. The fact was that the FSO played along, my buddies laughed along too. It was meant as a joke. It did not help convince me a single bit. I was pissed but I kept my cool, though I could not contain my agitation. I demanded for more examples. With a bit of hesitation, he quoted a conversation between the trainer and I which was overheard by SLT. I was horrified yet again. I felt betrayed. SLT had backstabbed me! No disrespect was intended at all and one single sentence from me was quoted out of context and blown out of proportion.

If this is the case, I shall spell out my observations (not accusations) of SLT here that day:
Offence #1: Besides his frequent cursing and swearing, he complained a lot too, and thereby affecting my morale.
Offence #2: He smoked, not once but on a few occasions, while on the move during the mission. Poor field discipline as the smell and smoke may alert the enemies. Despite being caught by the trainer on his very first attempt, he continued to smoke a few more times after that. I hope the trainer reported him to the CO. Poor role model for his men.
Offence #3: He would sit/lie down to sleep whenever there was a tactical halt (long wait for some reasons). It is normal to be tired, but not to such an extent. One of the weirdest officers whom I have ever seen. Poor role model for his men.

I am very very sure my field discilpine was much better than his. Talk about performance and attitude, I think I had just heard the lamest joke ever. Nonsense is common and abundant in S*F, seriously.

I protested, but DBD dismissed me after failing to convince me. I left feeling disgruntled, and I am sure he knew it.

I felt that I have been unfairly treated. That's no way to treat your men. If it had been a real war, I am not sure where my rounds would have landed.

On my way home, I sms-ed SLT and the FSO to express my discontentment and requested to meet up with CO for a fair hearing the next morning. My conscience was clear and I was not afraid. FSO replied an hour later only to suggest meeting in the afternoon. Either to buy time for him to prepare to counter, or to wear out my patience and give up.

28 Aug 2009
I returned to camp at 7.30am sharp eagerly waiting for the meet-up with the CO. I sms-ed the FSO a couple of time to confirm the appointment, but he avoided a reply.

Meanwhile, my buddies were trying to persuade me to drop the idea of speaking to the CO, as they felt that the CO would side with his commanders. I knew of such possibilites but I still insisted to meet him. My conscience was clear and there was no reason for me to keep quiet. That would be as good as admitting to the accusation in silence. Luckily, I had the courage to bring up such unjust act to the attention of the higher authority. It was a blessing in disguise.

By 10am, the whole team was still clueless as to what was to be done. To spite the FSO, I sms-ed him about it. Within 5 mins, we were told to gather at the office (He received and read my smses afterall). FSO, SLT & DBD were not there. 8 of us crowded around a table to watch one person tracing a map (must be really important!) when someone told me to sweep the planning room. I spent half an hour sweeping up the place and that was that important thing that I did for the whole morning.

I know very well that they were just jealous of my day-off on Friday and wanted to make things difficult for me. Seriously, how childish can one get?

As much as I had expected, the CO sided with the FSO, SLT and DBD, when I finally met up with him. We cannot possibly expect him to admit publicly that his officers were being petty, can he? I was scolded by him in front of all his officers, not just that 3. But I did not feel any sense of embarrassment. I wanted to see how this 'principal' cum 'commanding officer' would manage his men (Oops! I forgot. They have never treated us as part of them). I knew he was putting up a show as I really see no point in him shouting at me when all I wanted was a fair hearing.

Claiming that he wanted to show me some respect, he ordered me into his office for a close-door conferencing. Throughout the conversation, I was able to look at him in the eyes. I have nothing to hide. It did slip his mouth that he regarded that as a minor incident and that he had told them to let me go. It was not difficult to sense that we were treated as outsiders and burdens to them from his choice of words. I wonder how he manages his teachers and pupils in school. Hmmm...

The whole saga ended at about 4.30pm. I was supposed to leave at 12.30pm. The off-day was not a concern for me anymore when I decided to meet him. I was prepared to waste my time to see what other nonsense SA* is capable of. I willingly apologised to the FSO & SLT as I really did not know that that they would take offence with my jokes. The CO decided that I would no longer serve in that team. He told me to report to his admin officer the next day for re-deployment.

I had initially planned to pick up some of the teachers @ 5.30pm for the Teachers' Day Dinner, but due to those ding-dongs, I had to postpone the pick-up time to 6.30pm. It was a blessing in disguise. =D

29 Aug 2009
I reported back in camp @ 8am. The admin officer informed me that CO wanted to speak to me again.

CO's attitude was totally different from the previous day, softer and milder. After listening to my explanation for one last time, he reassured that my points had been taken and suggested that I let the matter be "water under the bridge (It means that it is something in the past and no longer important).

He placed me under the charge of a storeman for the rest of the in-camp and the rest were all happy stories. I did not need to "chiong" anymore! There was still another 4-Day 3-Night outfield exercise the following week. Imagine if I had kept quiet right at the start, I would not have won the TV, and not be sleeping in the bunk while the rest were sweating it out in the jungle. Hahaha... =D

On a side note, I may need to show the CO what an attitude problem is by giving him a smelly face on the NE Web Design presentation day on 26 Sep. Hahaha... There goes my lame joke again. I hope he will not get offended. =P

At the store office, I met Brian and Fidaus. Brian is the chief. I like Fidaus because he reminds me of our Michael. =D These two and the team of storemen are nice people after working with them for almost a week. They allowed me to feel more at ease. Whereas, a number of the officers are cocky.

Before I left camp that Saturday, there was another incident that could only possibly happen in an all-male working environment. This officer was not able to send out an email at 5pm as he got log-out. He blew his temper and told every guys in his department to stay behind till he sent out the email. I really wonder how that would help. If it had been in the civilised world out here, with a team of pretty female colleagues, I bet he would tell all of them to go home first while he would try to settle it himself. Such nonsense can only happen in S**. (YES! U are right!)

(To be continued...)

31 Aug 2009
Day 1 of their ATEC. I do not know what "ATEC" stands for and am not interested to know anymore. It is simply an assessment stage. I could not contain my excitement in being able to stay in camp for the first time while the rest had to "chiong" out there. I never had such luck. But I had to do my best to appear indifferent. Hahaha..

I met HL in the canteen at about 10am that morning. He looked very angry. I had just finished my breakfast while he was about to have his. After finding no available computer terminal for me to surf the net, I decided to join HL who was eating alone. Our conversation was very short-lived as he suddenly asked me to get lost, and he eventually turned abusive with his coarse language. I had no idea why till now.

In terms of attitude and behaviours, I think I beat him upside down for sure. =D But at least he was more candid with his emotions, and not as scheming as SLT, FSO and DBD.

The last batch of the batallion moved out from camp at 8pm that day. It meant peace for me for the next 3 days! YAY!!!!! =D

1 Sep - 4 Sep 2009
It was eat, sleep, eat, sleep all the way till my last day in camp. The only drawback was that on some of the days, I had to pay for my own lunches and dinners as I overslept and missed the meal time. =D

I think the guys had a hard time out there. It rained so heavily for so long on the 2nd day. Drenched, cold, smelly, sticky, exhausted and hungry. How pathetic can one get? The whole exercise ended at 2am on 4 Sep, instead of the original evening time on 3 Sep. The batallion went through a redudant 8 to 10 km route march on the night of the 2nd day too. Instead of completing the 3 missions as planned, they had to re-do some missions. I must really thank my lucky star for all that nonsense that happened to me prior to this. =D

I do not know how to grade my experiences for this in-camp. Half pleasant, half unpleasant, for I know I would never encounter any of these in my original unit.

I give it a 5.5/10 then. (",)