Life of a soldier: The 1 year milestone.
It's 1 Feb 2010, a little over the 1 year mark since I enlisted into the National Service on 28 Jan 09. The past year hadn't been exactly smooth sailing, but it's decently enjoyable in itself. Over time, I developed quite an anti-thesis stance towards the rationale and the fundamental elements of the two-year National Service. These notions of dissent more often than not proves to be counter-productive when you wake up to the reality of the situation, that, one has no choice.
Once in awhile I'd isolate myself in the most serene of environments (plainly euphemism for my dusty room devoid of noise, entertainment, et cetera), engaging in some very personal introspection. I fill my mind with a myriad colorful list of issues to heavily ponder on, of which NS never fails to find its way in. Thence I would enumerate all my experiences and reflections, notwithstanding the relentless never-ending pursuit of finally being able to say, "Tomorrow would be when I ORD".
Before I even go on, I probably had never expressly stated upfront what I do in NS. Not because I do not want to, but because I'm obliged (read: legally-binded) not to. In short, my formal vocation reads "Intelligence Assistant", which I'm going to stress is strictly not the same as an "Admin Support Assistant", aka Clerk. I'm not trying to be obstinate or intellectual about it but there is a difference in what we do, and the misunderstanding never seems to resolve itself not with the mindless and baseless claims of my inadequate physique - when in actuality I just have a mere shoulder injury.
Contrary to popular belief, we do not have it as easy. While the idea of an air-conditioned office with lenient working hours of 8 to 5.30 may provide great incentive, the toiling takes no physical form but instead, manifests within our mental faculty. The end of each day is euphoric - because we get to finally put a rest to all that intellectual analyses and incessant reading. But as rumors qua rumors, misinformation prevails and we are misconstrued to be, colloquially termed, slackers. Probably any attempt at debunking the myth would take a turn for the worse to invite childish criticism.
But again, everyone probably has it bad. The BMT sergeant endures the nonsensical excuses recruits spout to avoid extra menial work, while the driver again finds himself seated in the truck, or tank, having to navigate their new-found terrain with absolute accuracy for fear of corollary punishment which had long moved the term "extras" into the blacklist of a soldier.
On a lighter note, one cannot entirely treat the 2-year mandatory conscription as one without benefits. No, I'm not referring to material perks such as the SAFRA membership or superfluous magazines (that we indignantly have to pay for!) It's a good break from academia. It's a good break from the 12 years of education we've never been able to find an escapade from. It also gives males an advantage (although many would gladly do without) in university applications, where we've an additional two rounds of application to vie for. In fact, I've not much to lambast the system since, if not for the compulsory gap year, I would've not been able to learn so much about education abroad, and I would've not had any opportunity to make my applications to universities abroad. In a very cliche way, I'd say NS may have been a blessing in disguise, save for the amateur politics and the average "act-smart" Singaporeans you inadvertently have to chance upon. So much for Intelligence.
But life is for us to control, to manipulate into an episode of greatness. The household saying of "Hear only the good things" has never so aptly suited the situation where rank-conscious individuals exploit the system and abuse those without power. I'd be lying if I said I was not disillusioned. Even more so, I'm disenchanted with the entire defense paradigm. From the televisions one watches in awe the power of military intelligence, and from my office seat I watch in disbelief the tirades of higher management.
Alas, it has been a complete year. The 1-year milestone, it had been pretty darn hard waiting for. And just for some cold comfort, there's another 1 year to go. As I would lovingly term it, it's another year of the same rubbish. Studying has never been more appealing - what awaits us ahead?- what awaits me? For certain I'm not letting the impending 1 year go to waste; time is of the essence. I hope this doesn't pass off being far-fetched, but 365 days isn't sufficient to sate an individual's hunger for knowledge. There's never too much to learn, so let's keep on learning. If you've any interesting book to share, do drop me a note. I have a particular liking for non-fiction books, although fictions are fine too.
Until the next time I blog, Happy Chinese New Year!