But stay with me for a minute,
I swear I'll make it worth it.
So that's it then. 8 weeks of BMT flew past just like that. It has been 8 weeks of inactivity, but there is so much to say. I remember enlisting on the 6th of May, feeling just like an ordinary civilian having no clue what is going to haopen during the first phase of my National Service life. There were many stories about how NS life would be like, but I didn't believe them. I wanted to make mine different, or at least, unique to myself. I remember taking the ferry to Tekong and enjoying the scenery on the way there,clearly oblivious to the type of life that I'm going to live with for the next 8 weeks. I remember being posted to Eagle company and that is possibly the best thing that has ever happened to me this year.
There was an opening address done by the school's Commanding Officer. It was boring yet informative. I felt the pressure and the anxiety when he announced that Eagle has been the best company for its past 3 batches. Surely, that was a whole lot of expectations placed on our shoulders right before we even started training. I remember looking around me and being barely able to find any familiar faces around me. There was a pledge, and then off we went to the cookhouse to have our farewell meals with our parents. Mine didn't say much, perhaps because they know that I'll be fine inside.
So off I went to the parade square as we bid our farewells. This was a start to a completely new chapter of my life. Since I had almost zero experience with uniformed groups, I felt a tang of nervousness because I thought that I would find it quite difficult to adapt to military life. We met our commanders and I was assigned into being part of platoon 2. It felt weird at first, because I initially didn't know anyone until I saw En Wei in the bunk.
Honestly speaking, I can't exactly list out the various events and activities that I've gone through for each day during my 8-week stay in Eagle company. Yes, there were tough moments which really tempted me to give up. But it was really through the endless encouragement and motivation from my peers and commanders that pushed me on.
In short, BMT has really given me an experience of a lifetime. I remember the anxiety I felt when I had to wait outside the live grenade range for 10 minutes with a live grenade in my vest. I remember the surge of euphoria running through my veins when I saw the grenade land on the ground and feeling the shock wave of the explosion afterwards. I remember digging my first shellscrape. It was hours of manual labour but it was well worth it. I remember the excitement on my face when my sergeants approved the dimensions of my shellscrape. I remember shooting my first blank round, and leopard crawling on the ground pretending that I was in some sort of jungle operations. I remember imagining myself as a terrorist when I had to fire blanks at my peers as I played the enemy during their training.
I remember being given my own rifle during the weapons ceremony and the load of responsibility placed on my shoulders once my platoon commander has handed it to me. I remember the very first time i shot a rifle with a live round and the target went down. I remember the times when my platoon was stuck in the jungle as the rain poured down continuously for 2 hours. We had so much fun then. I remember us making up the platoon pledge and singing songs and cheers like some crazy retards but we didn't care. I remember being certified a marksman. I remember training so hard for our UIA and drills competition and then going on to win the top prize. I remember standing in the rain for an hour during the graduation parade, waiting eagerly to throw my jockey cap.
In the blink of an eye, I have been through so much. But what makes BMT truly memorable are the friendships and brotherhood formed. Like what others before me have said, "in the many years to come, I will not remember all of this, but I'll still remember the crazy bunch of people that went through all of this with me." I'm really thankful for the platoon mates and commanders that I have. They have truly inspired and guided me into becoming a better person and hopefully, a better leader. I'll never forget the times when all of you spurred me on when I was feeling down and exhausted. I'm forever grateful for all the opportunities that you guys have given me and for the little to major influences that you've impacted me with.
Courage of steel, dauntless in war.
Platoon 2!
At least I'm being honest.
