Saturday, June 14, 2008
12:46 PM
in terms of activity updates, there's nothing much to say. i just spent the whole of yesterday at champz shooting balls, so nothing interesting there. however i've been thinking about the recent news of army personnel dying during training. first it was the recruit who died at tekong from a 2 km walk. after that an OCT died at brunei? look, brunei i can understand. it has been, still is, and always will be one of the worst hell holes you can get sent to during your 2 year stint of bondage to the country. but tekong? during a fucking walk? get real man.
this can only mean our people are getting weaker and weaker as the generations go by. how the hell can you collapse walking? if he did so in tekong, why didn't he die during the first 18 odd years of his life before the army? i'm sure he had to walk 2km or more at period of time. and i heard the early short BMT route marches no longer incorporate field packs during the march. it's just SBO. like what the hell man. the whole weight comes from the field pack. without it during a route march, it's just a stroll you're taking.
weak fools.
according to the report, the OCT was so happy he was given a second chance at the training cause he wanted to pass out and be a pilot. apparently he failed the selection criteria the first time around. so he probably pushed himself beyond his physical limits. mind over matter is one thing, yes i agree that attitude is necessary especially during the tough training. to test your limits and go beyond it, especially as a commander because if you can't do it, how can you expect your men to. but this sorta stupidity is another whole new matter. does passing the exercise/course to commission and get that job mean so much? to the point where he would be willing to risk his own life to? dead men make no officers. i've seen this sort of attitude everywhere in the army. everyone wants that one bar so much they're willing to do anything for it. they're willing to backstab others, step over people, push themselves past acceptable safe limits because no one wants to fall out during training and show themselves as weak. "hmph if he can do it, i sure as hell can" is probably the thought running through the cadet's mind even if he's running a 40 degree fever.
and whose fault is this? its the very organization if you ask me. if you elevate officers to a pedastal, make them untouchable and pour on all the prestige and power on them, who wouldn't want to be an officer? do you really think 100% of all OCTs go in so that they can "lead men and make a difference" ? bullshit. i'll call you a fucking liar if you said that all of the OCTs are like that. there are some people who go in, if not all, who would want the power a one bar on the shoulder gives. it's the organization's fault they made officers in that image, while no one else gives a damn about specialists and men. ever had men automatically greet a commissioned officer if he passes by, and avert eyes if a spec did instead? if you said you were from mono-intake and was a man in the unit, people look at you like you just said you were a low education manual worker. if you said you were from SISPEC, people go "huh?". but everyone knows about OCS. its the peer pressure and public affirmation combined with the organization's practice of elevating officers to a pedestal that weighs heavily on every wanna-be OCT. if OCTs die during training, its your own fucking fault people. you placed such high expectations on them. did you know when the relatives of the OCT came to identify the body, they hardly recognized him? probably cause of the extent he pushed himself to during the 8 day jungle training, in which you were given limited rations and had to make your own tools to live off the land, slashing vines for water and catching fish.
rank be damned. its just national service, just 2 years of your life. let's not forget officers serve till what, 45? is this really worth your life? if you say it is, i say you deserve whatever misfortune befalls you during training. because you are short sighted about the big picture. i'm sure this post will get some people thinking, maybe even receive flaming from all those officers. say what you want, but i'm sure that deep down, if you really thought about it, there is some element of truth in this. look at the newspapers, how many articles on the recruit who died? and how many articles covering the OCT's death? how come you don't see the defense minister, teo chee hean going to the recruit's funeral too? bah, if you want change, start from the top down.