I woke up at 0530 hours feeling upbeat and enthusiatic unlike other mornings.Everyone around me feels the same.No morning PT that day,no scoldings from instructors that morning.Appointment holders fall-in us and we headed for breakfast.Before i leave my room for breakfast,I took a glance towards my neatly pressed No. 1 ceremonial uniform,the one that I was to wear later in the day when i get commissioned as an Officer of the Singapore Armed Forces.
After breakfast,we proceeded to draw arms at the soce armskote for one last time and fall in to clear arms one last time as a course,as EOCC0303.It was getting a little worrying as dark clouds have gathered over us and all of us felt a little panicky in us because we dont wan the rain to spoil our parade.
0830 hrs,we changed into our No.1 bottoms and shifted our barang2 out of our soce bunks where we spent so many nights doing area cleaning,keeping it cleaner than a 5 star hotel room.We then gathered in groups to reminisce about our course,about Ex Wolf,Demo live firing,Ex greywhale,1WO Tan Swee Seng aka Qiao Mo(bridge demon) and of course EX Beaver Venture,the most tortorous thing a human being can be put thru.
0930 hrs,the bus finally arrived amid bright sunshine,easing our fears though some dark clouds still linger on,reluctant to go away,hell bent of wanting to screw up our day.On the bus,we did what we normally do on journeys in the army,we sleep.Given that it is commissioning day,I am actually a little surprise everyone slept so soundly and no one talked much.
1015 hrs,we arrived at OCS,the Officer Cadet School,the place where we started our training to become an officer.I was from Tango wing,the best that any cadet can ask for,in every sense.We proceeded to our holding area which is the examination hall and realised signals is already there,sharing the hall with us.2WO Choy then told us there'll be a an uniform inspection at 1100hrs,so we better start polishing our boots and peak caps.No one really did anything because all of us already polished it mirror shine the night before.We spent the time taking pictures instead.
1100hrs, uniform inspection.My peak cap wasnt satisfactory,so was wenzhao's,we started to polish it together and i quickly got my shine up but poor wenzhao just couldnt seem to get it to shine but he didnt really care anyway.Just then,nightmare.I realised 2 spots of kiwi on my heavenly white No.1 and i totally freaked out.This is not happening,i kept telling myself,i tried to clean it off but it just seemed to make it worse and thus in the end, i gave up and hoped that it isnt that obvious to others.My morale dropped by 1/2 that moment.
1200 hrs,lunch!I went along with 3 more guys(forgot who) to collect lunch from cookhouse and realised the clouds are gatheringonce again,sending waves of anxiety down our spines.
"No..No...No..Please don't rain"
1230hrs,we went back to our various wings to speak to our instructors and talked to junior cadets and encouraging them and tell them that it'll be over soon.We know cause we have been thru it.The good times,the tough times and the times that made each and everyone of us proud.A few of us then went to bath as we wanna look the most refreshed for the parade later.I took one look in the mirror after my shower and realised that the face looking back was just an innocent jc student 1 and 1/2 years back and now,he is to become an officer,the commander of platoon and more importantly,the leader of men.
1300 hrs,our worst fears came true,no,it didnt start to rain,it started to pour and we can only hope for the best.
1600 hs,all the commissioning batch marched out of their holding area towards warriors hall in our No.1,passing proud parents along the way and singing the OCS song with a gusto that can only be matched by the one we were to sing later.It was still pouring but all of us kept the faith.
1630hrs,we reached warriors hall and SSM OCS,MWO Benedict Goh,brushed up on our drill and even he is waiting anxiously for the news update on whether the parade is going to go on.
1645hrs,the rain simmers down and we hope harder.
1650hrs,"No CAT 1,parade will go on"
That news was met with cheers that went on and on and on,we were so happy that the parade is going to go on.2 weeks of rehearsals will not go down the drain like that.We worked 2 long 2 hard to be denied a parade.
1730hrs,we marched from warriors hall to the FUP(form up place).
1740hrs,barnabas said something i will never forget,"this is it gents,the big one...not water bottles watching,but real spectators,make them proud".At that exact moment,the last drop of rain dropped in front of me.
1741hrs,the band plays and we marched in to cheers from the crowd,singing "We are One" and really feeling the adrenalin pumping.Our steps were precise and our swinging were in line,everyone performed miraculously good drill.The colours marched in after that and we sang a few more songs while awaiting the president to come.At 1800 hrs sharp,the band plays and the presidential motorcade drives in with all of us standing proud and looking sharp in wait for him.The
president inspected the parade and talked to Bingwen.he then proceeded to give out the prizes to the various sword of honour receipients.Then dark clouds suddenly gathered over us again as we were preparing to march out,u can hear voices whispering,"No...No...wait for a little while longer...after we throw our peak caps...please".As we marched out,we prayed and while awaiting our re-entry,so that our parents can don our 2LT ranks for us and to throw our peak caps,it started to drizzle.We were so afraid that what happened to 49/02 batch would happened to us.Their parade was cut short because of rain and they didnt get to throw their peak caps.
We waited with bated breath...
Th OCS song plays and we know then that we would finish the parade,rain or no rain,we marched out into the parade square again holding our 2LT ranks in our left hand and singing the OCS song with a gusto thats unmatched,a truly amazing feeling.Thoughts of the 42 weeks of training came flashing back thru my mind at that point of time.
Leadership field camp...
section field camp...
chem defence package...
EX spade...
topo excercises...wildcat,nightbird...and many more....
platoon field camp....
live firing...
Tango wing...
LTA albert,kelvin,ong shuwu,lum...and also dearest wsm,warrant lee....
posting to sch of combat engineers...
helmet torture...
brunei...ex socjot...
ex wolf....
BPCC...
boat,candace and almond packages....
ex greywhale....
beaver venture....
commissioning rehearsals....
ACPC...
cpt bugs bunny,warrant choy,ltc koa boon teck......
As i come to a stop from the marching.I took a dep breath and closed my eyes to savour this very moment as fine rain fell on me.Our parents and friends were then invited to put on the rank for us and this is really a meaningful tradition.As my friends and family gather around and take pictures,i couldnt help but feel good to see the proud look on the faces on my parents,especially from my father who was a military man himself.
As our parents and friends went back to their seats,we know that this is it...the moment we've been waiting for,the moment where we throw our peak caps into the air,signalling our grauation as officers,as mature men,as a leader and more importantly,the start of life as a better man.
As the signal is given,we took the peak cap down from our head and place them upon our chest,even though we are wearing the 2LT ranks but we feel that we are still a cadet until we throw our peak caps.....we waited for the announcement...
"May I present to you...the newly commissioned officers!!!"
I remember throwing my peak cap in the air and watching it fly so high into the beautiful evening sky and feeling an adrenalin rush that i have never felt before.We hugged the nearest person and gathered to congratulate each other for making it and to thank each other for being there for us each step of the way....
28th January 2004,51/03 OCC commissioned as Officers of the Singapore Armed Forces...
"I, President of the Republic of Singapore, Reposing special trust and confidence in your loyalty and good conduct.Hereby charges you to carry out your duties with due diligence and confidence as commissioned Officers of the Singapore Armed Forces"
----H.E S R Nathan, President of the Republic of Singapore
THE OFFCER'S CREED
I AM AN OFFICER OF THE SINGAPORE ARMED FORCES
MY DUTY IS
TO LEAD,
TO EXCEL AND
TO OVERCOME
I LEAD MY MEN BY EXAMPLE,
I ANSWER FOR THEIR
TRAINING,
MORALE AND
DISCIPLINE
I MUST EXCEL IN EVERYTHING I DO
I SERVE WITH
PRIDE,
HONOUR AND
INTEGRITY
I WILL OVERCOME ADVERSITY WITH
COURAGE,
FORTITUDE AND
DETERMINATION
I DEDICATE MY LIFE TO SINGAPORE
OCS SONG
WE COME FROM MANY PLACE
ALL ACROSS THE LAND
OF MANY DIFFERENT RACES
TOGETHER HAND IN HAND
UNITED WE STAND
DIVIDED WE FALL
READY TO SERVE OUR NATION'S CALL
WE COME FROM OCS
WE ARE THE VERY BEST
LEADING WITH DIGNITY AND PRIDE
WHEREEVER WE GO
WE WILL ALSO KNOW
OUR SPIRIT LIVES FOREVER MORE
LOYALTY TO COUNTRY
IS WHAT WE ALL BELIEVE
TO LEAD EXCEL AND OVERCOME
IS WHAT WE MUST ACHIEVE
FOREVER STRONG AND VALIANT
WE'LL GIVE OUR LIVES AND MORE
NEVER CEASING TO SERVE SINGAPORE
WE COME FROM OCS
WE ARE THE VERY BEST
LEADING WITH DIGNITY AND PRIDE
WHEREEVER WE GO
WE WILL ALSO KNOW
OUR SPIRIT LIVES FOREVER MORE
I AM AN OFFICER OF THE SINGAPORE ARMED FORCES
MY DUTY IS
TO LEAD,
TO EXCEL AND
TO OVERCOME
I LEAD MY MEN BY EXAMPLE,
I ANSWER FOR THEIR
TRAINING,
MORALE AND
DISCIPLINE
I MUST EXCEL IN EVERYTHING I DO
I SERVE WITH
PRIDE,
HONOUR AND
INTEGRITY
I WILL OVERCOME ADVERSITY WITH
COURAGE,
FORTITUDE AND
DETERMINATION
I DEDICATE MY LIFE TO SINGAPORE
OCS SONG
WE COME FROM MANY PLACE
ALL ACROSS THE LAND
OF MANY DIFFERENT RACES
TOGETHER HAND IN HAND
UNITED WE STAND
DIVIDED WE FALL
READY TO SERVE OUR NATION'S CALL
WE COME FROM OCS
WE ARE THE VERY BEST
LEADING WITH DIGNITY AND PRIDE
WHEREEVER WE GO
WE WILL ALSO KNOW
OUR SPIRIT LIVES FOREVER MORE
LOYALTY TO COUNTRY
IS WHAT WE ALL BELIEVE
TO LEAD EXCEL AND OVERCOME
IS WHAT WE MUST ACHIEVE
FOREVER STRONG AND VALIANT
WE'LL GIVE OUR LIVES AND MORE
NEVER CEASING TO SERVE SINGAPORE
WE COME FROM OCS
WE ARE THE VERY BEST
LEADING WITH DIGNITY AND PRIDE
WHEREEVER WE GO
WE WILL ALSO KNOW
OUR SPIRIT LIVES FOREVER MORE
posted by haoz @ 6/03/2005 12:16:00 PM
3 Comments:
Very heartfelt memoir. I could see my whole stint at OCS flash infront of me as I read it. These are memories that only those who have undergone the training will truly understand and relinquish.
-Dilip Kumar S/O Prankumar
64/06 OCC
To Lead, To Excel, To Overcome
Hello, I do not agree with the previous commentator - not so simple
frc o qlr x, Free Sex. mfq d, kqo hejkzt! izlj y hmk bn.
wtd x umw f, [URL=http://www.pr0nvidz.com]Porn[/URL]. pci a, pvw mdqdkj! xaea d vsc aa.
Post a Comment
<< Home