Ben and my brother enlisted on Wednesday. I wanted so very badly to be there to see them in, but I couldn't apply for leave for something like that. I was feeling excited the whole day even though I was barely able to experience it. To see the island again, to sit on that memorable fast craft, to eat chow in the cookhouse and to see my old company line was something I desperately wanted to do again, because experiences are always much sweeter in retrospect.
Now though, I'm in the navy and it's so far been pretty good. It's certainly a vocation off the beaten path of the SAF; there's much less PT, many more classrooms and the whole environment is different. Walking past the piers yesterday to visit the e-mart, a long ways off from the bunks, I saw the four hulking LSTs lined up along the North Wharf, the seriously space-age Formidable class frigates docked next to them, and then a lone submarine and the missile corvettes.
1. Interestingly, in the Indian Navy, it's frigate is staffed by 350 MP
In the Singapore Navy, the advanced frigate is staffed by just 70. Everyone learns to multi-task, including the SHATEC-trained (o.0) chef who has to learn how to operate a .50cal and function as a medic.
2. A standard aircraft carrier requires about 3500 MP to operate, and if Singapore were ever to get one, it's RSN staff of a mere 4000 would all put their fate into one vessel.
There's not much to dread around here, so I'm surprised when I hear whines about Saturday drills for NDP (which, in my opinion, is actually quite a proud task) and small PT sessions. As I've probably mentioned before, (but definitely not on this blog, that would be unwise) the demographics have many stratifications, and the clear and sensitive difference in interaction between them, as compared to peers I more commonly hang out with, is one really interesting observation.
This week, during one of the talks, we were told about EX Malindo Darsasa, a very large joint Malaysia-Indonesia military exercise involving 3.8k paratroopers that occurred in 1991. Apparently few Singaporeans, myself included, know about this, but the facts behind it are very interesting. It was a two week exercise apparently planned two years in advance, with the crescendo planned as a massive airdrop in South Johore, just 18km away from the Singapore mainland. If that wasn't enough, the operation was codenamed "Pukul Habis", or Total Wipeout. What was most important, though, was that the date of this final battle was set for the 9th of August, 1991. Given little notice of this large military exercise planned minutes from our doorstep, and taking place on such a peculiar date, Singapore responded by conducting an open mobilisation on National Day itself, whilst the parade was underway. Try finding more information on this and you'd probably be as unsuccessful as I was. It seems that it's desire to be kept low key, probably by all three governments, has so far been successful.
There was also a video culled from the archives of the RSN with actual footage of the RSN encountering the fleeing South Vietnamese boat people during the Vietnam war, and apparently some were armed to the teeth, especially with US weapons. They never used it against the RSN, (though I'm sure the Navy must have been frightened when they found and confiscated them) but their arsenal included many M16s, revolvers, pistols, hand grenades, M60s and even M79 grenade launchers. Despite this, the RSN had to deal calmly with highly intransigent refugees desperately seeking greener (or perhaps less bloodied) pastures. In one clip you can see many boats beached on the shores of East Coast park, with the CBD in the background, and the Vietnamese living, bathing and washing themselves right where a certain demographic currently never fail to pitch their tents every holiday.
Hopefully in the weeks to come, there won't be a shortage of more interesting stories to share. Here's the Navy song just for kicks. I much prefer it to the BMT song, and it's really cool (imho) to hear it being sung loudly and proudly by a hundred RSN personnel. I know it might be draining for some to read so much about the SAF when they can't relate to it or don't have a similar interest in it, but I think that's just something that comes along with being stuck in camp six days a week? Either that, or it's just me. Another SAF song that's pretty nice is Knock It Down. It's not at all rah-rah, yet it's still something you'd love for a whole route marching contingent to sing in cadence. I guess you'll only feel the same way when you go in. I hope you'll feel the same way when you go in, although I don't really know why.