National Service in Singapore

[13177]

23 minutes ago, Atrecord said:

pioneer i think one of the more siong, but cannot fight with the many commandos here lah, of course 😅

i suspect pioneer magazine became history long ago. I opted out of it, cos my older brother receives it anyway. But after some years, didn't see it anymore. Think Internet killed many magazines...

Or the pioneer magazine become online liao and no more hardcopy?

I think many vocation in army is siong lo, esp those stay in one. Lol.

[13177]

24 minutes ago, Atrecord said:

that's true. now seldom already, but many moons ago when my JC got gatherings the few years after we left school, the guys would sure talk about all the army stories, and the gals would si bey sian... 

but among my classmates, one guy was a clerk. We said he good life lor, no need to slog like what we had to go through, but he actually said our NS life much more interesting than his (boring office work)... 🤣

Agreed la, when i look back now, i would still choose to stay in and go through the siong training again, it have left many memories in my life, rather than becoming a stay out personnel with boring NS life.

[13177]

12 minutes ago, Atrecord said:

wah good life you...

we did quite a few 24 bay MGBs here and in crescendo... and even did APB once, even though it was phasing out. still remember instructors would tekan us by making us touch the tree and come back - when carrying those bloody heavy bridging parts!!!

i actually got posted out to armour later, so i had both blue and black berets. After spending like (fastest ever was) bit more than 2 hr to build the 24 bay MGB in SOCE, when we went 38 SCE, the bloody AVLB could launch bridge of about the same length in just a few minutes!!! Really should have phased out bridging long ago...

Actually 30 SCE was just about to move when we left SOCE. Our bunk downstairs got a small field... small in terms of width, but quite long... We used to do trainings like the pipe charge there (so it's not all that small). At the far end of the field, was a 'highland' with fence on top. Beyond the fence, was higher ground... and it's NTU... could see the bus (can't remember number) going past now and then... even more interesting would be when once in a blue moon would have char bo undergrads walk there. 

A few years later, this field became no more, as LTA must have arm-twisted Mindef to give that field up to build the PIE extension over it. So the bunk had a much nearer fence, and NTU sits on the other side of an expressway.

We used to have scheduled tonners to bring us out from deep inside the jurong camp, where our bunk was, to the main gate, but one time got no tonner. We were forced to carry our bag (full of dirty uniforms to go home wash) and walk that >1km inside camp to the main gate... siong... 

30 SCE had another gate one right?

Didnt know that jurong camp so big until need to walk >1km to the main gate?! Can build up the morale when you can see the civilian world while you are doing your training in your camp, esp can see NTU char bo?! Lol. Dont know during your era, the bus that goes to NTU is 199 or not. Cause i know bus 199 has been going to NTU as long as i could remember. Only later when NIE was house inside NTU and then they run another bus 179 to NTU.

[Atrecord]

1 hour ago, Watwheels said:

You lao peng. My time already called sispec and not safincos, and specialist instead of nco. So lucky to be admin nco siah. 

Tough life in combat engineers. Mono intake somemore. Your time serve for how long? 3years?

bo lah, never had 3 yr. 

that time was simple. 2 stripes (CPL and above) will serve 2.5 yr. 

LCP and below, only 2 yr.

and of course 'Air' level ones almost certainly sure 2.5 yr. Hokkien pengs will be only 2 yr...

Me pai maih max. NCO niah, enlisted in Mar, on courses till the next year after SAF parade then posted to unit... TMD on course longer than typical occifer 🤦‍♂️ si bey bo huah...

when posted to unit, already took out calendar and started to countdown to our disruption date (we were going to disrupt in June the subsequent year to go univs)...

My men (the armoured pioneers) all mono intake. They lagi pai miah, cos all 'Air' level ones and not hokkien pengs. Some of them had some ambitions/pride, but ended up as men... so initially morale low... 

but because of the rule above, the whole battalion all the men also promoted to CPL before 2 yr up, so had to serve 2.5 yr 😅 also... I think that was first time got such issue - men and NCOs all CPLs... so SAF soon made the NCOs 3SG to differentiate between NCO and men.

During reservist time, when no PC came for the cycle, we took the appraisal forms to score ourselves (the NCOs) very poor - so that we no need go what Pl SGT/CSM courses. And we scored the men (all CPL) very high, with remarks that got good leadership qualities, etc... 😂 Hoping that they will be promoted instead 🤣

Oh, combat engineer was bad enough... then we got posted to do armour conversion to become armoured pioneer. Had to learn to take care of M113, strip track, servicing, etc... pui pui pui...

the only plus side was didn't need to walk as much as if we had stayed in SCE 😁

[Atrecord]

1 hour ago, ToyotaShuttle said:

i thought mono intake has always been 2 years? and non-mono was 2.5 years then shorten to 2 yrs.

Was there ever 3 yrs?

no hor. Later on population too educated. Even A lvl became mono intake and became men... they would be promoted to CPL (while still men) before 2 yrs' up, so that they must serve 2.5 yr. 

after that maybe shortened to 2 yr, but that was after my time lor... heck even reservist also shorted from 13 yr to 10 yr... when I had already served 11 yr!!!!! really TMD 😂

[Atrecord]

28 minutes ago, Sdf4786k said:

this is what is called outsource professional services.

outsource is real. My first few ICTs, had to wash our own toilets.

Last few, got blanglahs wash liao 🤣

[Atrecord]

19 minutes ago, 13177 said:

Or the pioneer magazine become online liao and no more hardcopy?

I think many vocation in army is siong lo, esp those stay in one. Lol.

ha ha... no idea. I was still curious about the magazine before i enlisted.

After that, it became something of a 'disliked' item 😂

I thought stay out was the exception rather than the norm. And among all my closer friends (where only a handful were stay-out ones), noone (except one commando) had it worse than me in terms of army life... 

Lately i learn here in MCF got many people more siong than me, ha ha...

[Sdf4786k]

3 minutes ago, Atrecord said:

ha ha... no idea. I was still curious about the magazine before i enlisted.

After that, it became something of a 'disliked' item 😂

I thought stay out was the exception rather than the norm. And among all my closer friends (where only a handful were stay-out ones), noone (except one commando) had it worse than me in terms of army life... 

Lately i learn here in MCF got many people more siong than me, ha ha...

Was it by default need to subscript ?

[Atrecord]

10 minutes ago, 13177 said:

Didnt know that jurong camp so big until need to walk >1km to the main gate?! Can build up the morale when you can see the civilian world while you are doing your training in your camp, esp can see NTU char bo?! Lol. Dont know during your era, the bus that goes to NTU is 199 or not. Cause i know bus 199 has been going to NTU as long as i could remember. Only later when NIE was house inside NTU and then they run another bus 179 to NTU.

yup, camp was big, and we were the deepest inside... sian...

the partition fence was also the far end of NTU lah, not (m)any people will walk there one lah, esp char bors... 

in my 5 mth staying there, only maybe saw 50 or less people lor...

i not from NTU, so also not sure leh. I did go to NTU weekly for a period, on Sats afternoon to play soccer and did take 199, but that would have been 6-8 yr after my time in jurong camp...

[Atrecord]

1 minute ago, Sdf4786k said:

Was it by default need to subscript ?

yes, deduct direct a small amount from the $135 allowance starting as a recruit. but i think i got reason to cancel cos my brother was getting it anyway.

[Sdf4786k]

9 minutes ago, Atrecord said:

outsource is real. My first few ICTs, had to wash our own toilets.

Last few, got blanglahs wash liao 🤣

I suggested that all reservist issue with a personal gukas and carry all our barangs and we go to the field and command them. But i think my suggestion was not well accepted.

[ToyotaShuttle]

31 minutes ago, Atrecord said:

no hor. Later on population too educated. Even A lvl became mono intake and became men... they would be promoted to CPL (while still men) before 2 yrs' up, so that they must serve 2.5 yr. 

after that maybe shortened to 2 yr, but that was after my time lor... heck even reservist also shorted from 13 yr to 10 yr... when I had already served 11 yr!!!!! really TMD 😂

Not sure if we have definition of mono intake

During my time, mono intake means direct into unit. There are still A level fellas who go into tekong BMT and do not get selected for specialist school but they aren't considered mono-intake. They will be promoted to CPL and serve 2.5 yrs.

[ToyotaShuttle]

 

1 hour ago, 13177 said:

Last time NSF only have 2 years or 2.5 years. Poly and JC 2.5 years. The rest of qualification is 2 years. I no heard have 3 years de? But NSF now is all 2 years liao.

i also never heard of 3 yrs...

[13177]

55 minutes ago, Atrecord said:

outsource is real. My first few ICTs, had to wash our own toilets.

Last few, got blanglahs wash liao 🤣

Now in army, do toilets default wash by blanglahs liao, even during NSF?

[13177]

49 minutes ago, Atrecord said:

yup, camp was big, and we were the deepest inside... sian...

the partition fence was also the far end of NTU lah, not (m)any people will walk there one lah, esp char bors... 

in my 5 mth staying there, only maybe saw 50 or less people lor...

i not from NTU, so also not sure leh. I did go to NTU weekly for a period, on Sats afternoon to play soccer and did take 199, but that would have been 6-8 yr after my time in jurong camp...

Sounds ulu le, only 50 or less people walk there? Wonder why these people walk to there in the first place?

[Atrecord]

1 hour ago, Sdf4786k said:

I suggested that all reservist issue with a personal gukas and carry all our barangs and we go to the field and command them. But i think my suggestion was not well accepted.

Wah, this you WITS submission huh? 😆

[Atrecord]

1 hour ago, ToyotaShuttle said:

Not sure if we have definition of mono intake

During my time, mono intake means direct into unit. There are still A level fellas who go into tekong BMT and do not get selected for specialist school but they aren't considered mono-intake. They will be promoted to CPL and serve 2.5 yrs.

hmm... you could be right - yours is maybe more precise definition. 

when i mentioned my battalion was mono intake, it was meant to mean that the whole unit people (or most of them) were enlisted at the same time, but could be different companies and different camps (tekong/nee soon), but once they got posted to the unit, then they're 'stuck' there, and they go through further trainings there to prepare them for the unit life and also reservist, all the way till MR.

Except for those who for whatever reason (disrupt for further studies, downgrade, sign on, etc.) leave the unit, in which case will try to find replacements from other units, otherwise the whole bunch will stick together after BMT, all the way to end of reservist which is MR.

But i had the impression that from my time (or even before that), there was no more pure mono intake as what you described. All enlistees will go to either tekong or nee soon camp already, and there was no more 'direct enlist into unit' anymore leh.

So seems like you lagi old bird...

[Atrecord]

1 hour ago, 13177 said:

Now in army, do toilets default wash by blanglahs liao, even during NSF?

this one i dunno. maybe i try to ask my nephew...

but if i were the one making the decision, i will want the NSFs to do the washing. NS is afterall the phase where a pampered prince at home, learn and experience life less-sheltered, and grow up.

Everything no need to do, will be same as staying at home...