Journal of James's Journey with Jesus

National Service And The Joy of Doing It

The joy of doing it? Okay, I know this is not exactly what people say after doing national service. The usual descriptions are peppered with curses, expletives(as you can see above) and words that have not been uttered by any man about another subject. But I'm going to stick with my views on it and tell you what I've gained from this perpertual state of monotony.

It's true that national service takes up 2 years of our lives while our female counterparts learn what life's really like in the working world where people eat people for breakfast. And the polytechnic graduate will turn 25 or 26 before he steps into the working world after completing his 3-4 year degree course. Let's not even go on about getting a job, repaying the study loan and getting married.

Our duties are mundane, especially after doing the same routine for at least a year. Not to mention, even the most acute mind goes rusty and into a state of disrepair. After all, what men do in the armed forces to pass time is play with the Playstation Portable console and read magazines lined with pages and pages of racy photographs of models in bikinis.

But after I've been through the slow, scourging torture of spending innumerable days in camp, I've also realised how enriching it has been for my character. National service provided me with a platform to understand humans and their systems and to lead and teach people to do basic things excellently. I feel a sense of ownership of this country, of being a true citizen who has contributed to the defence of its sovereignty. As a poster playfully puts it, "This is dirt. Our dirt."

It taught me the meaning of duty and responsibility. I know many who skive and escape responsibilities but I am proud to say I am not one of them. I've never taken a medical certificate when I'm not sick nor have I ever exaggerated the extent of any illness. I have learnt to suck my thumb to the bone and deal with whatever comes.

I like the army culture which accepts almost everyone as they are. Though we may come from vastly different backgrounds, we get along well with 90 percent of the people there. Of course, occasionally there is that 1-out-of-10 weirdo who has unacceptable behaviour or bad attitudes. But we tolerate them well enough and there is little high-school popularity contests or bullying seen here.

In the past, people would have rather died than be seen with certain people they've met during national service. But surprisingly, I've seen people in the armed forces accept people despite their personality or character flaws and differences.

Perhaps it's because the more kinds of people we come into contact with , the more we realise the beauty of the diversity in people that God has created. Or that we should love people because they are the only sentient beings which contain such intellect, beauty and grace. Maybe we were united by suffering and serving a common cause. Familiarity does breed a certain sense of family.

The exact reason to this phenomenon I will never know but what I do know is that it broke down society's cliques and brought Singaporean males closer to one another. There's an unspoken understanding, respect and brotherhood among us. A common culture binds us together as we talk about and anticipate the day when we are finally released from our military obligations.

I used to dislike, avoid and distance people who smoked, spoke vulgarities or studied in ITEs(Institutes of Technical Education). I am ashamed of my prejudices and have since changed my views about them as I've witnessed many a good soldier and person from those groups.

Above all, national service is the cure for predjudice, racism and any other form of segregation. The only aspect that is imperfect is the unspoken fact that muslims are barred from serving in what they call 'sensitive' units. I feel that whatever rationale we give for not trusting them does not go in line with our national values of equality and meritocracy. The muslims have much leadership qualities to offer.

I am confident that few, or no, men can betray a country he has protected before, especially if it's a just country that has done no wrong to humankind. If we are guarded against our own people, they will be driven by mistrust to turn to another provider of a sense of belonging; be it religion, race or other factions.

My National Service period has been the darkest hours of my life. I have experienced spiritual defeat and a loss of hope. But I learnt a greal deal about myself and grew to understand that life isn't pretty and we should appreciate whatever beauty and happiness we can glean from it.

When life hits you with all it's got, will you still call on God? When God's presence seems so surreal, will you still seek Him? To these questions, I stand in truth that I've not been dependent on Him. But I knew He was always beside me and that gave me the will and hope to survive in any way I can.

Whenever I felt depressed, anxious or alone, I only had to think of Him. My fears were slowly quieted, my pounding heart immediately stilled and my worries peacefully pacified into sleep like a baby listening to a lullaby.

Strength is not found in a heart hardened with violence, but rather a temperate soul that has persevered through the toughest times.

Patience teaches men to hope for the day of their salvation.

It won't be long before soon. May 12 2009 marks the date of my Jubilee. Goodbye, Corporal First-Class James and Hello, Mr. Lin!

Army Jargon(The Ones That Can Be Written Here Anyway)

Chao Keng - Translated loosely in English as 'Smelly ...'. Skiving away in a variety of ways. For example, taking a medical certificate on false or exaggerated claims of sickness to avoid coming to camp.

Fall out - Discharge yourself from a physical activity by claiming or feigning injury. Can be used to chao keng.
Status - The trump card used to chao keng. Different statuses exempt you from different things. The favourite is ATT C, which is the army term for MC. Other statuses include Excuse grass, outfield, boots, uniform, marching, walking and prolonged standing.

Down PES - To permanently, or at least for a long time, downgrade and limit your national service to a clerk/storeman/driver vocation by getting this hot-like-cupcakes status.

Sai Kang - Translated loosely in English as 'Shit Job'. Work that's 'allocated' to us from someone else who's supposed to do it. Or work that the government should really hire professional contractors/movers to do.

By left - Doing things by left mean doing things that are not allowed by higher management. Follows the unwritten cardinal rule in SAF that states, "You can do anything but don't get caught."

By right - Work culture for the stiff-necked, self-righteous guy who is usually a weirdo.

Xin Jiao - Translated loosely in English as 'New Bird'. Corresponds to the meaning of greenhorn and freshman.

Lao Jiao - Translated loosely in English as 'Old Bird'. Corresponds to the meaning of senior and sai kang allocator.

Qie - Translated loosely in English as 'cut'. Lai jiaos qie xin jiaos by allocating to them sai kang that was originally their responsibility.

Smoke Out - Creating a smoke screen of excuses to escape from sai kang. A form of chao kenging.

Eye Power - An ability originally attributed only to Cyclops of X-Men. Uncanny ability to see to it that something is done without doing anything. Picked up by lao jiaos who do nothing but qie xin jiaos by making them do their sai kang.

Extras - A form of punishment, in the form that you don't go home when your friends do. Stay in camp and do duty while your friends enjoy their short reprieve.

SOL - An advanced form of extras.

DB - Short for Detention Barracks. Worst punishment ever. Stay in a military detention barracks doing nothing but sandbag physical training all day. If you're sentenced for anything longer than 28 days, you officially have a civil criminal record.

CGH - Short for Changi General Hospital. The national servist's favourite hospital. Scores of them can be seen on any day at ungodly hours with sudden outbreaks of diarrhoea, cough, flu and other conjured illnesses. Usually patients are given ATT Cs for an unusual number of days and a variety of Statuses.

AWOL - Away With Out Leave. It means you didn't report to camp when required to. A serious offence with maximum punishment of going to DB. Should have just gone to CGH.

ORD - Stands for Official R... Date. Basically the date when you're released from your military obligations(not including reservice). Favourite word in the mouths of national servists.
Suck Thumb - A phrase used to encourage people to take it in their stride because they really can't do anything else about it. You suck thumb when you get extras, SOL, sentenced to DB or get qied by lao jiaos. You especially suck thumb when lao jiaos compare their ORD dates to yours and then tell you to get going on with your sai kang.

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