A Look back at ns days

The recent mishap of Aloysius Phang, who passed away during a training accident in NZ on Wednesday, reminded me of the good and bad days that I had during my NS days, which lasted from Jul 2000 till Jan 2003.

The good, was I had met a nice officer, during my days when serving as a clerk in Sembawang Air Base. I was given a lift by him out of camp at one instance. Little did I expect that he actually offered to pick me up from my place to camp every morning, unless he had flying duties. I will always remember his kind deed to me in this lifetime of mine. Next, I was thankful to have met my NS buddy there, who kept a lookout for me when we were in camp during our NS days together. Sadly though, he has since passed away after a battle with illness for about a year 12 years ago.

The bad, I prefer not to dwell on it too much, but some of the things that guys will know if they have served NS  that I have faced include,

1. Not able to get early time off to pursue my ACCA qualification at that time
2. No long weekends for me as the officer felt that I disrespected her / was malingering
3. Was not allowed to go home and was confined in sick bay when I was running a high fever in camp
4. Given satisfactory conduct when I knew I have done my best
5. Had tried to have a platonic friendship with a gal I knew there, but was misunderstood by officers that I was interested in her. Even though, I am diagnosed with cerebral palsy, this does not mean that I am not allowed to have friends, or a gal that I am interested in.

Although I was excused uniform half a year I was enlisted and was exempted from reservist training, the NS stint changed my outlook in life.

1. I do not trust people that easily.
2. I hate to be looked down upon by people
3. I believe that one has to undergo hardships to grow
4. NS helped me become more determined.

I shall not go into how I feel about the incident as I feel that its the job of the COI to find the answer.