I almost had an epileptic fit when I heard on the news recently that singaporean males would only need to go through two years of national service starting from December this year. This is down from the two-and-a-half-year period which A-level and diploma-holders used to serve in the past. The first thought that went through my mind was, "How can??!! NOt Fair!!!"
It goes without saying that my NS days had left an indelible mark on me, especially those first few months of BMT (Basic Military Training). During my time, it was not uncommon to have over-zealous instructors bending SAF's safety rules in order to make the lives of their trainees less than comfortable. Prior to my enlistment, I had such incredible, pre-conceived notions about the SAF... It wasnt long before these beliefs were debunked and I grew cynical about evrything which the SAF represented. This was compounded by the fact that I was such an amazingly naive and insecure person back then. As time progressed, NS became more tolerable but more often than not, I used to believe that I existed in a kind of limbo outside of reality.
It seemed to me as if army-life had its own rules and regulations, its own code of ethics, myths and legends, and even its own exclusive parlance. But the memories weren't all dark and gloomy; I did have a number of happy and carefree moments ;) On the whole though, I must admit that my NS years were the most formative years of my life...
Now, when I overhear youths talking about their enlistments with a mixture of dread and excitement, I can only smile faintly. Their nights will be spent sleeping on Dunlopillo mattresses. There won't be any dishes to wash after meal-times... AND they'll be serving six months lesser!! *haiz*
Seriously, I'm not bitter about it. Perhaps, just slightly jealous??? ;p
