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It’s almost 6 months that i have been under the Enlistment Act serving my “term”. Well, now i have truly tasted what it feels like, when other people say that serving NS is just another 2years that you waste your time, doing things that are not your cup of tea.

Hearing this obviously is not good news. Well, i’ve got posting which apparently ain’t to my liking. I got posted to the charge office in alpha division though. Which i will be expecting to meet loads of criminals everyday, doing escort duties and such.

Hopefully i will get to experience more and learn more stuffs until i ORD which is like not very soon.

Currently attending the PIC course, which will end on Monday. Well, to a certain extent i like attending course is that it’s super slack and all we have to do is sit and listen, though it can be boring at times.

For the past one month, I have been opscon-ed. Shan’t elaborate so much, but my job is pretty much to prevent MSk from fleeing, since he’s so much on the run now.

What i can say after a month would be that division life and training command life is vastly different. What we learnt in theory might not come in handy when dealing in real life situations. More practical skills and tactics should then be applied to prevent the situation/issue to aggravate. Many of such things we do not actually learn during lessons, it’s more of realizing and learning on the way when we actually deal with it.

Man on ground is indeed the one that does the most work, sad to say though.

I realised i haven’t posted any of me in Police Uniform though being in the force for almost half a year.

Here are some, and the others taken at my point where i was stationed for 1 month.

I must special mention this dog. His name is Johnny. We believed that he was abandoned by his owner, as it is able to interact very well with human beings, esp POs. Hence it will follow us during our rovings, making us look like K9 unit somehow. It helps “guard” our post by sitting and sleeping in front of it though. Pretty lazy i must say, but its really obedient.

Some sunset view..

Well, if based on these pictures you can decipher where my post is.. Good for you then.

The next phase of police life is going to start, gear up and get ready to give it all..!

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Wearing the blue uniform makes me have a different look and view of how teenage nowadays behave and act.

It’s rather shocking that such things are actually are happening and this really reflects on their parental upbringing and school’s teaching. On the bigger picture, the evolution of the whole society; where they’ve grown to become much more daring and oblivious to the people and things around them.

Well, i’m not trying to say that during my time i was a good boy the follow strict rules and such. But never have i tried to punk around with the hands of the law.

Just a few days ago, me and my partner came across these group of kids in school uniform sitting at the parapet near the beach. We decided to move in and conduct some checks on them.

Due to the landscape of the place, it is very easy to spot POs patrolling, especially in our distinct blue uniform and equipments.

So, when they saw us approaching. One guy stood up and walked further up the parapet to sit down.  So we started asking them what are they doing here, in school uniform and sorts. They seem to be a little defensive about their actions.

When my partner asked ” got smoke anot?” One of them replied almost immediately.

“we got no cigarette.” 

Such answers only lead one to more suspicion to whether to search their possession.

After taking down particulars, we got them to leave the place. We comb the surrounding a little and realised that there is a pack of Menthol Lights in the bushes. I went down and retrieve and there were still like 5-6 sticks left inside.

It’s quite obvious that they threw it there, in fear that we search their bags to finding contraband items.

It appears that earlier on the guy that walked further up threw the pack of cigarette there.

Those teenagers were only 14years old.

What is the world coming to..?

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It was only one week ago when i booked in to HTA, thinking of all the POP rehearsals training that i would have to face.

But all these happened like it was all planned.

The past week of wearing the blue uniform meeting the public have made me understand better, what do the people really expects of us.

In this real world, we in this uniform are expected to uphold the law, be the law enforcer…. But do people come across their mind that we police are also human.

All the stories and encounters my partners and all have to say when they are attending to their message, sounds interesting and weird at times.

Tomorrow morning is morning shift, sleep is precious for now.

12hours is a long long time.

so long…

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If only it was true that the results are releasing soon. Rumours have been spread from last last friday, to last Friday, and hopefully the last piece of information that it is this coming Friday would be true.

Not that i am very eager to see the “fabulous” results that i am hoping to get. It’s more of the 1 day off that i can get away from NS to collect my results and once again return back to school to visit all the has been all over again. The band, teachers, landscape and memories that was left and kept there.

Hopefully everything goes well, hopefully. Getting into the desired course is the ultimate goal right now, which it definitely has to come along with good grades.

This blog is starting to rot, seriously rot. Whenever i have some thought than i want to pen it down, i would tell myself that i will share it when i get home. But it seems that whenever i reach home, my brain would be so switched off that i forget what i initially wanted to say.

If only they allowed Laptops in camp, which they didn’t forbid just that the chargers are prohibited.

If you are wondering how’s PNS life is like. You’ll get what i mean in a couple of sentences below. Some of the things which we did the last week.

1. Watched a soccer match between Home United and Dalian Live at Bishan Stadium
2. Went for a Heritage Tour
3. Enough time at night to sleep and wake up to find that it’s not lights out time yet.

Well, of course i’m not complaining that it’s too slack in there, or rather it should be rephrased as most of the time we’re wasting time. But if time are being utilised properly, they could have well shorten the training period from 3 months to 2 months. Now that my batch has training for 4months plus, which makes the thought of this even more unbearable.

NS is a whole new disruption to the life for guys. Looking at your female friends of the same age entering University, while we are still serving the Nation. Completely switched off mind during the 2 years period and then back to books again. There are pros and cons to it, but the pasture at the other side always look greener and more delicious i have to say.

This is what has been spread around, and it seem pretty true looking at the state people around us are. The post NS syndrome, which makes people look older than they seem to be. With more serious look, and mature thinking… *shrugs* How true it might be, you determine it yourself.

But still, i want to be myself. The change might be gradual as we start to take on more roles and responsibilities after we pass out, and hopefully it’s for the better.

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I did something extraordinary on Monday for my Night Training.

Still suffering from the depression that i failed my Standing Broad Jump ONCE AGAIN, i decided to do lunges with weights around the Unity Square a.k.a Parade Square of HTA.

If you have doubts about what lunges are the picture below will give you a better idea of what it is.

I thought it wasn’t going to be very tough initially, but when i first started like 50metres, i was already sweating like crazy and gasping for air and breath already.

Thankfully, i have great determination. I managed to finish the whole round of the Unity Square in approximately half an hour. Though i too many breaks, but still i am glad i finished it. I was one of the biggest feat i have completed in HTA.

Some statistics, for my leg length, i take 773 lunges to complete one round around Unity Square. Half an hour, with weights of 4.5kg on each side of my arm.

That explains the unbearable ache i am suffering on my thighs now, it makes it almost impossible for me to go down a flight of stairs or a slope. Slow jogging is still possible though.

Try it with caution, you will love the tightness on your thighs. Hopefully it aids in SBJ, giving me an extra boost in the next IPPT.

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Like most people say, in NS you get to meet all kind of people. I can’t disagree any further on this statement. Let me introduce this guy, hopefully it doesn’t stink up my blog.

His name is XXX, shouldn’t be that evil to that extent of revealing his name in the blogosphere, but he has some nicknames that you can follow. They include, “the force”, “el-stinko”, “smelly boy”, etc..

Well, from what you see from the nicks given to him, instant instincts tells you that he’s not someone that is very pleasant to the nose.

Here goes.

I shall address him to be Mr. smell in my blog entry below.

Mr Smell has a distinct BO that one could tell from a distance of 10metres away. Well, coming from a Bp squad, sometimes excessively fat people have a intolerable stench on their body due to the sweat glands and such. We all understand that, so the best possible way to minimize such smell impacts would be to change clothes more often, or to bathe more often ain’t that right?

But due to the nature of Mr. Smelly, he’s a downright stubborn boy. During break times where people usually go take a shower to prepare for the next activity in hand, he never does that, or should i say seldom. He would just sit down beside his bed and quickly change into the next activity’s attire with a stupid alarm clock on his hand.

Well, i forgot to mention that he’s the No.1 paranoid in the squad. He follows exactly what the officers tells us, and is always the first to fall in. Alright, an example would be good..

Let say the time required to fall in is 0900hrs, when we are being dismissed from the Mess/Cookhouse at 0755hrs, he would he changed into his No.3(full uniform) by 0805hrs, while the rest of us are still in singlets and shorts.

Well, any idiot would know that the full uniform makes people sweat more and will stink up the shirt if there is excessively sweat on it. But he just doesn’t seem to bother.

Moreover, he has the fastest flow of sweat that i have ever seen in my life. Standing in attention for a mere 5 mins, you can see his whole face filled with beads of sweat, while the others are still dry and smelling good.

It most probably due to his high level of tensed up feeling and paranoids that make him sweat so easily. 

Furthermore, he sleeps in his PT Kit, which is the kit that we wear for Physical training sessions, which this makes the situation much more worst when he sweats when he sleep on this back. Many complained that even in the morning when the sun is not even up yet they are able to smell his odour while walking behind him or standing behind him to brush teeth. Although he might claims that he does change his shirt, but wearing the PT attire to sleep does make the polo t-shirt smelly over the night.

To sum up, it’s not 1 or 2 reasons that make up Mr. Smell. It’s a combination of the most deadly factors that make up the stench, which not many people is capable of doing so.

1. untolerable BO
2. refuses to change new sets of clothings
3. refuses to bathe
4. always feeling so stressed up
5. stubborn nature of not listening to advices

Well, its not like he is not told of his unbearable odour coming out from his body. In the initial stages, we all thought that we shouldn’t be so bad to tell him right straight in the face but to hint him here and there about the intolerable odour that exists on his body. But it seems that it doesn’t work well at all. Despite all the advices of telling him to change and bathe more frequently, he turns them down on deaf ears and even rebuts them with some stupid logic like bathing too often will cause a person to catch a cold easily.

It has now reached a stage where by people have gave up advising him on what to do, since he doesn’t want to comply with what we says, we have no choice but to take actions. It is interesting that whenever we fall in, the people that are standing around him often have difficulty breathing, try marching behind someone like him. I bet you would visit the MO (medical officer) very soon.

Also, during meal times, often the seats beside him would be empty. The very simple reason that the Mess food is already bad enough to consume, additional fillings like such smell would just make us puke out the food than to eat it.

It is bad to a certain degree that there are some that bring air fresheners to class to follow his trail.

You guys must be thinking, who is the unlucky fellow that is sleeping beside him in the bunk. I don’t know if i’ve aggravated him in my previous life or whatsoever, but that unlucky fellow is me. But being a bastard, i am, i have already thought of good plans to keeping myself alive. Stuffs like sleeping in another room, on another bed when the guy is on MC, or not there. Or just spamming the air fresheners around my region.

I give my word that the degree of “bastardness” from me would increase exponentially if this doesn’t improve. That’s how NS works.

Poor ME!

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Yesterday marks the last day for Prep Course, where it is a phase to train up less fit people like me to be geared up for Basic Police Training (BPT).

It’s really rather fast, that one month is gone just like this. Though it’s officially one month, but the actual days that we spent there are only 3weeks or so, thanks to the many holidays during the period and weekends.

We survived Prep Course, more things are coming up in the week up ahead.

1. Law Lessons
2. PSOC Lessons
3. PDT Lessons
4. Swimming Lessons
5. Range
6. More IPPT..

Well, i guess we’re more or less starting to get accustomed to the kind of life we can expect in HTA. In such cases of situation, there’s no point sighing or grumbling about the wastage of life and time there. More complaining and cursing will not make the situation any better.

My piece of true advice would be that to take things in your stride. Regardless of SAF or SPF, i believe it is only through these mindsets that smoothens our 2 years path in NS. We’ve got to accept fate that it’s the path that we all have to go through as guys under the Enlistment Act to serve the National Service for the Republic Of Singapore.

It’s interesting in a sense that when we’re starting to get used the life there, all the punishments and stuffs, we don’t get so uptight about being punished and scolded. Somehow i guess the instructors are too tired and can’t be bothered to scold and nag so much already, unless it’s some major faults and errs.

To sum up my first 1 month there..

5 most hated words/phrase

• to the left/right on your palms down
• heads out
• fall-in
• confinement
• “unlimited counts of jumping jacks, exercise begin”

5 most loved words/phrase

• ” Squad, Keluar Baris”
• Last count and still
• walk-out
• lights off
• POP

I tend to let my mind run real wild when i’m in camp. Thinking back about the different stages of life that we have walked through.

In Primary School, we always found P.E sessions too short and insufficient.

In Secondary School, we dreaded physical training, but loved the games that we can play then.

In JC, PE was one of the most hated lessons.

…

But all these were still not as bad as Physical Training (PT) in NS. Like one of the instructors said, back then in school it was Physical EDUCATION, now its TRAINING, different, period.

As true as his words meant, the discipline level is definitely much much higher. More endurance and determination would be required. No more spoon feeding and pampering.

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Also, teachers once tell us to put our fingers on our lips, to make sure we keep quiet. In NS, it’s about the same, just that the action of putting the finger on the lip is replaced by push-up positions and jumping jacks.

In the past, we were not allowed to run along the corridors, if not the prefects will write our names down in the pathetic blue notebook to report to the teachers.

In NS, we’re expected to run everywhere, from this destination to the next. How we wish we could reverse the conditions and the situations around.

Contrary of Life..

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I was bored and tried to login to NYXCHANGE LITESPEED. Apparently, it doesn’t recognise my IC anymore :(  I’m an expired student.

Cheers!

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Time’s counting down to the new year, and to a shorter extent, to the time where i have to book in again.

I’m starting to understand the importance of education, though it greatly affects the brightness and the path of the future, it also shapes up the character sense in yourself.

Its irritating to put people from all walks of life together, only to be sabotaged by those people who don’t use their brains to think when they act. Obviously punishments come in the form of the famous “one for all, all for one”. But this is so unfair when there is really nothing that we can do about them.

Selfish people only think about their own personal fun and enjoyment at the instant of time, they do not regard the consequences that they will bring about to themselves, not to say for the people around them.

Having lived for almost 2 decades, it really sets me pondering what they have been doing all these years in their life, doing things as and when they wish.

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After much training , i still failed my IPPT, standing broad jump, i will conquer that 9cm from you!!!

The prep course in HTA is going to end soon, hopefully life would be better when the fit squad people comes in.

I’m going mad polishing my boots and ironing my uniform, can’t believed i spent the whole afternoon doing that so faithfully, pray that the inspection tomorrow will go on smoothly.

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It’s finally the time for walk-out, after spending 9 days in HTA Camp. Many thanks to JiaHao and Angie for the send off..

And of course.. my parents too.

All those rumours about slacking life away in Police Force is more or less bullshit, i believe trainings are on equal standard compared to Army. Furthermore, ours is not progressive training, so in short.. Life’s tough with that much physical workouts.

After those arduous times there, at least i’m now feeling more built and muscular now, better toning of the body.

Police really distinguish themselves well with Army. Most of the things they do, though similar, sounds different.

Instead of “knock it down” , we have a more refined way of carrying pushups..

“to the left/right on your palms down”

Its more troublesome, because we have to move accordingly to the direction given.

One of the most dreaded action is to do PT in raincoat, especially in the company grounds. With limited grounds provided, its really restricting our actions and the raincoat’s weight makes PT more unbearable.

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Qualification is something that differentiates people around, even in NS. It’s kind of insulting when they say if we do not conduct ourselves well, we will de demoted to XXX. Which this will make those people in the XXX Category feel like 2nd or even 3rd class citizens.

But this is the world here in Singapore, when paper counts. If not for this way, i believe many would feel unjust, studying so hard for the past 13 years in life and only to be working and treated like some other Tom, Dick and Harry that never even completed proper school education.

That’s where the difficult part come in, people that do not receive much education do not really think about their actions. Like the way they talk and carry themselves, which will lead to trouble not only for themselves but all the people around them too.

Well, they specifically mentioned that there is to a certain degree of secrecy in the PF, so its not very advisable to openly discuss about such stuffs here.

Its many more months to go, and i better clear my IPPT next week. I want my Saturdays!

Training to be a NSmen, not NSboy.  Endure.. Persevere!

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In a few moments time, i will be disembarking on the next phase and journey of my life. A point where by past experiences say that it is a period  where boys turn into men.

National Service!!

Do drop by here often and check out for updates. Especially on book out days, bet many are curious about the life of PoliceNSmen in Home Team academy (HTA) since, majority of the people out there do not get the chance to undergo this process.

Glad that both my parents are able to go for the send off invitation. Though it is only a small gesture on their part, but it sure does make the whole process more significance and memorable.

So till then….

Those who are working.. happy working

Those who are slacking… get a life!

Farewell!

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