Enlistment

Cousin JL will be enlisting in a few months time and he is not a whee bit concerned, like I was in my time. Why? Because he has been medically downgraded.

I still remember my enlistment day, the images of climbing up the three-tonner, of glancing at my parents sitted and waving at me, picking up the ali baba bag, waiting for the hair-cut, waiting at the range for shooting practice, of many punishments (especially one change parade I was responsible for for reporting back camp late), a female sergeant screaming obscenities at us, the same female sergeant making me 'knock-it-down' when I offered to give her a hand going down a steep slope, of having an emergency pee session while firing blanks in the midst of tall lalang somewhere in Lim Chun Kang, of being estatically happy when I chanced upon a secondary school friend who was also involved in training in Lim Chu Kang .... the list goes on.

In a way, I am sorry that JL will not be having the FULL NS experience, though I doubt very much he will mind.