A day that you'll look back to

2004-05-23 3:49 p.m.

Yesterday, the twenty second day of the second month 2004 years after the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, three events took place. Well, maybe they aren’t exactly events but let me touch on each on of them in three separate entries.

First up, it was the last day for one of my officers. Yes, Lieutenant Sim, ended his two years and four months (yup that’s accurate; most boys will know why) of defending his country. Actually, much of it was done by sitting behind a desk and not in the field; then again the job of an Assistant Manpower Officer is far from simple. For the few months I’ve known him, he struck me as not an officer who issues endless commands to the enlistees and NCOs, but one who strikes a good rapport with both the regulars and the NSFs. The first time he conversed with me was during one of our weekly exercise periods and contrary to the forced shouting you expected from officers, he provided encouragement and ran with me till the end.

A second most striking characteristic of this officer (who by the way, is around my height) is his never dying search for a female friend. (Sir, if you’re reading this, what I write is quite correct, so you can’t sue me.) Upon learning my JC background, the first question he asked was “Eh, any pretty girls for me? “. It didn’t stop there, for he’s going to enter university the same time as the girls in my batch are. So he would pop in frequently and ask the same questions over and over again. Under the endless interrogation, I might have revealed some names, but to my NJ friends, don’t worry, he doesn’t know your faces. Even so, he’s a gentleman in action and at heart, despite his small stature. He has shown more that just leadership; in fact he’s provided guidance in areas far beyond his bailiwick. Despite suffering the endless complaints and tirades from both NSmen and the officer staff, he hasn’t buckled under pressure, but smiles at any point in his work.

His presence yesterday was almost like a refreshing shower. Laughter erupted within minutes of his arrival, and he brought us up to date with his current and future plans. His dyed hair caused a bit of a stir, but the colour would soon disappear once he gets his orders to report forr reservist training. I guess the unit can’t bear to part with one of the best AS 1s we have. His successor, 2LT Ong, didn’t torture him as is the tradition for those who ORD, but held back his pink IC for a while. Therefore, I was tasked with the task of extracting the item that NSFs long for from the AS 1 room. In the process, I found a four page document titled “The life on an AS 1” on the desk. Rapidly scanning through, I picked up some grammar and spelling mistakes, but the small composition touched on the poignant parts of his life in camp. The script was soon passed around. He was the first AS1 to bother to create such an essay, and it was not so much as to start a tradition, but to leave words of wisdom (well maybe not wisdom) for those who assume control of the same post in the years to come. “Laminate it and post it up on my office wall will you?” he asked me. It’s probably the last order I’ll receive from this humourous, easy going officer, but yes sir, I’ll do it for you (when there is time. Heheh.)

“Old soldiers never die, they just fade away”, claimed General Douglas Mac Arthur upon his dismissal as Commander of UN forces in Korea. Yes indeed, Lieutenant Sim will be just one of the many who pass through the Singapore Arm Forces. Of course, he has his thirteen year reservice cycle to complete and I may well see him in the ICTs next year. Even as these soldiers become dust in the wind, their actions remain etched in our minds and their experiences are hardly erased even as they end their time wearing the green uniform. Whether you’re an officer, a sergeant, a combat medic or a clerk controlling the actions of two thousand plus men, you’ll probably have something to hold on when you leave service. Pink is the colour of freedom so is the claim by those who complete their two, two and one third or two and a half years of NS. Then again, you’ll be leaving with others remembering you for notorious or famous actions and you’ll occasionally flash back to those days as a man in green.

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