Friday, October 06, 2006
I've finally booked out of SAFTI MI (OCS) for the first time after my 3 week confinement period. But I must say, no matter how tired I feel, it’s an Honor to be in OCS, the top 10% of the intake cohort. All I can write now is a short summary about my 3 weeks in OCS.
The life is very different in OCS, the first 2 weeks was extremely hectic and the curriculum schedule full packed, time was a luxury and even though everything was rushed, we all had relatively high morale.
Unlike in BMT, where you will definitely have one or two reluctant and uncooperative individuals, everyone in OCS will sing during a march but it's true that tough training bonds people. The tougher the training, the stronger the bonds built within individuals because there is a common enemy. In OCS, you can never survive alone, you'll always need your buddy or your sections mates. If you attempt to do anything solo, you are going to have a very unpleasant and unhappy experience and you won't last long on your own steam.
The schedule for the day is fairly typical, there's physical training everyday, PT and runs in the morning, followed by either lectures on leadership modules, inspirational modules or weapons or technical training. I believe OCS is going to be the fittest time of my life. The first fittest peak of my life was in sec 3, NPCC NCO just after OBS. The second fittest peak was during yr2 Poly, during the TKD IVP04/05 tournament. The 3rd fittest peak was just after BMT.
The first 2 weeks were the Common-Leadership Module, where basically we have lectures, then get whacked or (tekan), we had little sleep or breather time in the first 2 weeks and practically spent every day fighting the "Z-monster".
As I begin on my OCS training in SAFTI, I would like to mention an important date during the course of my training, if all goes well, I will commission as an officer of the SAF on 9th June 2007, it's ironic to think that on the 9th of June 1990, then-PM Lee Kwan Yew chaired the SAFTI ground breaking ceremony. And 17 years later, I will commission as an officer.
OCS training lasts for 9 months, it's also the gestation period of a human being, a very symbolic representation! The next commission is in December, followed by another one in March then June, which will be me. The 65/06 OCS batch. Meanwhile, the latest update is that now I've been posted to the Air force, Airwing, training to be an Air Defense Artillery (ADA) Officer.
I am going to spend 7 weeks in OCS for my service term, then will be moving on to Air Force School, in Paya Lebar Airbase to do my professional term, I'll be promoted to senior cadet then. Oh well, a long journey lies ahead.
The Air Force. Above All.
8:41 PM
