From my secondary school, probably 14 out of every 15 students have chosen the JC route over the poly route.

As such, most of my same-age male schoolmates entered the army like a year earlier than me and are already ORD-ing in December (Basically 'graduating' from army)

Thus, I had NO lack of information regarding what's going on in there. I mean, put a couple of NS guys together at a class gathering and you can be PRETTY SURE army will be the topic of their conversation.

Well, the contents are informative and amusing, but you can't help but notice that some individuals just want to highlight the hardships and achievements they have went through in their time...Sometimes it gets a little...well...nauseating...Haha...

I mean in such a highly testosterone-charged environment, competing for pride and ego will definitely be on the cards.

Theres also this...i dont know...'style' oozing out from most of the NSFs i've been in contact with.

Language wise they start speaking like their officers (or actually everyone there), using a mix of malay, hokkien slangs and all that colourful vulgar vocabulary.

Oh and NO OFFENCE, but EVERYtime I see words like "Book out lo!" or "ORD lo!" it's just the "lo" "lo" "lo" at the back that makes my stomach churn. I dont know, I judge easily. It's just very...idk...

Even well...EQ, actions and body language wise...they really feel different. Like...ok I shouldnt elaborate...

Honestly I hope I don't end up conforming to that STYLE that I cant reasonably describe in words...REMIND ME

It's definitely a challenge, especially mentally, and many come out as different people.

One of my cousins used to be super quiet and reserved, but after entering NS and meeting him on Chinese New Year, he's a totally changed person! And he started talking ALOT more than we used to hear him talk. Which of course in this case is a good thing!

So, what will I become? I dont know what i'm like to people. Probably the impression that im 'vain' and having a awkward tone of voice that's a little on the high side. I'll probably seek to change the way I talk, like the tone and all that.

The Buddy

Omg pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee help me pray I get a good buddy.

They have this buddy system where you actually get paired with another guy and he's practically your support for the entire BMT period.

I've heard of guys that don't bathe, assholes, guys that have gay-ish tendencies and even those that'll drag you down with them.

PLEASEEEEE give me someone I will not hate along with my other platoon mates.

Hopefully I get someone who has the same concerns as me and probably the same character as me. Then we're really 'all in this together'.

The iPad 2

There's alot of hype about my batch (The november batch) because the government actually invested in 8000+ iPad 2s (Much to Apple's delight) to be assigned to every soldier along with the standard equipment like rifle and bags.

HOW COOL IS THAT. Supposedly they are quoted to say it's cheaper than the usual Laptops and will probably bring a revolution to military skills. (Basically they are experimenting and unsure)

But yes if you think about it, the iPad's gonna be really helpful.

I got no idea what apps they are going to design specially for the army (Yes they actually got contractors to come up with some) But given the number of times I get impressed with the things I can do with the mobile apps, i think they can't go wrong?

AND I don't have to be concerned with getting scratches on my iPad 2 cos it's supposed to be used in those conditions (And i didnt pay for it) So i'll really be diving and throwing it arnd (Are we going to bring it into the forest?)

Think about the things you can do with an iPad 2! Although most of the things you'll probably think of are hilarious, it might actually work!

I mean, how many times have an iPhone or iTouch's features actually helped 'save your life' in reality? Haha.

Command School

As quoted by a senior of mine, "You don't get to choose where you wanna go and your army journey would've probably been already plotted out for you from the start"

"I see total IQ deficient idiots running around in command school and i'm quite sure it doesn't matter if you're smart"

Yeah I guess I don't have much control over whether or not I can get in...But I do know I can ever so slightly alter that chance by performing well in the BMT phase or other judging aspects like IPPT.

There are different schools of thought regarding this actually..

Being an officer is prestigious and definitely shows that you're a class (or rank) above the others. Your pay is also very SLIGHTLY higher than the other ranks but you actually have to go through another 9 months of hell to finish your Officer course (on top of the 9 weeks BMT).

Worth it?

Mixed reactions..

I've got friends who say its actually overrated and that you're gonna regret being in it during that 9 months, and even after that nothing much will have changed, despite getting more respect and having more authority.

They advise to just go with the flow and letting them put you wherever you want..

I don't know...but I shouldnt sound like I can MAKE it for Command School.

Honestly I don't even know where I stand in terms of fitness...Running's definitely something I need to train. Other than that, I think I still can do alot of the random stuff the Obstacle Course subjects you to?

And quite alot of my friends are Officers..for some reason..and I think maybe my 'pride' and 'ego' might drive me to try for command school.

Having been in Scouts...

I've never really done this before, but I REALLY want to thank AHS Scouts.

Or simply having been in an uniformed group...

Yes, from Secondary 1 to half of Secondary 2 I was in Scouts as a CCA. (Before I quit)

And I know they have the reputation in other schools to be a dam 'gay' CCA but I can quite safely say I don't think that's the case for my school.

After watching videos from Every Singaporean Son (the controversial video series documenting a typical NSman's journey through his military service) I realise i've been subjected through a 'mini' form of that in my ex CCA

Looking back, I actually realise that I discovered alot about myself from this short stint in the uniform group.

It was in secondary 1 I actually learnt that I could scale the low-wall, do monkey bars, climb up a 1 storey high rope (with just my arms!) which are actually parts of the Obstacle Course in NS.

I didn't know why we did those 'stunts' for our Physical Training back then, but now I realise the NSF alumnis that came back and taught us to do those were preparing us for something they know we'll go through sooner or later.

I have also been through those shitty scenarios where you're made to do push ups till you give way, for no freaking reason, for small little mistakes. (Or for fun)

I've also been made to set up camp in the middle of our school field and even take turns to do 'night sentry' every night to protect our equipment from the sec 4 seniors who will steal them on purpose and make us do punishments to get them back in the morning.

(As im typing this im really getting enlightened on how similar they had tried to make our camps to NS life) As scouts we also learnt how to dig huge trenches in the ground, build a fire in them and cook our own food.

And something super important that I think not all uniform groups learnt back then is how to tie and build structures out of wooden poles. Like seriously, we are given some wooden poles and some lashings (ropes) and we are taught how to erect extensive structures in minutes. Structures that are capable to be stood on and even slept in. (Like a tree house!) The important parts are actually the knowledge of tying stuff because you'll need to use alot of that to your advantage especially in survival.

From watching the Every Singaporean Son videos I realise there are times where my training back then being a scout really would help alot, and honestly I do 'regret' leaving the CCA due to commitment reasons back then. (I mean they freaking learnt how to build a BRIDGE in sec 3!)

And yes I even actually watched 'Man Vs Wild' to learn survival techniques to 'prepare for NS' LOL. My seniors say i'm crazy cos I wont need to do all that. (Or at least, much of that)

Bear Grylls really is an inspiration to mankind trust me, it'll be hard to find another crazy dude gungho enough to eat bugs or subject himself to all kinds of disgusting shit for a job. (Then again, they're all already on the Discovery Channel.)

FUN FACT OF THE DAY : Bear Grylls was recently elected as the 10th Chief Scout. (First being the founder of Scouts, Baden Powell) Awesome right? Who can be a better candidate?

Ending

Sorry but i'm always known to type reaaaaaaaaaaaallly long blog posts that sometimes sidetrack halfway through the text and sound totally like i'm talking to myself (But hey! That's erm...blogging?)

To sum it all up, i'm actually quite looking forward to army. It's definitely going to be a new experience for me to really bring out the Rambo in me.

I am however really going to be careful of my safety because I'll be shit pissed if i'm coming out of this injured in any way. Touch wood, i think some of you will be kind enough to pray for my safety :) (If my blog song playlist is at "If I Die Young" right now, please change the song tyvm, and no, I don't wanna be sunk into the Singapore River)

Andddd i'm obviously going to look like shit, appear to be like shit, or maybe turn out to be like shit, but like I said...

From November 8th onwards Edison Ang will go on a 'image hiatus', and when he comes out, he will go back to becoming an even awesome-r person. (With better hair at least)

I will most probably aim to be a more dependable person and probably more disciplined. I can't promise i'll lose my lame sense of humour though..