I was enlisted into the Singapore Armed Forces in July 1978, soon after I completed my vocational training at the School of Printing. I was classified as PES B and assigned to what was jokingly known as the “oversized” or obese platoon in Golf Company at Nee Soon Camp. Looking back, it was probably an appropriate description of a group of recruits who were not exactly the fittest among us!
I still remember the day I was sent off for National Service at Kim Keat Community Centre. My mother and some friends were there to see me off. The Guest of Honour at the send-off ceremony was Ong Teng Cheong, then the Member of Parliament for Kim Keat. After the ceremony, we boarded military 3-tonner trucks and were driven first to the General Supply Base at Keat Hong Camp to collect our logistics and equipment. From there, we continued to Nee Soon Camp, which would become our home and training ground for the next several months.
The first three months were particularly tough. We remained in camp throughout the weekends, with no opportunity to book out. It was a completely different life from anything I had experienced before. We were subjected to intense physical training, discipline and constant pressure to perform. Every day was structured around military routines, and we had little choice but to adapt.
For the first month, even visits from our families were not allowed. When weekend family visits were finally permitted after that first month, it was a tremendous relief. From then on, every weekend became something I eagerly looked forward to. Seeing my mother and other family members, even for a short time, gave me the encouragement to carry on with the demanding training.
After three months, we were finally allowed to book out on weekends. We would leave camp on Friday evening and return on Sunday evening. But being allowed out did not necessarily mean having the entire weekend free. Guard duties had to be shared among the members of the platoon, with recruits taking turns to remain in camp.
Some of us also found ourselves assigned guard duty as punishment. A relatively minor offence could result in a weekend being “burnt”. During my first month, I received several guard duties as punishment for something as simple as going to the canteen without permission. At the time, it seemed harsh, but it taught me an important lesson about military discipline and the consequences of not following instructions. Ironically, guard duty sometimes became an opportunity for me to earn a little extra money. During festive periods such as Chinese New Year, some of my friends preferred to spend the weekend with their families and would pay me to take over their guard duties. What had started as a punishment occasionally became a small source of extra income!
Although we were in the so-called obese platoon, the training we received was not significantly easier than that of the physically fitter recruits. We were expected to participate in the same demanding activities and to push ourselves to our limits. At times, I genuinely wondered how I was going to get through it.
But I did.
Among the most memorable parts of my Basic Military Training were the exercises involving live ammunition. Until then, most of our training had been about physical conditioning, marching, drills and learning to follow military commands. But when we were introduced to the actual use of our weapons, the training took on a much more serious meaning.
I remember the first time I fired my rifle with live rounds. There was a different feeling when you knew that the ammunition was real. We had to be extremely careful, follow the instructions precisely and remain focused throughout the exercise. It was no longer simply a training drill. We were handling a real weapon capable of causing serious injury, and that made us appreciate the importance of discipline and responsibility.
We were also trained to throw live grenades. This was another experience that I have never forgotten. The whole exercise was carried out under strict supervision, and every movement had to be done correctly. There was a mixture of nervousness and excitement, but most of all, there was respect for what we were handling. We knew that this was not something to be taken lightly.
For me, these exercises were a turning point within my National Service training. The physical training had already pushed me beyond what I thought I could endure, but handling live ammunition made me realise the real responsibility that came with wearing the uniform. We were not simply recruits being put through physical exercises—we were being trained as soldiers.
I am glad I went through those experiences. At the time, I was more concerned about getting through the training and surviving each day. But those experiences taught me to remain calm under pressure, follow instructions carefully and trust the people training and serving alongside me. These were lessons that stayed with me long after I left the Army.
Looking back, one of the things I am most proud of about my National Service was simply overcoming the difficulties. I had no choice about being there, and there was certainly no option to walk away. I had to endure the training, adapt to the discipline and complete whatever task was given to me. What initially seemed almost impossible gradually became manageable. With time, I became stronger, both physically and mentally.
After completing six months of Basic Military Training at Nee Soon Camp, I was posted to become a Technical Storeman. I underwent another three months of training at the Ordnance Supply Base in Kranji before being posted to Mount Vernon Camp. There, my responsibility was to maintain and manage stocks of optical equipment used with military weapons and tanks.
My National Service was therefore not confined to the physical demands of basic training. It also introduced me to a different side of military life—responsibility, organisation, accuracy and trust. As a Technical Storeman, I had to ensure that equipment was properly accounted for and available when needed. Even though I was no longer going through the intense physical training of a recruit, I understood that my work was still part of a larger military operation.
More importantly, National Service brought me together with people from different ethnic and social backgrounds. We came from different families, neighbourhoods and walks of life, but once we put on the uniform, we were simply soldiers serving the same country. We went through the hardships of training together, experienced simulated battle situations and learned to work as a team to accomplish the missions assigned to us. We depended on one another, learned each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and gradually developed trust and respect.
That experience gave me a deeper appreciation of what it meant to live in a multiracial country like Singapore. National Service brought young men from different communities together in a way that few other experiences could. We learned that despite our differences, we could rely on one another when it mattered.
I completed my full-time National Service in July 1980 with the rank of Lance Corporal. But my National Service did not end there. Like many Singaporean men, I was subsequently placed on reservist duties, and for the next ten years I continued to serve as a rifleman. Throughout those ten years, I remained committed to my reservist responsibilities and took my Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT) every year. It was a reminder that even though I had returned to civilian life, I was still required to maintain a reasonable level of fitness and remain ready to serve when called upon.
One experience that stands out was being among the first batch of reservists to participate in the open mobilisation exercises in the 1980s. Unlike the usual training exercises, open mobilisation gave us a sense that our role as operationally ready servicemen was real. We had to be prepared to respond when mobilised and report as required.
My National Service journey spanned much more than the two years of full-time service. From my enlistment in 1978, through my training and posting as a Technical Storeman, to a further ten years as a reservist rifleman, it was a significant chapter of my younger years. It taught me that serving the country was not simply about completing an obligation. It was also about being prepared, staying disciplined and knowing that, when called upon, I had a responsibility to do my part.
When I think about my National Service today, I remember the physical hardship, the strict discipline, the guard duties and the weekends spent in camp. But I also remember the friendships, the laughter, the camaraderie and the sense of achievement that came from overcoming something I once thought was beyond me.
National Service was a duty I could not reject, but it became much more than simply an obligation. It was an important period of my life that taught me resilience, discipline, responsibility and, perhaps most importantly, how to trust and work with others. Those lessons stayed with me long after I completed my service.