i haven't really understand wad being a officer in the military means
in cadet school, it seems like an officer has to know everything
from learning the most basic weapon, to the most advanced
everything was a touch and go concept
learning wasn't so reinforcing
so when it comes to weapons
my sergeants are really the ones who are more handy

when it comes to understanding my soldiers
my sergeants are 3 months closer to them
it seems hard to find a job to occupy myself with

after 1mth in my Bravo Company
i start to understand
wad role i play in the whole hiearchy

there's a line in the officer's creed
"i answer for the training, morale and discipline"
looking at it, there's only 3 factors
but when it comes to experiencing it
it really encompasses a long list of events

training
its basically making sure the soldiers are fit and proficient in their skills and drills
but in detail, it is the quality of training
sometimes, spending too much time or too little just undermines efficiency
too little time, the soldiers will be more than happy to have a longer rest
but nothing is reinforced
too much time, the extra time spent will be redundant
this affects morale
as to how much is too little, and how little is too much
who is supposed to know?
its like teachers in school
how much time are we goin to spend?
how much will they learn within this lessons?
what are we goin to do to maximise learning
in military, drills are the least interesting knowledge n skills that u wanna pick up in live
something that isn't stimulating,
cos there's no real bullets shooting at u from in front
and soldiers tend not to imagine
cos of the mental fatigue they experience during training
there's a balance we have to attain between incorporating reality
and safety to our training
in the past, there's so many safety issues brought out to the media
that the organisation cannot over look the the future trainings
n becos of this factor
reality has to be much compromised
i'm not negating safety
but it poses a difficulty to training
and it is something we have to overcome and devise
until virtual reality comes available
we will continue to struggle with the trainings

morale
simply, it means the psychological and emotional condition of our soldiers
last night i watched a documentary on the battle of chernobyl
many reservist was activated to carry out some repairs in the highly radioactive structrue
many were relunctant to go
knowing the outcome of the activity
but all pushed on anyway
in military
it is this answer for duty that we wanna achieve
this understanding that it is our duty, and nobody elses
that push our people to work harder
in this generation
we all know that a conventional war is not about to happen
yet, as a contingency organisation
we have to go thru all the training
to act as a contingency for the country
many of my soldiers fail to see the light
being negative in every single thing to do with the military
thinking that this 2 years is a waste of time
finding every fault they can in the organisation
i agree that certain negative feelings are personal and subjective
yet many others are due to incompetency or negligence of the officers
and that is something that affects the morale of the troops
therefore it is these little details
be it careful planning to minimize time wastage,
explaining the ratinale behind activities,
painting the bigger picture for them to appreciate the situation,
making them realise their worth and importance of they individual role
all these affect the morale of the soldiers
and the amount of trust they put on the commanders and the organisation
and that is the everyday duty of us officers

discipline
something that requires firmness, righteousness, substantiativeness, and a sharp eye
many associate discipline to foot drill session
the "attention!" ,"stand at ease" portion of the military
in fact, it involves their daily activities
discipline ensures they hide properly behind trees when shooting their enemy,
just like playing hide and seek
discipline ensures they bring their important items out for training
so that they won't have the problem of disrupting the progress of the mission
discipline ensure that they do not point their rifles at their own frens
causing unnecessary injury, guilti-fying deaths, that their commanders have to answer for
discipline ensures that the soldiers take care of their own personal health and hygiene
even in the most unpleasant environment
so that they if they do fall prey to anything
it will be the enemies' bullets
and not their own physical deterioration
discipline encircles every detail of a soldier
to upkeep his best physical condition
and maintain his mental fitness
and it is our duty to supervise and ensure
this discipline becomes part of their lives

it was a total dread when i knew i'm posted to 1 Guards
1stly it has a convertion course which many feared
2ndly the idea of chionging xtra was not my cup of tea
3rdly i was posted as a mortar platoon commander
after training for 9 mths to be a rifle platoon commander, it sucks to know that u can't apply wad u have learnt, but have to relearn more things
lastly the fact that being a trainee for another 1 mth doesnt seem to arouse me esp when i've been a trainee already 1 year of my life

the next thing that happen was
they told me i was no more a mortar platoon commander
i've spent the past 1 mth psyching up myself
picturing the good things that i can have as a mortar PC
now they break my mind by telling me i'm goin to a rifle company

then the next thing that happen was
i'm posted as a 3IC of the company
that means that i am 3rd in command in that building
but it also meant that i din have a platoon of soldiers attached to me
interacting with men have always been what i wanted
to see the world
to understand where i stand
to understand how we can help one another
everything that i din wanna happen simple came to me