Combat-Ready
Mandatory National Service
In Singapore, National Service (NS) is mandatory for every male citizen and PR to undertake upon age 18. NS can be served in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Singapore Police Force (SPF) or Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
More than 30 years ago, during my NS days, some males choose to ‘injure’ themselves in order to evade military enlistment to certain tough combat vocations. I didn’t like this attitude as my homeland needs all the males to man up and be combat-ready.
This is the reason why I wanted to expose Tze Yu at a young age that it is a great thing to serve the nation.
Standard Obstacle Course (SOC)
When Tze Yu was 6 years old, we constructed some SOC structures using lego blocks. From right to left:
Ramp (with concertina wires)
Gate
Low Wall
Monkey bars
Parallel bars
Balancing beam
Step Over
Swinging bridge
Low rope
Jacob’s ladder
Exposure to Standard Obstacle Course (SOC) at the age of 6.
War Game
When Tze Yu was 7 years old, we created battle scenarios and more military terms were introduced.
Beach head | Concertina wire | Bangalore Topedo | Anti-tank | Smoke grenade | Defense line | Tanks | Artillery | Paratroopers
It only takes a SPARK of introducing key military terms for a child to get the FIRE going in developing the whole process of his own war game. Tze Yu initiated the attack.
The attack begins.
And finally, the victory!
Learning Army Song (purest Singapore version)
7 stanzas:
Enlistment day (travel to enlistment centre)
Enlistment day (travel from enlistment centre to recruit training camp)
The living conditions of the recruitment training camp
Identifying the different NCO ranks
How the sergeant punishes the recruits
Tough training under the Physical Training Instructors
The different types of rigorous training
Owning a Rifle
Before he turned 8, he received a DIY rifle from me.
Newly owned rifle.
He upgraded the rifle himself.
Experiential Learning
When he was 8 years old, 2 months ago, I brought him to the Army Open House 2022. He had great fun trying out the different stations of the SOC.
National Service Singapore - Singapore Army Open House
I hope he has built up enough good memories with the above exposure. These are the little things I try to develop in him a positive attitude towards national service.
How are you preparing your child’s mindset?