It’s been a solid while since I’ve last typed anything resembling a reflection on what (in hindsight) constitutes a large proportion of my current life (at least 5/7 of it). Funnily enough, NS hasn’t at all cracked up to what I’ve expected it to.

Far from the mastery and nuance of Singapore’s national treasure, “Ah Boys to Men”, my BMT experience in the acclaimed School 4 1st Coy, alongside my current residence in Charlie Coy in Pasi Laba camp for SCS’ foundational term, have not driven me to the physical extremes I expected. In hindsight, much of this must be attributed to God’s grace and mercy, for providing me with understanding and cooperative sectionmates, (overall) nurturing commanders, and a general lack of severe injury. Yet, it seems that, at least for now, NS has been quite nice.

Wah, this guy. ALWAYS finding a place to flex ah.

That’s probably what you’re thinking right now right? Heck, you’re probably wondering what I’m writing this blog post for.

Two reasons mainly.

1) Timecheck. It’s currently 8:16am on 22nd April 2021. I am cross-legged on my bed, learnet tablet in hand, tasked to complete SDL for quite a few topics for our PTCO brief later. No, I’m not skiving. I’m merely using this time to pen down a few thoughts so I can look back upon this time in the future, BEFORE I check if my learnet browser has finally loaded.

2) I wanted to write. Lol.

Regardless, given this opportunity, I figured I’ll provide a brief introduction to SCS, for those who might in the future, have the chance to come to Pasi Labar camp to train as a Sergeant/ Specialist.

Caveat: I’ve never been the best at segmenting my content systematically, but I’ll do my best for the sake of easy reference (both for you, the reader, and for me when I WGT WGT ORD LO)

Part 1: ‘Hurh. I got into SCS ah’

Uhh, what exactly is SCS?

I’m sure a quick google search will get you the answer soon enough, but for those reading this on phone who are too laze to switch to another tab, fear not, for I am here.

SCS is short for “Specialist Cadet School”. Effectively, after finishing BMT, every NSF (full-time National Servicemen) is channeled to his vocation. This could be a Unit, such as 5-SIR or security trooper, where he will be trained as a ‘man’, eventually ranking up to a Corporal, OR he could be sent to command school.

Wah, big name siol. Not really lah. Essentially, command school is an umbrella term for a bunch of camps at Joo Koon, where a select group of NSFs fresh from BMT are sent to to be trained as future leaders. Under this generic ‘command school’ denotation, there exist 2 schools. Namely, the famed OCS (aiya I’m sure yall know what this stands for alr, but for the hermit, it’s “Officer Cadet School”), and SCS (where I was sent).

So what’s the difference between OCS and SCS? The most obvious difference would be the rank one attains after graduating. If you’re sent to OCS, you’ll train for 9 months to attain the rank of an Officer (2nd Lieutenant), and all those under you must call you “Sir”. If you get funneled to SCS, you’ll train 6 months to attain the rank of a Sergeant (3rd Sergeant), and all those under you call you “Sgt/ Sargennnn”. For those fresh out of BMT reading this, if you came from a normal coy (ie. not an encik coy), these aforementioned Sergeants will be very familiar to you.

Anyway, after I POPed on 15 March 2021, I was given one glorious week of block leave. Soon after, I received my posting at SCS.

To clear up a bit of confusion, while both the SCS and OCS training camps are located at Joo Koon, they are not one and the same.

The SCS training camp is situated at Pasi Labar camp, which is unfortunately an 18 minute walk from Joo Koon MRT station (the nearest MRT station). While there is a busstop from which you can take a bus to Joo Koo bus interchange during bookouts, there is an apparent lack of any such service provided for those booking in. In other words, every book in contains an 18 minute uphill walk from Joo Koon MRT, past the OCS camp @ SAFTI Discovery Centre, past two traffic lights. Every Sunday night, as I walk to Pasi Laba camp, I am reminded of the severe inferiority complex I might have suffered from due to not being an OCS cadet. Then I see the OCS cadets booking in in ‘penguin’ (white pressed long-sleeve shirt, black pants and dress shoes) and my Specialist Cadet self is instantly gratified as I trudge up the snail-covered pavement in civilian clothes. (Yes, as other redditors have no doubt mentioned, SCS allows you to book in and out of camp in civilian clothes, which might be the biggest win of the century.)

Anyway, for that first book in following your posting to SCS, I recommend coming early and grabbing to Pasi Labar camp’s dropoff point (if you can afford it), because the BMT black duffel bag is seriously heavy enough to generate a black hole. As I’m sure you will have read from other articles about SCS, the first book in can be hectic, and there tends to be a jam around the dropoff point the later you arrive. While it can be sian to come earlier, I assure you, having more time to unpack and settle all your section stores is never a loss in SCS.

Grr, I can’t really think of anything else to include in this section for now, so I guess I’ll move on first lol.

Part 2: Life in SCS

With the preliminaries all over, I guess I can get into the juicy stuff.

Now that you’ve entered SCS, your life for the next 9 weeks of foundational term are pretty much decided by your company. For me, I was (by God’s wisdom and loving kindness) somehow placed in a welfare company. Depending on your company, your stand by areas, stand by bunks, force preps and book outs can vary greatly. Personally, having been put through some insane stuff in my BMT coy (Sch 4 1st Coy Keshik warriors 4eva), this came as a much-needed break, alongside a huge culture shock.

(On a sidenote, while the rankings for which companies are more welfare change every year, just go into SCS with a positive attitude, because the training programme for foundational term stays the same regardless.)

To contextualise, SCS is split into 2 phases, namely your 9-weeks of foundational term (which I am currently in), and 12-weeks of professional term. While every SCS cadet is trained at Pasi Labar camp in their foundational term, they might be posted out to any unit during their professional term to train to become a Sergeant in that unit.

To be honest, much of my SCS experience has been rather calm. For those who have been through BMT, I can assure you that most of the things remain the same. Falling in, reporting strength, filled admin bottles, SBA and SBB, Force prep, all these things continue. Since you’re a cadet, your time in SCS will resemble your time in BMT. You will still need to march to the cookhouse and everywhere else, and will be given fewer freedoms than you would as a man in a conventional unit. Arguably, at least for me, my time in Charlie thus far has been very nice. Compared to my BMT coy, Charlie’s standards of welfare are out of this world (think daily indent snacks for every meal, no ‘knock it down’, chilled out force prep etc). This is all by the Father’s sovereign grace btw.

Yet, I have realized, over the past weeks, that SCS takes away the tekan mentality of BMT (to an extent), and instead replaces it with a greater degree of weighted responsibility. Since SCS is training us to be Sergeants and future section commanders, including the possibility of becoming trainers, each and every one of us must be responsible enough to lead 7 or more men.

As a result of this, the biggest culture shock in SCS arises from the way this increased responsibility manifests. Remember CDO, CDS, COS, all those vocations in BMT that were performed in your BMT coy by actual sergeants and trainers? Now, fellow cadets and yourself will be tasked to perform that role. While in BMT, only a select number of fortunate recruits would be appointed ‘Section IC’ or ‘Platoon IC’ in your whole 2 months, the section IC (now termed LSC; learning section commander) now rotates every week. Likewise, there is a weekly-rotated SSL (safety section leader) per section, who is responsible for his section’s risk-assessment card and man-down drill. Moreover, roles like LPS (learning Platoon Sergeant) and LSM (learning Sergeant major) are now given to cadets. Effectively, aside from the actual training and conducts themselves, SCS cadets are tasked with arranging daily routine orders and organizing the whole company. Additionally, for every navigation and UO and CO exercise, each section has to settle their own stores, with a whole section having to draw, take account for, and split the load over multiple field packs. The addition of the signals IC who has to lug around a staggering 15+ Kg of signals equipment increases the ocean of things a section must be accountable for.

While this might sound overwhelming, let me assure you that it builds up progressively, but that (in some degree of contradiction), the transformation from recruit to cadet is rapid. Perhaps that’s the most prominent difference between BMT and SCS for me. While BMT makes sure everyone understands the basics by spending quadruple the amount of required time to go over a concept, SCS requires cadets to learn quickly and commit things to memory. Gone are the days of Platoon Sergeant teaching fire movement along a line of palm trees that have kindly uprooted and perfectly aligned themselves. Instead, we are now expected to control a whole section of 7 men with different weapons, as we progress along a forest that fluctuates between dense forestry laden with fire ants, and blank splotches that render the ‘4 seconds of open cover’ rule meaningless. “Arc of fire, friendly fire, ORANGE and SPIDER”. These concepts are ingrained in us in a matter of hours, and we must quickly adapt to picking up such skills, for fear of failing the test and getting left behind.

Personally, I found the time spent in Urban Operations (UO) and Conventional Operations (CO) the most memorable. While the agonising 6 days actually spent training at said locations was no doubt excruciating, and I was definitely weak at CO’s fire movement, the experience of not showering for days, sleeping on dirt, chowing down on MREs, talking nonsense to pass the time, and actually enjoying nature. These are the things I will look back on with fondness in the time to come.

Till today, I still find it ironic that the most universally attainable experience, of sitting on a patch of grass and enjoying the breeze, is something that few can genuinely enjoy in Singapore’s fast-moving landscape. It was upon some reflection that I realised why this was. As a child, I spent my days shuttled in between school and the sterile corridors of The Learning Lab @ United Square for tuition on a multitude of subjects. Please don’t interpret this wrongly. I’m not trying to criticize Singapore’s education system, or asian culture’s prioritisation of academic excellence. Still, I do find it interesting that I was only able to appreciate nature at its most basal after living 18 years on this planet, whilst in the middle of training to become an enlisted soldier in the literal corner of Singapore.

Part 3: So now what leh

Heh. When all is said and done, SCS isn’t the most exclusive experience. It definitely is not the most special experience one can have after BMT at least. Nevertheless, I do know that for the remaining 2-3 weeks of foundational term, and the rest of professional term after that, I am defined not by my achievements in NS, nor am I defined by my University admissions. I remember talking to my BMT buddy Erel (who happened to be in my SCS section as well) lately, and we found it hilarious that, whilst in NS, so many of us (myself included) pin our self-worth to our ranking in NS, be it our vocation, pay, or rank. Yet, after these short 1 year 10 months, following our ORD and return to a normal civilian’s lifestyle, none of these things mean anything. If even 1 year 10 months can reveal the overly myopic mindset I have toward my days in NS now, then how would NS compare in the face of eternity?

In the grand scheme of eternity, the only thing about my identity and self-worth that matters is that I am worthless and deserving of condemnation apart from the grace of God. Through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the inexplicable mercy and grace of the almighty, sovereign God, I am deemed righteous, as his child, who I am able to (by grace) call my Father. It is only by His indelible grace and loving mercy that I take breath, and it is His hand that sustains me even as I type this. In light of a concept like eternity, all things fade to nothing. Nothing I can do will ever merit my salvation, nor will it add to how little I deserve His mercy in the provision of His son, Jesus Christ.

It is in this knowledge of my own worthlessness (sustained by the Holy Spirit and the Father’s grace) that I find refuge, for there is no pressure to perform when all that I am is defined by the Lord’s infinite patience, and fervency for His own glory. Brothers and Sisters, pray for me, as I do for you, that in all we say and do, regardless of vocation (be it NS, University, School, Exams, Work), we do all things to make more of Christ and the Father, and less of ourselves. Oh, that our actions would glorify Him alone, so that He might be given the praise He rightfully deserves, for which we can only aspire to give. Praise the Lord, for He is just and righteous, faithful and rich in love.

Matthew 28:18-20

"And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”"