FRIENDS REUNITED

It was an evening filled with nostalgia when members of the 5th Mono-Intake of 1 SIR Scout Platoon, which later became the 516 SIR Scout Platoon, gathered to mark 20 years since their Operationally-Ready Date (ORD) in December 1991.

Although all of us had been posted to the Ministry of Defence Reserve more than 10 years ago, that did not stop us from coming together on 28 Dec 2012 at Kallang Leisure Park (chosen because of its close proximity to 1 SIR's Guillemard Camp, where we spent a good 24 months together) to reminisce about the times we had and to rekindle the friendships and camaraderie forged during our Full-time National Service days.

Some of us had not met for more than 20 years, and upon the decision to organise the get-together, no effort was spared to trace the contacts of all the team members. Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and all other means of communication were used to track everyone down.

What made us proud of our NS tenure, which stood out from other scout platoons, was the fact that commanders and troopers alike were graduates from the School of Infantry Specialists (now known as the Specialist Cadet School).

The apprehension of having "too many Chiefs and no Indians" never affected us, and I believe it contributed in a big way to our commendable performances during both our active and National Service (NS) days.

We persevered to make the best out of our two years of active service, and completed two battalion evaluations - one by BTEC (Battalion Training Evaluation Centre) in the first year and another by ATEC (Army Training Evaluation Centre) in the second.

Our reunion turned out to be a great evening, where we chatted about the times we had together and what our lives were like now. There was so much to share that the six hours together just did not seem enough.

Many talked about our transformation from boys to men, then to fathers and uncles. Looking back at the years when we were subconsciously being groomed to overcome life's challenges and obstacles, it was clear that NS had indeed prepared us to succeed in life, as many of us had moved on to hold positions of responsibility in the private sector, including managing directors of companies.

Success is more about going through a meaningful journey rather than reaching a certain destination.

We hope to continue to get together for many more years to come, and relive memories of the times we once shared as we underwent tough but meaningful training. For this, we have our NS to thank.

"Looking back at the years when we were subconsciously being groomed to overcome life's challenges and obstacles, it was clear that NS had indeed prepared us to succeed in life."
- Corporal (NS) Mike Chong