I USHERED IN THE NEW YEAR ONBOARD RSS ENDURANCE...

New Year's Eve 2004 is a day I will never forget.

It will be remembered not for wild celebrations and boisterous parties, but instead, a muted and sombre countdown over RSS Endurance's PA system.

Together with about 500 crew and Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) servicemen, I was headed to the coastal town of Meulaboh, west of Sumatra, one of the areas worst hit by the killer tsunami waves.

As a staff writer with PIONEER, I was tasked with sending home news reports on the latest developments made by the Humanitarian Assistance Support Group led by Colonel (COL) Tan Chuan-Jin.

It was my first assignment abroad. Never in my wildest expectations did I think I would come face-to-face with such destruction and despair.

I was apprehensive, to say the least. But there was no time to ponder about mixed feelings.

My photographer, Lum Ngia, and I got to work almost immediately after being shown our bunks, which we would be sharing with other service personnel.

We familiarised ourselves with the Landing Ship Tank (LST) and the people on board. It was like a huge extended family where everyone had to work together. Interviews came and went and before we knew it, we had reached Meulaboh after a three-day journey.

I witnessed first-hand what was left in the wake of nature's fury wrecked infrastructure and broken families. The magnitude of devastation was overwhelming. On the very first day I went onshore, it took me a while to absorb what I was seeing, before regaining my focus to start taking notes.

For the next two weeks, we attempted to capture the various aspects of the SAF s relief mission, from reconstruction activity at Ground Zero to interaction with the local community.

Just like any infantry soldier, we were required to assemble early almost every morning to take the fast craft to shore. We were also distributed food rations and water as we weathered the sweltering heat in search of our next interviewee to tell his or her compelling story.

A typical day would end with us returning at dusk and for me, it would mean typing away on the laptop as quickly as I could and sending the story back home for my editors to edit and upload onto cyberpioneer (www.mindef.gov.sg/cyberpioneer).

Time was of the essence. We had to provide our readers regular real-time updates on the progress the SAF was making in Meulaboh.

Working well into the night, it was agonising when communication was down and stories could not be relayed back. Our perseverance and patience were certainly well honed during our time there.

Occasionally, morale dipped, especially when the days seem to go by endlessly, but what kept us going was seeing how the servicemen around us soldiered on with their duties be it erecting landing points or providing medical care.

It was clear to me that we too, had a responsibility and a part to play - to relay their experiences, to reassure their families back home that they were safe and most importantly, to show the strength of the human spirit in times of dire need.

The visitorship on cyberpioneer soared during our coverage of Operation Flying Eagle (OFE). As readers devoured the news we sent back, the number of visitor sessions rose from 27 Dec 2004 to 25 Jan 2005.

I flew home via a Chinook helicopter and C130 transport aircraft on 14 Jan 2005, after the replacement team arrived.

While I was glad to be home, I was even more grateful to have been a part of OFE.