PEOPLE
FLYING SINGAPORE'S FLAG HIGH
16 Jan 2006
He walked with a 30kg load in the rain, then under bright sunshine, followed by snow.
"I have never seen that kind of weather before. I think my nerves were damaged at the end of this exercise held in Wales," said Second Lieutenant (2LT) Iskandar Abdullah with a laugh, as he recalled the toughest exercise he underwent while training at the Sandhurst Military Academy in Britain.
2LT Iskandar and another officer from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), 2LT Michael Lui Peiwen, were awarded the Military Training Award in January last year to train at the prestigious Sandhurst Military Academy.
Rubbing shoulders with elite officers from countries around the world, the two young Singaporean officer cadets gave of their best and did Singapore proud.
2LT Iskandar was awarded the Overseas Sword of Honour for topping the batch of 27 overseas cadets. He also won the Brunei War Studies Prize for turning in the best performance in war studies.
2LT Lui won the Prince Abdullah Prize for being the next best overseas cadet after the Overseas Sword of Honour winner. His two other awards were for best performance in communication studies, and in defence and international affairs.
Seeing the Singapore flag flying high at the commissioning parade was the proudest moment for both of them.
"One of the best moments I had was when I heard Iskandar's name being read out at the commissioning parade and when I saw him marching out to receive his Overseas Sword of Honour from the Duke of Kent," said 2LT Lui. "I felt proud when I saw the thousands in the stands looking at him."
Hearing 'Singapore' mentioned no fewer than six times during the parade made all the tough training they underwent worthwhile.
The training they received in Officer Cadet School (OCS) in Singapore certainly helped them through the tough times at Sandhurst.
"Training in OCS taught me never to give up, to always persevere and endure," said 2LT Iskandar. "Both of us were well-prepared, mentally and physically, by OCS."
"What's more, we knew we were ambassadors of Singapore and we wanted to do our country proud."
"We also had a lot of compliments from our fellow cadets and I feel that we have really been recognised for our hard work," added 2LT Lui.
Perhaps the highest compliment came from Major E G Jones, a Company Commander at Sandhurst. "Iskandar is an exemplary cadet whose commitment to the commissioning course has been impeccable," he wrote in a short commentary published in the commissioning parade programme.
"He has outperformed the majority of the British cadets and is both widely respected and much admired as a result. He has been a superb ambassador for his country."
"I have never seen that kind of weather before. I think my nerves were damaged at the end of this exercise held in Wales," said Second Lieutenant (2LT) Iskandar Abdullah with a laugh, as he recalled the toughest exercise he underwent while training at the Sandhurst Military Academy in Britain.
2LT Iskandar and another officer from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), 2LT Michael Lui Peiwen, were awarded the Military Training Award in January last year to train at the prestigious Sandhurst Military Academy.
Rubbing shoulders with elite officers from countries around the world, the two young Singaporean officer cadets gave of their best and did Singapore proud.
2LT Iskandar was awarded the Overseas Sword of Honour for topping the batch of 27 overseas cadets. He also won the Brunei War Studies Prize for turning in the best performance in war studies.
2LT Lui won the Prince Abdullah Prize for being the next best overseas cadet after the Overseas Sword of Honour winner. His two other awards were for best performance in communication studies, and in defence and international affairs.
Seeing the Singapore flag flying high at the commissioning parade was the proudest moment for both of them.
"One of the best moments I had was when I heard Iskandar's name being read out at the commissioning parade and when I saw him marching out to receive his Overseas Sword of Honour from the Duke of Kent," said 2LT Lui. "I felt proud when I saw the thousands in the stands looking at him."
Hearing 'Singapore' mentioned no fewer than six times during the parade made all the tough training they underwent worthwhile.
The training they received in Officer Cadet School (OCS) in Singapore certainly helped them through the tough times at Sandhurst.
"Training in OCS taught me never to give up, to always persevere and endure," said 2LT Iskandar. "Both of us were well-prepared, mentally and physically, by OCS."
"What's more, we knew we were ambassadors of Singapore and we wanted to do our country proud."
"We also had a lot of compliments from our fellow cadets and I feel that we have really been recognised for our hard work," added 2LT Lui.
Perhaps the highest compliment came from Major E G Jones, a Company Commander at Sandhurst. "Iskandar is an exemplary cadet whose commitment to the commissioning course has been impeccable," he wrote in a short commentary published in the commissioning parade programme.
"He has outperformed the majority of the British cadets and is both widely respected and much admired as a result. He has been a superb ambassador for his country."
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