Oh, I just felt like blogging about this random event, for some reason or another. Anyway, I was asked on Friday by MINDEF Scholarship Centre when I dropped by for a visit if I'd like to return to OCS at SAFTI and share my experiences with regards to the entire SAF Merit Scholarship (Women) process with this year's batch of provisional scholars. They felt I'd be the best person to do so because of my unique acquaintance with both the RSAF as well as the Army. I jumped at the chance, because I was overwhelmingly curious to find out whether 2006's provisional awardees were every bit as eminent as 2005's had been -cough-, and also because I felt that both they and I would gain from this opportunity. So it was duly arranged for me to go down to OCS on Saturday morning to give a brief talk to the scholars. It felt good being back in SAFTI, but it did take me a while to adjust to the fact that I was no longer a cadet but an officer (and somewhat undeservedly so, considering how all the SAF scholarship holders are commissioned before deferring for studies, putting off the remainder of the military training till after college or during vacation). But of course the privilege of being an officer comes with many expectations and responsibilities that have to be shouldered and upheld, and it's definitely no small matter.

It was great seeing my PC and APCs during BMT when I returned to Sierra Wing, though it did feel odd not having to salute them, although I still made it a point to address them with the due respect. While I was waiting in the wingline prior to the talk, I found it rather amusing how scenes from my very own BMT experiences replayed before my eyes, except with an entirely new batch of cadets this time around. I'm sure my platoon mates will never be able to forget the sound of Ma'am Chan's unmistakable voice booming from four flights down- "OEIIIIIIIIIII! HOW LONG YOU ALL NEED TO CHANGE AND COME DOWN??" followed by the sound of scurrying footsteps from above, a tousled head peeking over the stairwell in deference to the order, saying "Yes Ma'am, we're coming down!"- and seconds later, a series of cadets tumbling down the stairs in quick succession, uniforms in various states of disarray, the most common complaint being that of Janie-sleeves (Hahaha I'm sure everyone in 39th WOCC will have no problem whatsoever figuring out what Janie-sleeves are). Anyway so that's how the cadets were, and I could barely hide my amusement at seeing history reproduce itself in such fine fashion.

The talk went excellently, as it was a topic that I could wax lyrical on due in large part to the fact that I'd been through just about everything and emerged with fond (and not-so-fond, but no less valuable) memories of my times in BMT and OCS. This year's batch of provisional scholars were, without a doubt, an interesting bunch- much more vocal than my year's, and I was faced with a barrage of questions that ranged from the serious, "Did you experience any low points during the course of your military training? How'd you face them and manage to overcome them successfully?" to the not-so-serious, but no doubt as important, "How'd you ever manage to squeeze everything into Pack 2 (of the field pack?) My toothbrush always causes the Ziploc bag to burst because it's too long! Do you think I can replace the SAF-issued one with a shorter one instead?" As you can see, I enjoyed myself immensely in my short but fruitful encounter with this vivacious bunch. They'd only been in OCS for all of 5 days, prior to my visit, and were still struggling to adjust to the duress of military regimentation. But I'm sure they'll make it through, and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of them when I return to Singapore in May.