i'm back from a 3 days 2 nights shafting exercise out in the muddy "fields" of tp7w, which is situated in the not so foresaken lands of nee soon, all burnt and totally crisp.

i'm proud of the platoon for getting through the whole training which started right from the beginning with the bomb locator to the borehole drill, shafting and finally the dreaded shear leg, block and tackle. it was a task that no platoon has done in 36 sce for many many years and seeing it through to completion was almost heartwarming. mobilising the whole platoon saw a unification of spirits and determination, a gathering of minds and hearts to see ourselves through what was perceived to be the hardest of all trainings. mind you, all the equipment we used required manual labour to lift up a 500 pound bomb that was buried 5 metres deep into the ground. save for digging which was efficiently taken care of by the plants, everything else was crude physical labour.

so kudos to the whole platoon. for an excellent demonstration of team spirit. the exercise forged even tighter bonds within the platoon and just knowing how well the platoon fits together was simple enough to plaster a smile on this muddy face of mine. i was the victim of the platoon's voracious appetite for fun which saw me being thrown into the mud puddles after we concluded the exercise. it's hard to describe the training area, but to put it simply, just looking out of the training shed, you see pools and pools of soft mud that goes all around the shed, and every step you take brings you deeper and deeper into the ground. mud was family for those 3 days. i miss the field.

returning back to camp this morning, the prospect of cleaning the stores was disheartening, but it was a process that we needed to go through to properly round up the training. and again, i was fantastically impressed by what we managed to accomplish. like marcus said, it's always a relief doing stores with our platoon coz everyone in the platoon, from the first to last man, will be present to lend their helping hands (complete with gloves) and we'll simply sail through the tedious process. we did so of course, with a little help from the new pioneers too. haha. but again, the platoon spirit has matured greatly and it's at its fullest right now, brimming and teeming with so much life.

tough as it was, we got through shafting and it was a blast. working partnerships, i feel, have dissolved into a working friendship. it's become personal and connected. it was a great learning experience for all of us i guess. it's gonna be hard rooting myself out of the platoon and leave for uk in 3 weeks. the daunting truth approaches and looms closely near. but, it's just another part of the cycle and i'll be back next year, hopefully in 36, for my vacation attachment.

so yes. i miss the mud encrusted face and and the scorched red skin that the field has given to me. it's been too long since i've had so much soil in mouth, literally. and it was great! haha. brunei's not the same. being an instructor there's not the same as going through shit with the platoon. but yes, mud tastes the same everywhere. haha.

ok. i'm off to my mahjong session with chew james and andre. we're playing at andre's farm in bukit timah and i need to be there by 8 or risk getting teased by chew again for being late. haha. and i'm bus-ing there coz i'm actually planning to stash extra money aside for uk. and there's qian's gig tmr night at the arts house and it's phuture with the peeps after that. yaay. prays it materialises unless a certain couple, erh herm, decides to pull a stunt and become a no-show. haha. we set the ground rules now and that's no crying! clear? erh herm. haha.

finally, i conclude by saying,

I FUCKING HELL NEED MY MAMBO FIXTURE IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS BEFORE I FLY OFF!!!

This entry was posted by ranon, on Friday 7 September 2007. You can leave your response.