Tuesday, July 17, 2007
NCO year, the true test
And suddenly, we had our NCO year to look forward to. As Secondary 1s and 2s in NPCC we had often got excited at the prospects of being NCOs in the future. We once counted the number of years, which batch we would belong too and which timeline we would serve in.
Yet the actual thing wasn’t even half as simple as we thought it would have been. All of a sudden we had no more trainings left, and it sank it that the times we would run, drill, and pump together had gotten few and far between. What’s more, we now all held different responsibilities, different posts, and different boards.
We all found ourselves having new horizons to look forward to, foreign affairs to handle, and higher responsibility than ever before. We discovered the NCO-year wasn’t just about getting greeted by our juniors, or getting the chance to finally rest. For most of us, we found ourselves neck deep in work, and scarcely having time off after school. Some had squads to take, some had administrative work to settle, some had events to plan and all of these weren’t easy, they took up time and effort, and often succeeded in exhausting us. Yet we somehow never faltered. We took all we could in our stride and settled fast into our new roles with aplomb, with each and every one person determined to do his/her best in all we undertook.
Over time, we realized that if we could ever turn back the sands of time, we would gladly jump back to the times when we were all training cadets, ranging from normal trainings, to training courses and training camps. We wanted to relieve the sweet memories we once had doing everything together. But for us, we could only be contented with watching the juniors train, and reminiscing when we had the time.
Perhaps it’s true, that the NCO year is truly the test of Squad Bonding. With different roles and jobs, we all had to often accommodate one another, understand and strive to let live. We all managed to go from strength to strength, and accomplish things we had never imagined we had to magnitude to. We planned and executed the first ever Inter-Unit Singing Competition, with a Talentime to boot. We orchestrated the moving to Mt Sinai, and became the first batch in a long time to settle in an unfamiliar environment. We carried out one OC farewell party, made Orientation a blast, and were also the first squad to hold a Leisure Camp in Mt Sinai. Held a UGD, and, we had the honor of performing in the Mass Display for NPCC day parade. We held the 45th Anniversary celebrations, and made a Horizon 2007.
And of course, not all these can be taken for granted. They were the brainchild of each and every squad mate, which only served to strengthen our bond. We trained for many of these events, often for Hardware. Hardware trainings were the activities that truly served to bond us together, allowed us to spend time together, and improve our Campcraft knowledge together. The uncountable number of times we all sat/stood in the blazing hot sun, tying the platforms, the tripods, quadrupods and ladders cracking jokes and heaving together. Who can forget our 1-2-Pull! Our improvisations and the millions of times we had to tie, retie again and again? Each and every single lash, each and every one log and Manila hemp, small as they may seem, they served a far higher purpose, to bring us together again.
The many times we had debrief by our CIs when all others had already left? The praises and the reprimands. The comments and the lessons that we all learnt to treasure wholeheartedly. The times we would all let out a whistle of satisfaction upon dismissal when looking back on a wonderful day we had?
Of course many details have to be omitted here because of protocol, but truly, NCO life for a squad, can be said to be enjoyable, tiring and tumultuous at the same instant. It could be sweet, yet bitter. It could be saddening yet satisfactory. NCO life truly is never easy, yet a whole squad could always make it through via true unity and courage.
Gregory
10:15 PM
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