OOTW

Today is my 1st day of my 1st ICT (In-camp Training). Got some briefing from CO, my encik on what to expect and stuffs like that, and of course CO's prep talk.

In case you are wondering, the subject title stands for Operations Other Than War (OOTW). As the acronym itself suggests, should be self-explanatory.
Post-911, the whole world changed. The US's operation in Iraq is an OOTW, and likewise, our constantly ongoing counter-terrorism. My unit which was once the "lobo" unit where condemned personnels are sent, now is the high-flying unit of great importance in this OOTW, all thanks to 911. Are we indeed going to be empowered with more authority, and be able to do our daily operational tasks? I certainly hope so. RPs are always looked down on and disliked. A lot of servicemen(irregardless of ranks) often showed little respect for these men-in-green securing the safety of the base. What can be worse will be the lack of authority, where you are screwed for trying to do your job? Well, I certainly hope everything's changed. Indeed physically and structurally(to a certain extent), things have changed much since my last visit (that dates back to my ORD 5 years ago.. just a few more days). Let's hope the lives of these men-in-green are going in the correct direction.

Enough of that, now... on the 1st day of my ICT, we were showed certain (new) gadgets of the squadron. Hmm... interesting, "fisherman-gun", "pepper-spray", "electric-gun". I have amended the names of these gadgets for security purposes! And of course, don't expect any photos of that to be shown here, although pictorial would be extremely preferred and boost my viewership (if there's any.. well, seeing a comment from a friend recently shows some of my friends do visit my blog still! Thanks!). Okok... I will not breach any security. If you are indeed keen to know more about these gadgets, please PM me by all means.

Hmm, now for some interesting stories to share, courtesy of my CO. He was actually complaining about a newbie of the current Field Defence Course being conducted (or I think it's ending, not sure). During a stand-by bed, that newbie's field-pack was not operationally ready, which means not up to standard. So he was given confinement during the weekend. And so, he's feeling sad cause he won't be able to play his er-hu. He can't live without playing er-hu, apparently. Feeling depressed, guess what he did? AWOL(Absence Without Official Leave)!!!
He did called back subsequently, and was being persuaded to return to base (so that no criminal record will be etched in his bio-data), and of course he didn't heed the advice. In S'pore this island, how long can he escape? He's being blacklisted and just waiting to be caught. And 1 fine day, he's finally caught by MP, after AWOL for 30 days. Now, he will have to live with that criminal record. "Gu-niang soldier." That's quoted, and I agree! Are we breeding protectors or gu-niangs?

And of course, my dear CO also shared a little on the legendary xiao-Lee, who created a big hoo-hah recently. Well, he was charged, but what punishment he was given is of course unknown. And xiao-Lee's target was eventually court-martialed. There goes his career... he's made an enemy of the wrong person. (If you are keen to know more on the legendary xiao-Lee, courtesy of mrbrown)

Ok, that's all for my updates. Will be having IPPT and "computer games" this Wed. Hopefully my ICT will be fun-filled, without dangerous happenings though.