IN OUR CULTURE

324 325 SAF IN POPULAR MEDIA Keith Tan On Stage, Screen and Internet

When the SAF or National Service (NS) comes in the block and many of our neighbours huddled up in conversations, most people brighten up and in our diminutive living room to watch what was start pouring out their “war stories”. What follows touted as ’s first-ever drama series. are chuckles which normally end up in a belly of Huang Wenyong became an overnight hit laughs and fond reminiscing. Occasionally, you’d with the housewives who shed copious tears when hear the odd parade command being hollered in the last episode screened. For weeks after, from pride. Even the ladies chime in about how they schools to the wet markets, everyone was talking trekked to ulu Changi Village to wait for their about how Wenyong – as the selfless army officer boyfriends to book out from Tekong on Saturday – sacrificed his life to save a nervous recruit in a afternoons. grenade-throwing training exercise gone wrong. [FACING] I really couldn’t figure out just how the SAF And suddenly, the army wasn’t this enigmatic Poster for Army made itself so pervasive in the hearts and minds organisation that young adult males vanished Daze the movie, of people young and old. That was until I dug a into for two and a half years. There was a real 1996. very deep trench into my memory. human connection that hummed along common Apart from the obvious fact that everyone has corridors and echoed in void decks. either a husband, brother, cousin or neighbour And this was only the beginning. Five years who has served the country in their camouflaged later, SBC teamed up with MINDEF to produce No 4 uniforms, everyone has, at some point in Airforce, which aired in 1988. their lives, watched a movie, TV series or stage I remember some friends in junior college play about the SAF. Such exposure on popular who signed on to become pilots when they went media has contributed to the Services becoming into NS because of this series that came hot off the part of Singapore culture. heels of Top Gun. Without revealing my age, to go to the very It was a glamorous look at the private lives beginning, we’ve got to flash back all the way of young RSAF trainee pilots as they navigated to when I was in secondary school to find the through their rigorous training. In the black-and- SAF’s first appearance in a made-in-Singapore white world of even colour television, the twists production. and turns of their lives – where loyalty, friendship, It all started in 1983 with then-national teamwork and perseverance were tested – were broadcaster Singapore Broadcasting Corporation shown in their journey to become full-fledged (SBC) airing the six episodes of Army Series, pilots. which starred the late Huang Wenyong. Back Every boy would forsake homework, dinner or then, my family had the only 20-inch colour TV football to catch each episode.

326 327 The aircraft were the highlight. We were to the National Geographic Channel. My son, who enthralled with the technologically-advanced was then in primary school, was seated next to me machines to the point where we knew them all and I said: “Let’s get a real education!” by name – the Northrop F-5S Tiger Fighter, the What should pop on but a bunch of soldiers in Lockheed C130 Hercules, SIAI Machetti S211 Jet NS garb speaking Singlish. “Where are the sharks?” Trainer and the Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma. my son asked, puzzled. “This is way better!” I See? I can still remember each one in sequence of replied with a hint of pride in my voice. appearance! How’s that for capturing imagination Several thumb taps and swipes on my and taking it to the skies? smartphone later, I discovered some interesting A platoon mate who became a midshipman facts about the six-part English documentary once told me that the Navy is a formidable force Every Singaporean Son. that’s rarely seen or heard, but is never outdone. The original material debuted as 6-8 minute And on 16 July 1990, the 16-part Navy sailed into “webisodes” that aired on cyberpioneer and the living rooms of Singaporeans island-wide, hot YouTube from 7 July 2010. The clips served as on the heels of the Army and Air Force. an education tool for all pre-enlistees so that We never thought much about how the actors they knew “what to expect during Basic Military prepared for their roles, but I found out later Training (BMT)”. Filmed mainly in the training that and Tian Wen, along with the grounds on , 18 short clips were cast and film crew, went through comprehensive released online, one every Tuesday. familiarisation and preparation for filming on Seeing the material’s potential, National board the missile gunboat RSS Sea Hawk. To Geographic approached MINDEF and repackaged achieve an unprecedented sense of authenticity it into a six-part series. and realism, the actors were also put through a The award-nominated series takes a reality TV diving course before filming to prepare them for format and follows 15 young men from different their roles as naval divers. backgrounds as they experience the nine weeks Fast forward to 24 July 2007 and the launch of of BMT. From being drafted, to obstacle courses the hit 20-episode series Honour and and field camps, viewers are given a first-hand and Passion on . candid look into the lives of recruits. This drama series, a collaboration with To my delight, I discovered that it was an MINDEF, showcased more vocations in the SAF old friend, an ex-serviceman, who produced the and featured women in the Army, all cleverly series. woven into a riveting tale of family and romance, I called him up and my son insisted on with a terrorist sub-plot thrown in for good speaking to him, just to say: “Well done, soldier!” measure. While I was introducing some of my old Veteran Huang Wenyong, back in uniform, platoon mates to Every Singaporean Son, they were played a warrant officer, commanding young literally trading army stories with me, telling me [TOP] [ABOVE] actors including Tay Ping Hui, , all about the 13-episode The Recruit Diaries that Chen Tian Cast of Ah , Nat Ho and Felicia Chin. They delivered took a light-hearted look at recruits as they went Wen (centre) Boys to Men performances that got non-Mandarin proficient through BMT. preparing to 3: Frogmen viewers like me to tune in faithfully. A blogger, a boy who was first in his family to shoot a scene with director I confess that I watched it for Felicia Chin who be enlisted, a self-professed Romeo, and a weight- in the TV series at a Navy, 1990. SAFRA Radio played a tough-as-nails artillery instructor who, challenged young man make up the motley crew promotion, 2015. somehow, managed to retain her milky-white of recruits. The sitcom played off real training [LEFT] complexion after all that time out in the sun. incidents and sensational news of the day. Viewers Ah Boys to Men, Channel surfing one night, I decided to click loved that they got a glimpse into the younger 2012.

328 329 internet-savvy generation swapping army stories upped the ante by producing Ah Boys to Men – the that were bathed in humour. Musical, based on his movie but with a brand new YouTubers will also remember Zo Peng (Go story and script. Army) which went online in 2006. It’s a 15-minute But these two classics are not the only short film by Jacen Tan with a familiar story of portrayals of the SAF on the stages of Singapore how three friends support one another during NS. theatre. You Think, I Thought, Who Confirm? Refreshingly done in Singlish with English sub- debuted in 2013 and returned to the stage in 2014. titles, it won second place in the Panasonic Digital It was a clever piece which places social media Film Fiesta 2005. centre stage when the lines of reality are blurred From the small screen to the big screen. amidst a Full-Time National Serviceman’s death Did you know Michael Chiang’s Army Daze in an army exercise in Brunei. Critics said that knocked Sidney Sheldon off the No 1 spot on the the play by Yellow Chair Productions “addressed bestsellers’ list in 1985 when it was first published? a potentially controversial issue with balance and I can proudly say, I was one of those who made some sophistication”. it happen. I bought two copies. Only because I Other rib-tickling plays about the Army fell asleep on the bus reading a copy and woke to include Full Tank!, a tongue-in-cheek comedy discover that it had been stolen. by Laremy Lee about a sergeant and his motley This book provided the inspiration for the crew of soldiers who hijack a tank for a joyride most successful stage comedy in Singapore to down Orchard Road, and the musical comedy, date, having sold nearly 55,000 tickets over its Botak Boys, by Julian Wong, presented as a double various runs. The much-loved story about the bill entitled Own Time Own Target by theatre BMT adventures of recruits Malcolm Png, Ah company Wild Rice in 2009. Beng, Johari, Krishna and Kenny was also made The most unexpected stage presentation of the into a delightful movie in 1996 by Cathay Films, SAF is by Irene Ong, who also decided to have a and held the record for being the highest-grossing stab at the genre in Anak Mak Satu – a Peranakan [ABOVE] contemporary Singapore-made English language play! Set in modern-day Singapore, the story Every film for more than 15 years. revolves around how a pre-enlistee Jason and his Singaporean Son 2 on National Needing no introduction is Jack Neo’s Baba family coped with his upcoming enlistment. Geographic insightful comedy about BMT – Ah Boys to Men. Says Ong: “Everyone talks about NS. No one talks Channel. The blockbuster, which became Singapore’s top- about the week prior to enlisting. It is a trying grossing film, is seen through the eyes of rich time, particularly for Peranakan mothers.” [RIGHT] kid Ken as he’s thrown into a melting pot of his So, you see? The SAF and NS are as much a Anak Mak Satu, a Peranakan platoon with recruits from all walks of life. Ken’s part of our lives as Chicken Rice and Bak Chor play about NS overly-protective mother and grandma go through Mee. And in a sense, there’s a certain fondness enlistment, 2014. extreme lengths to delay his enlistment. And when people start talking about military service like every other recruit who goes in a boy, with – whatever their station in life and whatever age [FAR RIGHT] preconceptions, he finishes BMT a changed man. they are. The stories aren’t just tales that bring a Botak Boys, a Ah Boys to Men also spawned a comic book reminiscent smile. They’re stories about our rite of musical by Julian Wong, 2009. and two sequels aptly named passage; they’re stories of our lives. and Ah Boys to Men 3: The Frogmen, about naval And while Hollywood has their share of war divers. Thank you, Jack Neo, for giving Singapore stories drenched in machismo or heart-wrenching our very own Movie Trilogy Box Set. tragedy, we’ve spun our own military yarns but Not to be outdone by Michael Chiang, whose doused them with a good dose of reality. Army Daze has seen incarnations as book, play, After all, who doesn’t like fodder to feed the comic book of the play and movie, Jack Neo bragging rights of our days of glory?

330 331 talking to him or her. And whatever mix of music played on Power 98FM SAFRA RADIO we say can affect emotions and is different from the other stations Hossan Leong opinions. One careless comment because Power had to appeal to can cause a lot of commotion. I not just the younger NSFs, but enjoyed talking to people and our also to older personnel serving in interviews with personalities and the SAF. The music had to be fun, When Power 98FM first came into military personnel were always cool, yet not alienating. It is a very the realm of radio, it was “that Army interesting. Hosting the annual tough job for the music director! station”. Before that, in the 1970s, Power Jam competition to launch We also had the support of the there were SAF Hour and the Forces new local bands was another Army camps and bases that would 55 request programmes broadcast exciting event. We interviewed a tune in to us regularly, so I would [ABOVE] out of Singapore Broadcasting couple of the Red Lions one year say, having a captive audience DJs Shu Hui and Corporation (SBC). Power 98FM, and it really made me want to jump always helps! Power 98FM together Ben of 88.3 JIA beamed from the SAF’s own radio out of a helicopter then! So now it’s with 88.3 JIA FM work well to FM’s lunchtime suites in Depot Road Camp, had on my bucket list – to do a jump – entertain and to be channels where show, “Oh Yeah! SAF news and announcements, and tandem of course! announcements and information 哈比人”. great music as well. We didn’t have Maggie and I had a ball. The can be disseminated in an engaging many radio stations that played fun on-air partnership, in my humble manner which always works better! [BELOW] and cool music so it was a station opinion, was one of the better In the days of that I would tune into now and ones around then. We laughed at playing vinyl again. and with each other, irritated each records, 1991. Not many people know that other, covered up for the other some years before becoming a when needed, supported each other Power 98FM DJ, I had a one-year through personal and professional stint in 1999 on Power’s sister [ABOVE] problems. It was like having a buddy station, then known as Dongli DJ Daphne Khoo in the Army. We had each other’s 88.3FM, on the bilingual morning performing live back. show! After that short stint, I on her show. I learnt so much from the left to pursue other mediums in experience. How to interview entertainment. Then in 2004, while [RIGHT] personalities and people, how strolling down Orchard Road on a Hossan Leong. to write radio scripts, I learnt Saturday, I bumped into Maggie a lot about football, but more (Margaret Mary Lim!), who was [BELOW] importantly, how big a part the SAF hosting the morning show on Power DJs Michael Tan played in the lives of Singaporeans. at that time. Her co-host had left and Jerald Ko Going to army camps to host events the station and she was looking for hosting Power and meeting the personnel made a partner-on-air. She asked me to 98FM’s 20th me realise the responsibility that partner her and I said “yes”. birthday bash. I had as a Power DJ to not just Oh, the early mornings! Waking entertain, but also to inform. My up was not the hardest. It was what most memorable camp visit was to I call the 11 am slump – when the Pulau Tekong to entertain the new fatigue sets in. You see, I was also recruits. So nice to have a warm doing theatre and TV at the same welcome (I think because I had time and my hours were long. But Maggie with me – first girl they had waking up before dawn and going seen in three months.) Going there to work is a special feeling. You reminded me of my own military see Singapore shake herself from experience. I did NS at the old Nee slumber and greet each new day. Soon Camp, 3 BTS. We were the Magical. last batch before the renovations. Radio is a very personal but Old school. It was when ORD was powerful medium. The person known as ROD! listening to us at the other end I went into the job knowing that needs to know that we are actually the SAF link had to be there. The

10 THINgS tHAt PROvE YOU’vE bEEN tHROUgH tHE SAF [6] Confidence training. Colin Goh [7] Crabs. [8] Attend B.

1. At the ROM, when the Registrar asks you if you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, for a split second you think of your rifle. 2. You can’t throw anything without silently mouthing, “One thousand, two thousand…” 3. You measure distance in “klicks”. 4. When you spell something out for

[4] Alpha, Bravo…. [1] Your rifle, your wife. [2] 1,000… 2,000…

another guy, you reflexively lapse into the NATO phonetic alphabet (Golf Echo Tango India Tango?). 5. No matter what your race is, you know how to offend someone in Hokkien. 6. You will never, ever pay money to go to Sentosa’s Megazip Adventure [9] NS stories. Park, because you can go through the same adventures for free when you are in ICT. 7. Whenever you order crabs, you think of a Colonel. 8. When you’re asked to attend any- thing, you instinctively wonder if it’s [3] Running 2.4 klicks. B or C. 9. Your wife always grumbles about how, whenever there are other men at the dinner table, you inevitably steer the conversation towards NS stories. 10. No matter how many years after [5] Hokkien peng. you’ve ORDed, you feel the book-in blues every Sunday evening.

[10] Book-in blues. MUSIC AND DRAMA COMPANY Dick Lee Stars Shining with Purpose

I know what you’re thinking. Posted to Music blood disorder or something. and Drama Company (MDC) in NS. So lucky. We, this crew of motely unfit, were relegated to I’ll have you know it was very hard work. filling out SAF 11As, as military IDs were called Between shows, we rehearsed endlessly, and at that time. during show season, we visited every single camp, That was the age of the pen and not the PC.

ate the terrible food like everyone else did and Every ID card had to be written in exactly the [FACING] performed our hearts out for a jeering audience same handwriting. So, we first spent interminable Tina Goh, Lim who would rather have had booked out than days writing, writing, writing. We filled exercise Siauw Chong and be confined in camp to watch some show. And books of squares – pages of As, Bs and so on till it Rashidah Arshad for each performance, we had to load up and was time to go home. Then we graduated to filling at rehearsal. transport every piece of sound system, costumes, in little slips of paper, sticking on pictures of bald- [BELOW] props, lights and musical instruments to the camp headed boys and laminating the whole damned A skit involving we performed in, set everything up and reverse lot – day after day. I thought I’d go mad. soldiers and an the process when the show ended. We finished To save myself from turning into a zombie, I Encik. late and the memory of the silent journeys back to camp in the dark three-tonners still stays with me. As MDC pioneer Rashidah Arshad once said: “It was the camaraderie that kept us going.” I was not initially posted to MDC on en- listment. How I got there was completely by chance. So, come to think of it, I was very lucky after all. When I went to CMPB on enlistment morning, because of my extremely bad eyesight, I found myself lumped with all manner of physically- challenged people: one walked with a limp, another had a club foot and his friend had a small hump on his back. Only another boy seemed quite robust and he appeared to be smiling at me. As he came closer, I recognised Lim Siauw Chong (who later was to found TheatreWorks). I asked him what he was doing there and he said he had some

336 337 took long walks around the camp at lunch time. During one of these walks, I made a resolution that would change my life. I called it Facing Facts. If I had two years of tedium ahead of me, I could spend it in misery or make the most of it. Then one day, on one of these contemplative walks, I heard music coming from what looked like a church at the edge of CMPB. After a few days of observing the same, I thought, if nothing else, singing along in a church service would definitely break the monotony of my life in the SAF. So, that fateful day, I poked my head through the large double doors of that edifice. To my utter surprise, I saw uniformed men and women dancing and singing a Broadway number! What was this place and why wasn’t I in it? I went to the room next door and encountered a band playing Big Band jazz. This was amazing! I found my way went to get the auditioning officers. The entire to the main entrance and read the sign: Singapore room stared at me. I could feel their pity. Armed Forces Music and Drama Company. The doors opened and three officers marched The MDC was formed in 1973 by the very in, aligned themselves at a long table and asked me enlightened then-Minister for Defence, Dr Goh about myself. I mentioned my album, Life Story, Keng Swee. It was a vehicle to boost the morale and said I choreographed (but I didn’t specify of soldiers and spread the national education fashion shows). message through song and dance. “Vehicle” is the Then, I was asked to sing, and launched into right word. For in those early days, four three- my jazziest rendition of “Alfie” by Burt Bacharach tonners were parked next to one another to form and Hal David. When I finished, there was silence. a makeshift stage. The Commanding Officer nodded.W as that how [ABOVE] Whatever its history, I knew this was where soldiers clapped? Broken TV I belonged! It was home, surely! While I was He said: “We will provide you with five stations skit. standing there wrapped in my hopes, a young dancers. Come every day at lunch time for a week [RIGHT] female sergeant appeared. “Hello,” she said. “Can to choreograph and practise, and you must be in Dick Lee I help you?” the dance.” (kneeling) with And so it came to pass that two days later, Dance, did he say? MDC colleagues. Recruit Lee Peng Boon, Richard, presented Yes, my mother had taught me how to foxtrot

[FACING] himself at the SAF Music and Drama Company and cha cha, and I could do the salsa hustle, but did Making up before to audition. I was led into a room by the that make me a dancer – or dance choreographer? a performance in aforementioned female sergeant now known to I returned to my unit and told Siauw Chong a camp. me as Sergeant Shida Rashid. There, uniformed what had happened and shared my fears. He said personnel lolled about, on tea break apparently, in he wanted to try, and that I should too. I was various forms of repose: some were reading, some shocked at his audacity but took his lead. were chatting and all the women were knitting. So, for the next week, I sprinted from the ID “Audition”, Sergeant Shida announced loudly. writing and spent my lunchtime at MDC. Siauw “Quiet!” Chong had gotten himself an audition and we I stood nervously by the piano as the sergeant were to perform in each other’s items. His was an

338 339 [RIGHT] exotic number with us dressed in Thai headdress MDC Chinese and billowing Aladdin pants, dancing ethnically orchestra, 1992. to the funky theme from Shaft! I chose “Goodbye, [BELOW] Eddie, Goodbye”, from the movie Phantom of Performing in the the Paradise, and worked out a song and dance Chingay Parade, (mostly song) routine with three couples doing 1986. a few side-stepping, hand-flinging movements inspired by the Supremes. [FACING] An item in At the end of that week, we were assessed the MDC 40th by what looked like the entire company, and we anniversary received the news a week later that we had been show, 2013. accepted into MDC. The Broadway number I witnessed at the introductory day was the MDC’s first-ever show number. This I learnt from the outgoing Corporal Chris Ho (now known as X’Ho) who left MDC several months after I joined. The first-ever show put up by MDC had, in fact, included a dance and procurements. Of course it continued to besides the mandatory sing-a-long. It was titled perform in military events at home and abroad “Combat Dance” and involved dancers in Temasek such as tattoos as far away as Sweden and goodwill green uniforms imitating military training performances in Australia. After 2012, MDC movements. Although our audition pieces were became a MINDEF department. eventually included in the company repertoire, as The company began its annual participation recruits, we weren’t commissioned to produce any in NDP in 1984, and I am glad to have worked more. The show staples then, I recall, were ethnic again with them as NDP Creative Director several dancers, military anthems and skits. This was a times. MDC also performed in two musicals I small price to pay for the chance to later on create wrote: Kampong Amber (1994) and Sing to the the showstoppers that were to become the MDC Dawn (1996). By then, the company also included trademark. a chamber ensemble, Chinese orchestra and choir. In 1974, MDC gave their first public show, I can say that the two happy years I spent in Melodies in Green, at the National Theatre, no MDC gave me the foundation for what I do now. less. How it was done with just six mood lights, It was one among the few full-time professional two spotlights and a few mobile speakers was performing troupes at the time (like the Neptune an achievement in itself! This was followed up Dancers!), and I got a taste of what showbiz would by Green Melodies in 1977, produced by Radio be like. I found it fun and addictive – not only Television Singapore. for me, but also for the many musicians, actors, From then on, MDC became recognised in the dancers and talented people who honed their performing arts community, and was increasingly skills while serving NS in MDC. involved in national events and collaborations with So, pardon me for name-dropping while I other arts groups, so much so that it was, in 1998, name just a few: Bang Wen Fu, Chan Yoong Han, transformed from an SAF unit into an Executive Chiang Kum Mun, Leslie Tan, Gurmit Singh, Agency and then an Enhanced Executive Agency Darren Lim, Jeffrey Tan, Najip Ali, Chua En Lai, in 2004 till 2012. This allowed MDC, during that Darren Seah, Jack Neo, Sebastian Tan, Royston period, to be more cost effective and cost efficient Tan, Sheikh Haikel, Jeremy Monterio, Glen Goei, as they had the autonomy to manage its finances Shigga Shay and JJ Lin.

340 341 PIONEER MAgAZINE Adrian Tan To Enlighten and to Entertain

PIONEER exists as the voice and memory of computer courses, mosquito repellent and many the SAF. The evergreen magazine was born varieties of beer. All advertising has ceased. on Singapore’s fourth birthday as the National PIONEER has always been among the first Pioneer, a tabloid newsletter. In launching it, then- to adopt new technology. In 1996, it launched Minister for Defence Lim Kim San said in his cyberpioneer, its Internet edition. In 2010, it foreword: “There are now a few thousand young was one of the first Singapore publications to be men and women in our Armed Forces. There is, offered on a newfangled contraption called an therefore, a need for a medium through which iPad. Today, cyberpioneer stories, pictures and our men and women in the Armed Forces can be videos are widely viewed, shared and commented enlightened and entertained.” on Facebook, Flickr and YouTube. Its content Over the next five decades, month by month, often sparks off discussions about NS experiences. the magazine has grown and transformed, in It continues to be recognised internationally as pursuit of that original mission. one of the best magazines in its field. The original National Pioneer was heavy on What has also not changed is PIONEER’s editorial and light on its black-and-white pictures. dedication to its prime directive – to be the voice The tone was serious and the language, formal. of the SAF. For five decades, it has documented [FACING & The 1960s’ editions featured articles befitting of our collective achievements and common BELOW] a young nation, discussing the big issues of the experiences. It has faithfully recorded our journey Enjoying day, such as the need for National Service, or our as we march in uniform. It continues to narrate PIONEER in the geopolitical environment. Over the years, that the grand adventure that is our SAF. 1970s. style gave way to a full-colour glossy magazine, friendlier and more casual, with an increased emphasis on pictures and graphics. In the early days, national austerity demands meant that one copy of the magazine would have to be shared among 10 servicemen. Today, the magazine is sent to the homes of Full-Time National Servicemen, NSmen and Regulars. In the 1970s, PIONEER offered subscription at 20 cents a copy. Today, it is a princely 40 cents. For a time, advertisements were found in the pages of PIONEER for consumer electronics,

342 343 self-expression must be within your PIONEER ALUMNI setting and environment. And then, Adrian Tan in my second year, I realised that even if no personal feelings are expressed, the story can still have a personal angle: how you write the Many famous Singaporeans story, whom you interview and what underwent their NS in PIONEER. you highlight about them.” Actor, director and playwright Former Attorney-General Ivan Heng was a PIONEER writer. Professor Walter Woon, food Of his PIONEER days, he said, critic K F Seetoh, and former NMP “One week, I would be on board a Associate Professor Simon Tay are ship, or on some jetty ready to go just some others who served their somewhere, another week I’d be National Service in PIONEER. sitting in a helicopter taking aerial Today editor Walter Fernandez, pictures with my photographer. And editor Warren we were interviewing ministers, Fernandez and former [ABOVE & BELOW] and we got quite a big bite of the Editor Ivan Fernandez have some- At the launch of journalistic cherry. It was a great thing less obvious in common. All PIONEER’s new opportunity for a young man; I cut their teeth as PIONEER writers. design, 1991. don’t think many people get to Warren Fernandez said of his experience these things at 20.” time in PIONEER: “What I had Celebrity photographer to learn was how to fit into the Russel Wong was a PIONEER production cycle: conceptualising photographer. He is famed for his stories, working with the artists pictures of stars such as Jackie and photographers, designing the Chan, Richard Gere and Tom Cruise. pages. That taught me a lot about Aptly, his first PIONEER assignment the visual aspect of journalism – it’s was a portrait of LG (Ret) Winston not just about words, you’ve got to Choo, then-Chief of General Staff. be able to connect with your readers Russel said that his PIONEER through images, pictures and experience was “an eye-opener”, design.” Recalling the publication and that it sharpened his senses. of his first story in PIONEER, he “Doing photo-journalism, I had to said: “It was great to see my byline. [ABOVE] be more alert, as there was only one There’s always a buzz, a sense of Distributing chance to take my shot. Most of the achievement for your first story. I PIONEER time, I didn’t quite know what to think that was what got me thinking magazines expect, and I had to get it right the about journalism. I wasn’t born directly to first time. I also learnt to work with wanting to be a journalist. PIONEER soldiers in a people to get the pictures I wanted. showed me that this was something barrack, circa In PIONEER, I met all kinds of I could do in the long term.” 1975. people, from privates to generals.” Ivan Fernandez said of his Award-winning musician, PIONEER stint, where he was also [RIGHT] songwriter and poet Dr Liang Wern resident cartoonist: “We felt our A cartoon by Ivan Fook was another PIONEER writer. task was to go behind the scenes Fernandez, circa He wrote for the Chinese edition and make the activities on the 1974. of the magazine. He said: “My ground, the people behind the units writing was about self-expression. and the operating culture come But at PIONEER, I realised I needed alive. We wanted to show that there another kind of writing skill. It was was more to the Armed Forces than no longer about personal feelings, the steely, highly-disciplined and but about being objective. It’s perfectly-timed performances seen important to have an opinion, but at the National Day Parade.” as a Clerk Class 2. taught how to write. We also told the smaller, Writer ClaSS 2 It was a vastly different life. My boss, Colin Fernandez personal stories that touched Adrian Tan Barely weeks before, I had been (yes, another unrelated Fernandez all who served. We reported the digging foxholes as an Infantry editor), was the archetypal editor retirement of “Captain Cook”, the Officer Cadet. Now I was re- – grizzled, chain-smoking, hard- chief chef of the SAF. CPT Wong acquainting myself with luxuries drinking, with a love for words. Soon Yoke, OC of the School of such as an SAF office chair. When He taught old-school journalism. Army Catering, was responsible for My part in PIONEER began one before I drank dubious-tasting He explained how news stories feeding an Army (as well as a Navy night in Pulau Tekong, when I fell water from my metal water bottle looked, and how they were edited. and an Air Force). CPT Wong, who out of a three-tonner. or ate my own cooking in the form He emphasised simple language. joined the army at the improbable The vehicle was ferrying my of mysteriously-spiced chunks with PIONEER’s readers ranged from age of 40, recalled his early days at platoon back from training. It was Ovaltine biscuits in my mess tin, I university-educated officers to the School when, equipped with just late, and we were all exhausted. The now had a cookhouse with clean servicemen who had barely passed a kwali, he had to turn 20 recruits tailboard, which someone ought water and hot food prepared by their PSLE, he said. The magazine into cooks for hundreds. to have bolted, flipped open. I was professionals. I traded in my worn had to communicate with all of A popular column, “Well Done, leaning against it, as we are told No 4 for new, office-ready No 3. them, in a way which included and Soldier”, recounted events of public never to do. I tumbled out, bounced I began reading. Being an interested all of them. It had to tell spiritedness by our servicemen and twice, and landed on my back, impoverished NSF, I had no money the story of the SAF. women. A tech sergeant gave first- staring at the headlights of the rest for books. I ended up reading There was the big over-arching aid to victims of a two-bus collision of the convoy trundling towards me. anything I could find in my camp. story – the growth of the SAF. The in Sixth Avenue. NSmen medics on The good news was that the The most abundant literature there magazine documented the SAF’s guard duty rescued a family of eight trucks stopped. The bad news was was PIONEER magazine. increasingly sophisticated training from their burning semi-detached that I was medically downgraded. PIONEER, then, was a glossy, and better equipment. We had house in Changi. An airbase vehicle I was no longer fit for combat. all-colour 48-page magazine that new aircraft, vessels and fighting mechanic interrupted his jogging I was sent to learn typing at the told me something about the huge vehicles. One article featured the near his Jurong home to aid a School of Military Manpower. After organisation that I was in. I read use of personal computers in units, motorist whose car had stalled. reaching a speed of 30 words per it, and then I applied to write for explaining that such devices could Within minutes, the corporal minute on the SAF’s impossibly it. I took a two-hour writing test, be used to produce letters, keep repaired the defective engine and column on English usage. correspondingly parsimonious with obstinate Olivetti typewriters, I was which I passed. I went to PIONEER. track of things and play games such the grateful motorist was on his Like my colleagues, I went to their words, composing sentences posted to a Divisional Headquarters I became a Writer Class 2. And I was as “Space Invaders”. Another was way. Burly guardsmen (pictured almost all the camps in Singapore, carefully in their heads before entitled “How to eat your Combat stripped to their waists) rescued and some outside it. I spent days committing them to paper. It [RIGHT] Rations”, and was accompanied a drowning swimmer off Bedok watching new weapons being taught me to value the well-chosen Adrian Tan (left) by nutritional values of Muslim, Jetty. A corporal questioned a man demonstrated in far-flung bases and word and the well-composed at PIONEER. non-Muslim and vegetarian combat accused of robbing a woman on a nights throwing up over the side of paragraph. The writers took pride rations. bus of her jewellery. “At first, he navy vessels in the South Sea. in producing articles which were We showcased our achievers: denied he had robbed the woman,” The aim was always to explain, as typed in one continuous movement, pilots, sailors and soldiers who said CPL Birendra Kumar Panday. effectively as possible, what the SAF from beginning to end, much like trained hard and were recognised “But I queried him further and he was doing. a pianist storming his way through by foreign military institutions, as finally admitted that he had done I wrote for PIONEER from “The Flight of the Bumblebee”. No well as talented individuals such so. Then he threw a punch at me.” 1986 to 1987. My stories had to one wanted to ask for the Tippex, as the first woman senior warrant The man made a dash for it, but the be punched out, letter by letter, as that would amount to an utterly officer and a promising SAF corporal, who competes in 5-km on the rigid keys of a mechanical abject admission of failure. footballer named V Sundramoorthy. and 10-km races, caught up with typewriter. Deletions were difficult, I wrote and wrote and wrote. We featured the exercises and his quarry after a short chase and not least because correcting After NS, I carried on writing – operations the SAF carried out. apprehended him. fluid was scarce. So was paper, magazine articles, short stories and When Hotel New World collapsed We also discussed issues facing typewriter ribbon and typewriters novels. The income put me through in 1986, we showed how the SAF the SAF: the dangers of passive themselves. All stationery was university. Today, I practise law, and led the rescue efforts. When an smoking, whether military letters carefully hoarded by a fearsome I write every day, all because I was underground railway network had become more courteous, how sergeant. In the event of conflict, he thrown out of a three-tonner one (called the Mass Rapid Transit to deal with depression among wanted to be sure that we were well night in Pulau Tekong. system) was being dug underneath National Servicemen. And because stocked, so that we could report on The SAF taught me how to Raffles Place, we talked about the it was run by individuals obsessed glorious victories as and when they type fast and write clearly. And it Navy’s role in building it. with language, it carried a regular took place. Thus, all writers became changed my life. SAF SONgS Colin Goh boys in green Singing the blues

Warriors have always loved a good sing- We are a special band of soldiers a-long. The Spartans went into battle singing, as Raised to guard our nation’s shores did the Romans and their enemies, the Gauls. We base our lives upon a set of seven values Meanwhile, today’s American forces, famed for To defend our nation’s cause their macho call-and-response “cadences” (calling And when our country says she needs us them “songs”, apparently, is too wimpy) have We’re always there by her side even taken to blasting heavy metal music during We’ll protect the lives of every Singaporean operations. They say a shared soundtrack focuses For Singapore, we’ll give our lives. the group, helps maintain the timing of the march, takes the mind off the drudgery and trudging, and Or this one:

buttresses morale. [FACING] When the whistle blows But what does our choice in songs say about A rousing Silence everywhere us? Like every other country’s armed forces, we sing-a-long lifts And the flag goes up have our fair share of chest-thumping, red meat- spirits and builds In the battalion square camaraderie. chewing odes like this infantry standard: Soldiers all around Never let you down We are the bedrock of our army ‘Cause we are the best Wanting to keep our people free In the SAF Committed to the independence of our nation So echo… echo out loud We are the men from the Infantry (Company) warriors never let you down There will never be a mountain too high So echo… echo out loud Or a road too rough for us (Company) warriors never let you down We are about to rule the day and own the Up in the sky darkest night Where planes fly high We’ll never rest till the wrong is right And the parachutes bloom From the land, air and sea Like flowers in the sky We will strike our enemies I wanna be… And they call us the queen of the battlefield. A (Company) warrior Oh, we are brothers in arms ‘Cause we are the best We are brothers proud to be In the SAF We are the first So echo… echo out loud The one and only infantry (Company) warriors never let you down

348 349 So echo… echo out loud How you get to heaven Why must we serve? (Company) warriors never let you down How you earn your pay Because we love our land And we want it to be free to be free (yeah) Not unexpectedly, some of our more bellicose I replied with a little bit of anger, chants were also borrowed and adapted from Earn my pay as an airborne trooper But after doing some research, I found that foreign armies, like this one from the US Army: Hey-o, what you say now most servicemen are tepid about these patriotic Airborne trooper’s on his way now alpha-male paeans. Rather, the SAF songs that A is for Airborne seem to have left the deepest impressions on us are I is for in the sky C130 rolling down the street those which carry an air of distinct melancholy. R is for rough and tough Airborne troopers take a little trip Take Jack Neo’s legendary Hokkien ditty, which B is for bona fide Stand up hook up shuffle to the door begins: O is for on the go Jumping down by the count of four R is for Ranger 23rd June was a real bad day If my main doesn’t open wide N is for never quit That’s the day I went into the army I have another one by my side E is for every day Early in the morning I took a taxi If that one doesn’t open too And rode all the way to CMPB Then I’m in for a jolly good ride C-130 rollin down the strip, Aiyo Aiyo Ai-ai-yo-ah Airborne daddy gonna take a little trip. Aiyo Aiyo Ai-ai-yo-ah If I land in a Russian front Stand up, buckle up, shuffle to the door, Bury me with a Russian gun Jump right out and count to four. Even the sanitised English adaptation that was If I die in the Vietnam War used for the documentary series Every Singaporean Send me back to Singapore If my chute don’t open wide, Son shares this hangdog quality: I’ll be splattered on the countryside. Tell my major I’ve done my best If my chute don’t open wide, Silver wings upon my chest Today Monday, my lucky day I got another one by my side. Tell my mama I’ve done my best Sit ferry on a sunny day Free hotel and nice foodfare If that chute don’t open neither, Now it’s time to take a rest [TOP] All was good till I lost my hair Officer cadets I’ll say hi to ol’ St. Peter. Aiyo Aiyo Ai-ai-yo-ah performing at a If I die on the ol’ drop zone, There are also the ones that tug a little more at Aiyo Aiyo Ai-ai-yo-ah CO Evening, circa Pack me up and ship me home. our sense of responsibility and sacrifice, like the 1977. old chestnut, “Training to be Soldiers”: Bury me in the leanin’ rest, [BOTTOM] Training to be soldiers SAF song book Tell my folks I did my best. and cassette Fight for our land tape, 1990. SAF version Once in our lives A is for airborne Two years of our time [FACING] I is for in the sky Have you ever wondered? 3 SIR CO Why must we serve? Evening. R is for rough and tough B is for born to fly Because we love our land O is for on the go And we want it to be free to be free (yeah) R is for ready N is for never quit Looking all around us E is for every day People everywhere Children having fun When you get to heaven While we are holding guns St Peter’s gonna say Have you ever wondered?

350 351 PC, I wanna go Looked into her eyes “Purple Light”, however, became the subject OC won’t let me go I asked her to of controversy when the women’s rights group Mummy, I wanna go home Be my future wife AWARE made an issue of a mischievous version in which the verse about being cuckolded had What I’ve found to be distinctly Singaporean, There was one night acquired a violent, misogynistic taint. however, is an abundance of lamentation over lost There was no light I thought MINDEF was absolutely right to romance: There was no light ban the offensive mutation. It’s fine for our boys So we used torchlight in green to sing the blues. One of my strongest In the early morning march Torchlight no light memories of BMT was the long line for the With a field pack on my back So we used star light payphone (remember them?) to call a girlfriend And an aching in my arms Star light not bright or, more likely, someone-who-maybe-could- And my body full of sweat So we used purple light have-been-a-girlfriend-if-not-for-the-chao-army. I’m a long, long way from home (This is corroborated by my wife who recalls how, And I miss my lover so The last line of this chaste schoolboy ditty, during this period, she was suddenly besieged by In the early morning march however, would often lead into another song that in-camp calls from former schoolmates who had When the cold wind blows is regularly cited as a favourite by NSFs: hitherto never shown any romantic interest.) But When the cold wind blows there are some red lines no one should cross. When the cold wind blows Purple light There is one SAF song that does offer a When the cold wind blows In the valley modicum of hope about potential romantic When the cold wind blows There is where options. I still recall how its simple yet profound I know I know I want to be lyrics would stir optimism in the lonely hearts of You have to go Infantry my BMT platoon mates and me as we sang them: So hurry back home Close companion I miss you so With my rifle and my buddy and me…. Today is my book-out day, doo-dah, doo-dah [ABOVE] But complaint songs are not new in the Today is my book-out day, doo-dah, doo-dah, day SAF women military, which are tolerated and even encouraged I suspect this wistful quality became especially SOC No more SOC, Now can call girlfriend enjoying a sing- as a way of helping soldiers vent about what must pronounced in the wake of the xinyao craze of the Si beh chia lat Today is my book-out day, doo-dah, doo-dah, day a-long, circa IPPT 1980. be an abrupt change in lifestyle. Take the hoary 1980s, where it seemed like every other person in old British and American ditty that goes: Singapore was picking up the guitar to warble twee Lagi worse [FACING] Chinese ballads, as exemplified by this classic: Every day A violin, an They say that in the Army the coffee’s mighty fine Doing PT uncommon It looks like muddy water and tastes like turpentine I asked my girl With my rifle and my buddy and me…. instrument in To take a walk camp. Booking out Oh Lord, I wanna go To take a walk See my girlfriend But they won’t let me go Down Orchard Road Saw her with Oh Lord, I wanna go home Bypass Mandarin another man To Centrepoint Broken heart which has been also adapted by our troops with Where we had lunch Back to Army verses like: At McDonald’s With my rifle and my buddy and me…. They say that in the Army the food is mighty fine We had fillet I totally get why these “emo” songs are more You ask for chicken curry, And apple pie popular – they tap into something authentic, They give you chao tah rice We shared a cup universal and human, unlike the more abstract Oh, I don’t wanna lead an Army life Of lemon lime flag-waving anthems. I held her hands

352 353 disposition is called a “kan cheong “I did not know how to answer the SAF SPEAK spider”, an epithet that originates essay questions, so I just smoke all A Legacy to Swear by from rifle cleaning. A “spider” refers the way, lor.” Colin goh to dirt in the barrel of your rifle, and • We use “mood” as an adjective “kan cheong” (the Cantonese term to describe a carefree state of mind, for anxious) is how you feel before as in “Wah, exam over, so you an inspection which might reveal mood already lah!” This comes from It may surprise some of you that your weapon to be insufficiently the term “ROD mood”, a feeling whenever I think about the linguistic arachnid-free. a serviceman has in the weeks contributions of the SAF, I am • Meanwhile, a punctilious leading up to his Run-Out-Date, reminded of the Oxford English or over-eager person is often now known as the more aspirational Dictionary (OED). denigrated as being “siao on” or “Operationally-Ready Date”. This is because when the OED simply “on”, an abbreviation of “on Not all of the above terms was being compiled in the late the ball”. For example: “Supervisor originated in the Armed Forces, 1800s, its chief editor, Professor coming, so of course he suddenly of course. However, for many James Murray, learned that over siao on, lah.” cloistered boys like me, NS is 10,000 entries had been submitted • We rarely say we have been when we first encountered such by a single man – William Chester “tasked” or “charged” with an colourful language, and in such vast Minor, a former army surgeon onerous or unpleasant assignment quantities. Just like Singlish, the incarcerated in an asylum for the or duty; instead we say we have patois we pick up in the SAF is not insane. been “arrowed”. This stems from just some form of lazy or utilitarian Similarly, in 2000, when I was the practice in official notifications shorthand. Rather, many of the crowdsourcing entries for the of stamping a tiny arrow next to the terms show a level of inventiveness, Coxford Singlish Dictionary on the names of the relevant personnel. humour and irreverence that we satirical website TalkingCock.com, • We are never told to prioritise Singaporeans are often unfairly I noticed that the most fervent bloc a list of duties using our own accused of lacking. of contributors consisted of NSFs. discretion; rather, we’re told to deal I continue to look forward to Just what is it about military with them at our “own time, own all the new expressions that will men and lexicography? I believe it target”, which is often abbreviated undoubtedly emerge with every begins with the need to navigate to simply “OTOT”. new cohort. As T S Eliot said: the torrent of jargon that all fresh • A lazy person or someone For last year’s words belong to enlistees feel, an impulse that grows with a relaxed job is called a “lobo”, last year’s language into a (sometimes morbid) curiosity which comes from the acronym And next year’s words await about how the various idioms came “Left Out of Battle Order”. another voice. about, followed by the urge to • Meanwhile, someone who Or as my platoon sergeant participate in their propagation. always fails to meet his targets is might have said (somewhat less [ABOVE] As a country with conscription, a “bobo king”, a term that comes poetically if more succinctly), “You How to tekan. it is no wonder so many military from the shooting range label W/O chao recruits ah, pattern more than terms have entered our civilian life. W/O (wipe out), meaning no hits badminton!” Here is just a small sample of the at all. For example: “Why you give that bobo king such an important less profane ones: [ABOVE] • When asked to investigate the assignment?” Another type of suitability of various venues, no one • And if one encounters a bobo bobo king. in Singapore “surveys” or “inspects” king, it is entirely proper to “tekan” the locations; we always “recce” (Malay for beat or pressure) him, [LEFT] them. perhaps by asking him to “wake up Smoke all the • Someone who is repeatedly your idea”. way. passed over for promotion in • When we create distractions or their job is invariably described as diversions or deliberately confuse, “hentak kaki”, which comes from we always say we “smoke”, a the Malay drill command to march reference to the military tactic of in one spot. using smoke grenades to conceal • A person of nervous tactical operations. For example: NS IN LITERATURE Gwee Li Sui The Write of Passage

Any survey of Singaporean writings on the member of society and a custodian of its life. It theme of National Service knows one starting is in this sense that Philip Jeyaretnam has all the point: Michael Chiang’s Army Daze (1985). young, male Singaporeans of his famous volume This work stands out as not just the first of its of short stories First Loves (1987) affected by kind but also its most representative, featuring full-time military service. Ah Leong, a recurring every trait that has since gone into defining such character, is reminded time and again of his literature. The story shows National Service as impending enlistment up to the day he enlists. In a rite of passage for Singaporean boys growing the story “Army”, as he considers his lost civilian into adulthood. It also shows how enlistees deal identity, he further reflects on the experiences of with the loss of their civilian identities, what they learn in the army, and the personality types they encounter or become. Army Daze is, in fact, among the few Singaporean books to cross into several other mediums. It began as a semi-autobiographical novella about a young man’s introduction to the military life. The subsequent play version (1987), and the film version (1996) inspired by it, follow a group of conscripts from diverse racial and socio-economic backgrounds as they go through Basic Military Training (BMT). These recruits at first struggle to bridge their new lives with their familiar, old ones. They confront stereotypes emerging among them such as the Blur King and the Gabra King, which Chiang describes as a “perpetual bundle of nerves”. In the process, they learn discipline, responsibility, and the value of strong bonds. National Service therefore acts as a context for seeing a stage in the lives of boys as they grow in body and mind into men. It is also a way to explore how one can become a functional

356 357 SEMBAWANG his grandfather and father, two key male figures Koh Buck Song in his life. This fact thatN ational Service can enhance smells of the soil cannot be denied, male bonding is explicitly taken up by another dawn scents of eath grub-full writer, Colin Cheong, in his collection Life Cycle of as whiff of feathers Homo Sapiens, Male (1992). Four of the 18 stories and other farming things here have a military context. “Silent Service” From BOYS IN JUNGLE GREEN herald the handiwork observes how the ties among a group of friends of toilers tucked Robert Yeo in rows of chye sim, evolve against the backdrop of army obligations. kio and kai lan These are our common boys in jungle green “One Night Only” centres on a night out for a Upon whom we trust a role at home. group of soldiers based abroad, while “Poisson at day’s end, For will and muscle to grow on bone, Ivy” depicts the more mundane world of army frayed hats pop Young men will have to be brave men. up, and dusk’s dull clerical work. A fourth story, “The Hill”, displays glow illuminates The parade ground is harsh bitumen masculine qualities best through an unflinchingly this ancient life And harder still the corporal’s lash. military setting. Relating the chance meeting of hill and vale Hours drag like a sacrifice… between a young and an old serviceman, it uses Tomorrow is the same refrain. here, where flares ignite the hill they train at as a metaphor for the obstacles the sky and blanks in life each of them faces and seeks to overcome. Jungle, river, valley and hill puncture the air The elemental lash of rain and sun. Indeed, when you read the various depictions on frantic wayang nights, Despite blisters, cramps, faintings even, of army time by Singaporean writers, you will rustic peace hides The mud on your face is soil, your soil. discover that this hill is a curiously recurring much yet unstaged and more to show image. It haunts even poetry as the example of cast for burial Koh Buck Song’s poem “Hills are for Heroes” in some other plot (2001) shows. Koh’s poem records the connection between such a soldier’s terrain and the city he defends that exists around it. Urban development, being a more concrete fact of Singapore, causes details of “hill 265” to keep changing on the army map. Since “training realism relies/on make- believe”, these changes affect military exercises themselves, the hill turning into a strange space of play for the serious imagination. Such a distinct site for war games fascinates the poet too although his piece “Reservist” (1992) shows it conversely like an unchanging truth. As aging men with “creaking From ARMY CAMP, PARADE GROUND bones” and “suppressed grunts” return for their Terence Heng annual in-camp training, they learn that they will still “keep charging up the same hills” and “plod/ Tortured ground. Your skin is blistered through the same forests”. Boey nonetheless sees by the vehement boots that stamp and stomp all day long. The unconcerned sun applies here the philosopher Albert Camus’ use of the itself to both human and asphalt alike Greek myth of Sisyphus, a kingly figure who was And when the rain comes, your heaving sighs damned to roll a rock up a hill forever. Repetitive are vapour mists that rise out from your pores. tasks become for him teaching points about going Relief in little steaming clouds of past parades. along with life’s strangeness:

358 359

360 361 “Jungle Training” (2002) as well as Tan’s “Reservist” uses militarism more flamboyantly to highlight (2006) capture vivid, passing moments that occur affronts to his sense of self and a range of other during field exercises. displeasures. Recently, Joshua Ip’s sonnet “entry” All that said, it may well be that the most (2012) applies the enlistee’s shift from civilian to potent feature in the National Service experience military language and the army’s high standards of is neither the environment nor its activities per se. housekeeping to the pressures on writing: Rather, it is the relationship with society it enriches, the view on fellow Singaporeans and people in this poem is tucked-in, clean-shaved, and general gained through close interaction. As iron-creased… National Service is the single point in many male this poem is so shiny you can see your face inside. citizens’ lives where different sectors and classes of society converge, its writings are naturally full To be sure, poems such as these seem less of colourful personality types. Other than the interested in military truths and practices than comical types that Army Daze popularises, there in the metaphors they can be turned into. There are also troublesome ones such as the enlisted are also poems that choose to make positive, hooligan in Boey’s “Tattoos of a Private” (1989). life-affirming meanings instead of cynical ones. Even this soldier’s dragon tattoo “lisps and seethes” Gilbert Koh’s “National Day Parade” (2009), in rebelliousness and roars whenever “the sight of for example, describes a soldier’s intimate time stripes and bars/draws him out of his den”! with his mother as they re-watch a taped video Many other familiar types exist. There is the of his role in a National Day Parade marching platoon mate who becomes a lifelong friend, contingent. This bonding is interesting as it the stern, brotherly corporal, the fatherly but challenges the typical idea of male bonding that whimsical Encik, the beloved officer like the National Service encourages. Here, it cuts across one Tan celebrates in “Parade” (1994), and the a few social divides: between man and woman, erratically compassionate Chief Clerk. Then child and parent, public and private selves, there is the out-of-shape NSman and, of course, and military and civilian identities. The poem We will have proven that Sisyphus is not a myth. that figure of the Regular, whose perspective can exhibits a cheerful use of the military duty in We will play the game till the monotony intrigue the full-time serviceman greatly. Toh literature, where it becomes an enhancer of simple Epitaph of a Blur Recuit in Tekong Hsien Min’s “Platoon Sergeant, Nee Soon Camp” experiences and relationships. Gwee Li Sui sends his lordship to sleep. (2002) thus imagines one such Regular finding All these cases still represent a fraction of One and two and three and four, In fact, taken together, National Service poems himself uncomfortable with being in what he the published writings with National Service as Watch me, I can count some more! seem to display a broader and more complex suddenly perceives as a dead-end job. All these theme that exist to date. It may be worthwhile to Five and six and seven and eight, range of engagements than their counterparts poems do not romanticise human nature but note that the bulk of them are written during or Hold: suppose to throw the gre – in prose, drama, and film. These poems do not rather rely on the military’s unique setting to soon after a writer’s stint in full-time service, with just focus on the pains of adapting to military clarify character. a smaller number made late in the NS cycle. As life and the experience of camaraderie, but also In another group of poems, the military such, National Service writings are distinguished explore attachments to specific places and events. world becomes an indirect means to depict and not just by their scope of interests but also by the Works such as Paul Tan’s “Cookhouse” (1994) and comment on society at large. For example, Boey phase in the lives of writers themselves. These Terence Heng’s “Army Camp, Parade Ground” in “Army Rituals” (1996) uses the precision learnt works, being tied to the concerns of men from the (2000) record the impact military spaces have on from handling weapons and bombs to describe age of eighteen to their thirties, are articulated in personal mental space and identity. Others such as social conditioning and the constraints on self- those terms. An understanding can firstly explain Aaron Lee’s “Remembering BMT” (1997), which expression. He proceeds to lament how “Now the the vibrancy and energy of such writings. It can describes his introduction to long road marches, bolts of my speech/are jammed” and “my hands also hint at a larger body of unpublished pieces look at military activities and the emotions they tremble/to approach the silence”. Alfian Sa’at’s that may well exist, locked away in the drawers of inspire. Cyril Wong’s “Field Camp” (2002) and sprawling four-part “Ode to the Army” (1998) memories of Singaporean men.

362 363 SAF IN ART Seah Tzi Yan On a broader Canvas

The themes of art and military seem to be sculpture was installed for the inauguration of an unlikely combination, and little is collected the SAF Basic Military Training Centre on Pulau by way of art that references the Armed Forces Tekong. Many Singaporeans, through school and in Singapore’s national art collections. Yet, the family visits, are also familiar with the formal soul of the is often commemorative sculptures and reliefs of the Army expressed by artistic means – through both formal Museum. These pieces evoke the sense of mission commissioned landmark pieces and independent and values embodied by the Armed Forces in their artworks made by artists and NSmen. commitment and objective to defend Singapore Every recruit since 1999 is familiar with the and its people. [FACING] National Service landmark, composed of an Chua Boon Kee has created several of the “You can lose 20 kgs in 3 months armed soldier against the backdrop of a swirling Army Museum pieces, including a collaborative at BMT”, national flag. Four young children flank the side, piece with NSmen in 2007, the “Leadership and Tang Da Wu, representing the future of our diverse society. The Learning – 7 Core Values” sculpture. (An eighth 1991.

[LEFT] “Conversation”, Ho Kok Hoe, 1977.

364 365 value, safety, was added in 2013.) An entry by photographer Eric Lee in his blog reads: “Went back to the Army Museum of Singapore to take some pictures of my sculptures”, and he also mentions his enjoyable experience working alongside the sculptor. Whilst Chua has sculpted several landmark pieces for various armed forces buildings, Lim Leong Seng is also remembered for his “Bugler”. The bronze figure, commissioned in 2008 for the SAF Band’s 50th anniversary,

[ABOVE] stands in front of the colonial Officers’M ess that “Defence”, is known affectionately as the White House at Sarkasi Bin Said, Nee Soon Camp. Likewise, Chern Lian Shan has 1991. made a bronze sculpture titled “Valour at Sea”, which serves as a landmark at Tuas Naval Base. [BELOW] “Sailors”, Such pieces bear witness that the Armed Forces Ang Cheng Chye, are more than military muscle – music, the 1994. arts and heritage are intrinsic to its machinery. Perhaps the most historically significant are the [FACING] pair of Merdeka Lions by Rodolfo Nolli, originally “Challenge”, Lim Poh Teck, 1991. guardians of the Merdeka Bridge from 1955 to 1966, now sited at the SAFTI Military Institute since 1995. Those who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s in Singapore will also remember Leong Choon Cheong’s book Youth in the Army which features a established and emerging Singaporean artists of several artists groups including Utopia and painting of three resting soldiers on its cover. The to express their perceptions of the SAF as a vital Plastique Kinetic Worms. The third AD C, in painting “Conversation” by the late Dr Ho Kok force in the defence of our sovereignty by keeping 1995/1996, attracted repeat and new entrants, Hoe was one of three he painted that referenced its Armed Forces fighting fit”. Despite the artistic including Mohammad Bin Din Mohammad. the Armed Forces and is in the collection of the communities’ initial skepticism of the outcome The three AD Cs instigated the creation of many Singapore Art Museum. The other two A“ t Ease” of an army art competition, the first AD C artworks which are displayed in the public areas (1981) and “My Son” (1975), are a Singaporean received many entries including submissions by of the many SAF buildings. The chief judge of the father’s expressions about his sons being in established and upcoming artists: Lai Kui Fang, third DAC was Dr Earl Lu, himself an eminent art National Service, depicting army life as part of Tong Chin Sye, Kuan Soong, Sarkasi Said, Whang collector. The artworks created spanned a breadth the Singaporean landscape. Dr Ho presented the Tar Choung, Lim Poh Teck, Ler Hock Chuan and of treatment and thought. A large percentage of two paintings to the Army Museum in 2007. Also Tan Kay Nguan. The next edition in 1994 included these were celebratory paintings, which embodied in the Singapore Art Museum collection are Goh a young unknown Suzie Seah who won second the heroic, victorious aspects of defence and the Teck Hong’s two “Army Series” works, “Not My place. Also known as Suzanne Victor, she has stirring emotions. Others, like Tang Da Wu’s “You Fault” and “Take Cover” (both 1988); whereas since participated in the Venice Biennale 2001, the can lose 20 kgs in 3 months at BMT” (1991) are Ng Eng Teng’s “Portrait” (1986), a missile shaped Adelaide Biennale 2008 and Singapore Biennale more down-to-earth depictions of the personal sculpture that points to the violence and upheaval 2013. It can also be noted that artist Vincent Leow, struggles of national servicemen to train and of war as well as the need for defence, is in the an early member of The Artists Village, had a piece endure the daily rigours of being in the Army. NUS Museum collection. entered, as did Ahmad Abu Bakar, Anthony Chua The paintings were not only formal works based MINDEF launched a series of Defence Art Say Hua, and Chieu Sheuey Fook who works in on realism; there were also more contemporary, Competitions (DACs) from 1991 to “invite metal tooling. Leow had also been a proponent abstract works like Ler Hock Chuan’s “One” which

366 367 [FACING] “Amphibious Attack Briefing”, Lai Kui Fang, 1995.

[RIGHT] “One”, Ler Hock Chuan, 1991.

[BELOW] “Operations”, Tan Chye Tiong, 1991.

won second prize in the 1991 competition, and Kamarulzaman made “11B” a photographic Lim Poh Teck’s “Challenge” (1991) which gave a depiction of his own Armed Forces identity new, up-to-date way of depicting the SAF. card with a Quick Response (QR) code over Women artists including Suzanne Victor, his face. The RQ text cheekily reads: “I accept Tan Juat Lee, Tay Shuh Fung, Hong Sek Chern donations”, and gives a contact telephone number. and Wong Yean Yean also participated, bringing Another related series from him, “Facial Codes”, a measure of equality to the voice of armed involves a variety of group photographs (school, forces art, which may otherwise be seen as male- family, army), each face covered by a Quick dominated terrain. The works these women artists Response (QR) code that gives an intimation of entered were mostly abstract, painterly, and a few the individual’s possible thoughts at the time. – including Hong Sek Chern’s “X-ing the Weser/B Other independent artistic works that involve S Over Pontoon Bridge” (1995) – were added experiences or imagery of the Armed Forces to the MINDEF collection. Hong, Tan, Tay and include: the cartoons of Lee Xin Li, naïf and Victor are practising artists and their works are Tintin-like; and Alvin Ong’s drawing of “Staff Ang” well ensconced in the Singapore gallery scene. (2009) and “Arson” (2008), studying the power of Artworks produced independently by communication through facial expression. Singapore artists may also reference the Armed Whilst film, drama and music often document Forces as an intrinsic part of Singapore life. the social, humane and comic aspects of a soldier’s Notably, artists have used the Army persona to life, paintings and other works of art capture discuss issues of personal and national identity. many subtler, private memories and responses to John Clang, the New York-based Singapore the experience of being in the Singapore Armed photographer, had “Twins”(2014), the pair Forces. The perceptions and memories of life in photographed in army gear, and also made “A the Armed Forces, its challenges and the ideals of Soldier” (1996), an unidentified young man in being in the service of the nation remain amplified Army uniform having a smoke outside a barrack. through the many public art works about the SAF.

368 369 CEREMONIES AND RITUALS Goh Eck Kheng Pomp and Pageantry

One of my favourite parts of the National the tempo of the march just enough to drop the Day Parade is the feu de joie, “fire of joy” in French, parade sergeant major a quick hint. It worked. a celebratory rifle salute where the running gun POPs now start off at Changi and end after a fire of blank rounds are a kettle of tabla, kompang, 24-km route march in the heart of the city. My tambourine and rattle drum. friend Michelle Chian is familiar with the area. As I played the cornet in the SIR Band for the Her office was in one of the towers of the business better part of my NSF days, another point of the district that forms the backdrop of the parade. parade that excites me is when the band strikes up Her pride is obvious: “To watch my exhausted to bring in the contingents – phalanxes in various but determined son march onto the Marina Bay [FACING] Wing Sergeant uniforms and carrying different coloured flags: Floating Platform, having marched overnight in Major checking the SAF, Home Team, school uniformed groups, full gear, to see the whole field of over 4,000 newly- the officer social organisations and business houses – pillars minted soldiers pledge to ‘preserve and protect cadets at their of our defence. the honour and independence of our country commissioning What also stirs me is the Colours Party dipping with (their) lives’, then for all of us to sing Majulah parade.

the Colours as the national anthem soars. In the Singapura together after a minute of silence with [BELOW] sky, the giant state flag flutters and the fighter jets heads bowed in tribute to Mr . It SAF Colours roar. The ground shudders 21 times as artillery turned out to be much, much more emotional Party. guns give their salute. I always watch the foot drill critically, applying the standard of the company sergeant major who drilled us in my spit-and-polish, starched-uniform recruit days. For recruits, the first experience of ceremony and parades is, of course, the Passing Out Parade (POP). Unfortunately, I missed mine, having been so sick that I had to stay at home – Attend C. So, it was a consolation of sorts to have attended multiple POPs and their rehearsals with the SIR band. The parade sergeant majors demanded nothing but perfection, which meant semula after semula. Once, after what our band sergeant major thought was one semula too many, he upped

370 371 than I thought it would be.” 23rd Battalion Singapore Artillery, sit ramrod This particular POP was two weeks after straight, unflinching. Men from the 21st Battalion the funeral of the founding Prime Minister of Singapore Artillery kneel on the sodden turf of Singapore. Like countless other Singaporeans, my the Padang, firing 21 salutes. Off Marina Barrage, family and I followed the sombre events of the the RSS Dauntless and Resilience sail past, flying week. black flags on the starboard and signal pennants These scenes stay in my mind. At Sri Temasek, of the letters LKY. But for the inclement weather, six SAF servicemen and two policemen, serving the Black Knights would have flown the missing as coffin bearers, drape the state flag over the man formation in aerial salute. casket, the crescent moon and stars over Mr Lee’s The State funeral service is at the University head and close to his heart. They doff caps and Cultural Centre. The Coffin Bearer Party slow raise the giant on whose shoulders we stand on marches in to Handel’s “The Dead March” from [LEFT] their own shoulders. The cortege is received by Saul. After the eulogies, military stewards assist The sail past with President Tony Tan and Emeritus Senior Minister in the wreath laying: Prime Minister Lee Hsien state flag at half- at the plaza where Mr Lee had Loong on behalf of the family, and President Tan mast in honour of received countless foreign heads of state in his on behalf of the State. A lone bugler from the Mr Lee Kuan Yew. long career. From the flagstaff atop the Istana, the SAF Military Band then sounds “The LastP ost” [BELOW] Presidential Standard flies at half-mast. A lone and, after a minute of silence, “The Rouse”, as a The cortege bagpiper pipes “Auld Lang Syne”. At the Istana symbolic call back to duty. leaves Parliament main gate, 24 guards from the SAF Military Police Beyond these, it was what Eswara Velan, who House with full (MP) Command present arms, and as the gun served as an Istana guard in National Service, honours. carriage turns into Orchard Road, many of the shared on Facebook which I found most poignant. waiting throng call out Mr Lee’s name. “Very often, as I was making my way up from Lee Kuan Yew lies in state at Parliament House. the rear gate after collecting dinner for the boys, The first vigil guards are mounted – the Chief of Mr Lee Kuan Yew would be making his way into Staff-Joint Staff, and the chiefs of Army, Navy and the Istana to his office. The guards would inform Air Force, standing at each corner of the casket, me ‘MM coming.’ I would quickly run into the led by the Chief of Defence Force. About 200 vigil guard post, unwilling to appear in his sight guards from the SAF and Police take turns for this carrying the packs of rations. Even though away solemn duty, standing silent, with swords inverted from his sight, I always took the opportunity to and heads bowed while hundreds of thousands put the bags down and salute him as his vehicle file past in respect. CPT Edwin Chua recalls: passed by. For one last time, ‘MM coming’”. “Standing there, I saw only the feet of people Eswara was one of the guards from the SAF MP who came to say goodbye. I saw the tiny shoes of Command Support Company – specially selected toddlers, the white sneakers of school children, the and trained for their turnout, bearing and drill – slippers of heartlanders, the shiny leather brogues who performs duties in the Istana. Each platoon and stilettos of working professionals. I also saw is mounted for a month before another 20 guards the wheelchairs and walking sticks of the elderly, take over by the Changing of Guards Ceremony. those who could barely stand or walk but braved Since 1969, on the first Sunday evening of every the hours-long queue.” month except July and August, the in-coming The skies weep openly during the funeral. guards march to the strains of a military band to The SAF Band plays “Funeral March No 1” meet the out-going guards at the entrance plaza by Johann Heinrich Walch as it leads the foot of the Istana. A precision rifle drill makes the procession into the driving rain. The mobile ceremony uniquely Singaporean. military escort for the cortege, gunners from the As these guards keep watch over the Istana

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374 375 sunset in Jalan Besar Stadium. PRESS SINGAPORE Today, the parade features four Guard-of- Honour contingents, 10 supporting contingents, 32 Regimental Colours and three State Colours. The rousing SAF March, Tentera Singapura by Abdullah Sumardi, is always played. The Guard- of-Honour March by Tonni Wei Shi Ren brings in the Colours Party which spreads out in file and wheels in ranks to form an impressive line of brocade flags. Then the SAF Pledge is recited, after which a minute of silence is observed to remember comrades-in-arms who have lost their lives in the course of duty. As reviewing officer, the President of Singapore presents the SAF State Colours to the Best Combat Unit while the Minister for Defence presents the Best Unit and Best NS Unit awards. In [PREVIOUS] [TOP] the finale, the parade marches off with the Colours A contingent President Party leading, followed by the Guard-of-Honour, stands Tony Tan unflinching in accompanied a marching contingents, and the thundering SAF the pouring rain step behind by Band bringing up the rear. Such is the ceremony during a parade his ADC. at the SAFTI MI parade square. at SAFTI MI. On this same parade square on the morning [BELOW] [FACING] The SAF Central of 22 July 1995, the Guard-of-Honour for NDP is Dr Goh Keng Band makes its rehearsing the feu de joie. They raise their rifles; Swee witnessing debut at the domain, their peers from the Enforcement and and organisers at Presidential events. “You have the bayonets glitter in the sunshine. the presentation Royal Edinburgh Ceremonial Company form the Guard-of-Honour to be versatile. They all have different demands, Above them rises the 60-metre-high three- of the SAF Military Tattoo, when the President receives foreign dignitaries expectations and working styles. The most sided observation tower representing the tri- Colours to 2 SIR, September during official State visits. challenging part of the job is in making sure that service of the SAF. From the top, views of Jurong 1973. 2014. The President, in all his official duties, is everyone emerges a winner.” Industrial Estate, the natural landscape of the attended to by his Aide-de-Camp, meaning CPT Penelope Chia, an Honorary ADC, gave military training area and the heartlands of Jurong “camp or field assistant” inF rench. Currently, the a different perspective: “When you think of the West can be seen, reminders of the economy, land President has three full-time ADCs assisted by a Army, you think of one thing – chiong sua. But and home that is Singapore. corps of about 100 Honorary ADCs, half of whom people always forget that there’s also the diplomacy At the foot of the tower, crane operators are are from the SAF. Aides-de-Camp from the SAF aspect, which is equally important. Serving as an carefully lowering the Merdeka Lions onto their wear the thick distinctive cords, called aiguillettes, ADC is a channel through which you can portray plinths. These are the two stone lions which once in gold across their right shoulder. that slice of diplomacy.” guarded each end of Merdeka Bridge. The full-time ADCs attend to the general SAF Day is as much celebrated to show the The order is given. The ranks of the Guard-of- administration, security and social needs of the character and profile of our military to others as it Honour fire their weapons in quick succession, President, and accompany him to official events. is for the tribe of the Armed Forces to reaffirm its the cascade of reports is a kettle of tabla, kompang, They are also responsible for the coordination, pledge to the SAF and Singapore. It is an occasion tambourine and rattle drum. This tribute to the planning, execution and follow-up of all the of pomp and pageantry. freedom lions of Singapore is fortuitous, but it shows President’s events, both in Singapore and abroad. The first SAF day, then known as Armed the heart of the ceremonial duties of the SAF: that LTC Vincent Soh, who ended his term as an Forces Day, was held on 1 July 1969 and boasted discipline, dedication and precision are required ADC in 2014, gave insight about relating to guests 1,500 servicemen and women in a grand parade at for securing the freedom we enjoy as a country.

376 377 NATIONAL DAY PARADES Sydney Tan Celebrating the Home We Protect

We all have memories of National Day to become a nation of our own, the future [FACING] Parades (NDP). My wife tells me how, as a child, was really uncertain. We needed to draw on all the President Yusof Ishak, she marvelled at President Benjamin Sheares’ stoic comfort and strength we could from the theme accompanied and stately figure as he stood for long periods of “National Pride and Confidence” of that first by Dr Goh Keng during the NDPs of years past. My own memory parade. The first few parades were simpler affairs. Swee, inspects goes a little further back to when, as a 14-year- Indeed, one of the early organisers remarked to NDP 1966. old taking part in the parades at the Padang in me recently how sophisticated the current NDPs [BELOW] the early Seventies, I had been frightened by the have become with giant LED screens, PIGI floor AMX tanks, warning of my seniors in the school band: “Don’t projections, synchronised video walls and slick NDP 1969. you dare move even if a fly buzzes around your face!” I could, I was told, as a concession, wiggle my toes hidden within my boots, lest I should faint and bring disgrace to our school. The promised flies were present butI didn’t faint and I even made it through the famous 7-km route march along the streets of Singapore. Tiredness and my heavy drum were forgotten as I saw Singaporeans lining the streets cheering us on as each contingent passed by. Even back then, watching Singaporeans profess their affection for our country moved me. I’ve had the privilege of being part of NDP quite a few times since those early years and, in 2014, seeing the audience respond spontaneously both to the elderly Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s appearance, and Navy serviceman Jason Chee who had lost both legs and an arm in a horrific accident kissing his Singapore badge, brought back that lump in my throat. It isn’t 1966, the year of the first NDP. It’s 50 years later, and the parade, as well as the preoccupation of the man in the street, has changed dramatically. When we separated from the Federation of

378 379 choreography and music. The parades are now polished, straddling folk festival and mega pop concert. Compare this to the earliest versions when contingents were scraped together from newly- formed National Service battalions and performers executed simple movements choreographed by teachers from the Extra Curricular Activities Centre. A basic mobile column led by AMX tanks made its first appearance in 1969, and a flypast was debuted by the Singapore Air Defence Command in 1970. My role as Music Director in various NDPs over the last 14 years has allowed me a privileged [TOP] [FACING] inside, close-up view of how a parade is put Fireworks President together from start to finish and an appreciation display detail Benjamin for the men who do this. at work, circa Sheares arrives The SAF has organised every NDP. Typically, 1970. at the National Stadium for the search for a core team begins as early as May to [BELOW] NDP 1976. June of the year before, with the Creative Director, Items in the Music Director, Technical and Video Directors 2015 Golden being identified and brought alongside. The main Jubilee NDP funpack. themes are highlighted and then, from there, a skeleton structure of what the coming year’s parade would be like, including projected special features if any, are sketched. From there, plans are created detailing participants and timelines as things move into the execution and production phase. It potentially can be a little formulaic as the organisers are people whose training and core skills are not in the creative arts and therefore find confidence in following guidelines documented by their predecessors. A conversation I once had with a senior officer about the process of time code and synchronising video to music highlights this. He shook his head and said: “Thanks so much for the explanation, but I think I’m going to stick to what I know best, which is to chiong sua with my men.” From him, I learnt that to be adroit in organising NDP, one has to have a sense of humour. So, each year, a unit of soldiers trained in the art of warfare organises the nation’s biggest artistic event over and above their regular duties. This they do with the SAF’s great organisational skills achieved via military discipline. Still, dealing with large groups of civilian volunteers is a totally

380 381 different cup of tea from commanding troops, ready criticisms from the anonymous armchair and I have watched from the sidelines with great critics of the Internet generation without a admiration as bemused senior officers exhibit complaint or any hint of resentment. maximum self-control and diplomacy in dealing I am being absolutely honest when I say that in with people who think that “now” and “no” are all the times I have been involved in NDP, I have not absolutes but merely possible options. not seen any political agenda nor manipulation of Whilst it would be fine for the men in green content, just men and women buckling down and to avoid getting too much into the technical nitty working hard because they love their country. The gritty of theatre and music production and to try last part is my assumption. I haven’t heard anyone their best not to wade into areas that are outside say it in so many words but I have looked in the military training (a temptation not all are able to eyes of some of these men and women when we avoid), there are some situations that are simply stepped out to do something special, when the unavoidable, and they charge up the steep learning National Anthem was presented in a different way curve as they would a hilltop objective. and many in the stadium felt something palpable, Beyond the obvious parade and show that is or when someone takes the time to write in to say a visible to the public, there is an incredible huge word of appreciation instead of a complaint about infrastructure effort necessary for each NDP: the theme song or the number of words spoken by Security, food rations, transport, manpower, people of each race. There is never the claiming costumes and prop building – all procured while of credit for the things that work. Nor is blame keeping within complex tender requirements and attributed when things falter. The motivation of a limited budget. This process involves meetings this cannot be because of a job. It has to be because [BELOW] Rain or shine, till the wee hours of many mornings, thousands of a deep-rooted belief, as I have, that this is where the NDP is of soldiers and volunteers, numerous rehearsals – I belong, where I keep my heart and soul…. In the an event and that’s not counting the intense weekly cycle of words of another well-loved song, this is Home celebrated with combined rehearsals and later full-on rehearsals truly, where I know I must be. joy and pride. open to the public that begin two months before [ABOVE] National Day. The first NDP held on And here is why I respect the men in green. the Floating In the midst of these long hours, extended Platform in responsibilities in unfamiliar circumstances, Marina Bay, learning on the job and responding to unexpected 2007. problems, there is always a positive attitude, a

[RIGHT] servant heart and a true desire to do one’s best for The flypast of Singapore and Singaporeans. I’ve seen a senior the state flag at general in 2002 handle a press conference with the the 2010 NDP on greatest of calm after the entire stage had caught the Padang. fire and burnt down the night before, smiling and bravely leading his men forward, all the while trying to figure out how he was going to solve the resultant cost and time deficits. In all of the late- night meetings and post-rehearsal evaluations (affectionately referred to as hotwashes) through the years, everyone from non-military volunteers to ministers to senior SAF personnel roll up their sleeves and pull together, accepting the all-too-

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