Image via WikipediaIan on the red dot was responding to the suggestion by Darth Grevious to cancel National Day Parade (NDP) instead of just the flypast by the Republic of Singapore Air Force which was sparked by the original letter by Mr Denis Distant to the Straits Times forum asking the Government to exercise some fiscal prudence in the light of astronomical oil prices.
NDP to NSFs and NSmen has been an event that has the potential to evoke fear, dread and lots of hokkien expletives because unlike regulars who earn a salary from doing NDP related work, conscripted full-time national servicemen (NSFs) and conscripted reservists (NSmen) are IMHO inadequately compensated for their NDP labours.
How does a typical NSF or Reservist get involved in NDP? Let me share in thy ways that the SAF LOVES to use its conscripts for IMHO non-defence related feel-good media extravaganzas, and why NSFs and NSmen absolutely abhor NDPs.
5 Reasons Why NSFs and NSmen HATE National Day Parades (NDP)
1) Burning of weekends
The term having your weekends "burned" is a uniquely Singaporean conscript phrase that earns you both commiserations as well as sighs of relief if you are NOT included in the elite group of conscripts being VOLUNTEERED by the State to help out. This means you have to spend Saturdays and Sundays mustering near the venue of the NDP to help out in the logisitics, practising for the contingent form-up and march in or vehicle drive-pasts etc. In short, say goodbye to family time or time with girlfriends/wives/children/vices. One company of my reservist unit was "volunteered" into forming a marching contigent for a past NDP. Contrary to some vague promises of shortening their 10 year cycle, they did the same number of high-key as the rest of us, the poor sods, even as they burned their weekends to defend it by being part of a mediacorp "national" show.
2) Marching Contingents
This is one of the worst punishments to be dished out by the SAF in the name of duty, honour and country. If you have ever served in NS as a conscript and are not excused parade. You will learn to absolutely ABHOR the term PARADE. Try senang-diri and sedia 20x over 3-4 hours of course with mandatory rest breaks or else there might be complaints to the MP of "ill-treatment" of NSFs (especially if they include white horses). Try to hormat with rifle and get subject to inspection of your hair, turnout and bearing in uniform. Just thinking about it makes me sweat...
3) Doing fatigue
Fatigue is the SAF term for all sorts of shitty logistical crap such as packing of goodie bags, setting up the stands, carrying stuff from point A to point B, providing rations for the chosen ones who are in the marching contingents etc... In short, all the bo-liao, rubbishy work that NEEDS to be done but the Govt is being too frugal to employ contractors to do to "save" taxpayers money (but incur NSFs opportunity costs??!) I think there were also umbrella parties i.e. soldiers who do nothing but carry umbrellas for VIPs according to my hazy memories.
4) Getting farked by the regulars for their screw-ups
Like any major operation by the SAF, screw-ups and cock-ups are quite common. The less serious ones waste everyone's time and effort. The more serious ones claim NSF and NSmen and sometimes even regular servicemen and women's lives. Anyway, if your sergeant/commander/warrant officer/officer/some-one with bars/crabs on their shoulders ricebowls (i.e career progression) is dependent on them doing their small part in the entire NDP machinery well, they will verbally fark you, i.e. scold, threaten you with confinement, signing extra, for mistakes/oversights that you (actually sometimes it's because they gave stupid instructions but it's insubordination to talk back to idiotic superiors in the SAF, right?) was suposed to have done or not done?
5) It has lost its meaning
I used to watch national day parades on television, but now I find them to be dull, meaningless extravaganzas that epitomises what is so wrong about Singapore. The artificiality of it all, with conscripts being forced to participate without them having any ability to refuse to join in. Parading of the $10.6 billion we have spent on national defence and having schoolchildren prancing around to showcase the "unity" and "patriotism" of the citizens all seems shallow in a country where really you are just a digit in the economic miracle where more than half of new jobs go to foreigners. Where we can spend many millions on defence hardware and ministerial salaries but cannot keep 1 Mas Selamat under custody and people from leaving our checkpoints with somebody else's passport? Where fireworks costing lots of $$$ can be burned off in 1 night for the enjoyment of many but the Government baulks at increasing public assistance by $30?
Majullah Singapura.
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4 comments:
Well written posts my friend. At least we both agree on the fact that it's a waste of time for our NSF and NSmen.
xizor2000
Thanks for the comment. :-)
I fully agree and must count my lucky stars that I never got involved in any NDP marching contingent because I don't look garang enough.
Sad to say, I was involved (as a reserve) pall bearer for a regular who was killed when his SM1 tank overturned in 1994. That was the only time I got to wear number 1 uniform for an official reason.
Seriously, NDP is 95% propaganda and 5% tourist attraction.
1994? SM1 overturn? 41SAR?
I was at the funeral too.
xizor2000
What a small world.
Yes, 41 SAR. SM-1 Overturn during Skill-at-Arms practice session.
We must be around the same age...
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