Tuesday, October 25, 2005
SCENES FROM *STARLIGHT
Me with Alvin and Ying Heng (members of the mobile detachment) during Ex Livewire.
Ex Starlight turned out to be quite an experience for me. There is no way this story can be retold or shared with anyone in complete detail. The very essence of its tale has to be experienced first hand in order for one to fully appreciate the challenges that Ex Starlight posed for the typical Signal Officer Cadet.
The highlight of which was Ex SPITFIRE, the summary exercise of our time in Taiwan, spanning a distance of no less than 72km, 12 checkpoints, and with each member of the detachment carrying a load of at least 15-20kg. I happened to be "arrowed" by my buddies to lug the impressive PRC 138 radio along for the entire journey as well, making my burden that much harder. Still, blisters and abrasions aside, i have no reason to complain as we already have it a lot better than the olden days, whereby cadets had to carry the "xiao qian" for Spitfire.
Pic of my feet covered in tape to protect my blisters from worsening.
One thing is for sure, the 3 plus weeks i spent in Taiwan flew by a lot faster than i thought. In no time at all we were running around shopping in Taipei during R&R (I shall not delve into how much us guys shopped till we dropped cuz it kinda makes us army guys look kinda girly.. but yeah... u get the idea). It leaves me to contemplate the reality of time. I can't believe i am already starting to miss my time in ROC with my course pals. I'm sure that when we all commission we will look back on our times at SOCC with a certain amount of fondness. Starlight certainly made me appreciate some of my coursemates a lot more as well. I have come to realize that first impressions don't always count. It is through tough times that friendships are tried and tested, and when you find out who are those left standing at the end of it all, your bonds are even closer than before.
One of the many scenic views on show in Starlight. This one was taken at our deployment site at Si Qin Tang, ZAMBIA 2.
My platoon 1 buddies enjoying our last day in the bunk of Meilin Camp before heading off.
Me with Alvin and Ying Heng (members of the mobile detachment) during Ex Livewire.
Ex Starlight turned out to be quite an experience for me. There is no way this story can be retold or shared with anyone in complete detail. The very essence of its tale has to be experienced first hand in order for one to fully appreciate the challenges that Ex Starlight posed for the typical Signal Officer Cadet.
The highlight of which was Ex SPITFIRE, the summary exercise of our time in Taiwan, spanning a distance of no less than 72km, 12 checkpoints, and with each member of the detachment carrying a load of at least 15-20kg. I happened to be "arrowed" by my buddies to lug the impressive PRC 138 radio along for the entire journey as well, making my burden that much harder. Still, blisters and abrasions aside, i have no reason to complain as we already have it a lot better than the olden days, whereby cadets had to carry the "xiao qian" for Spitfire.
Pic of my feet covered in tape to protect my blisters from worsening.
One thing is for sure, the 3 plus weeks i spent in Taiwan flew by a lot faster than i thought. In no time at all we were running around shopping in Taipei during R&R (I shall not delve into how much us guys shopped till we dropped cuz it kinda makes us army guys look kinda girly.. but yeah... u get the idea). It leaves me to contemplate the reality of time. I can't believe i am already starting to miss my time in ROC with my course pals. I'm sure that when we all commission we will look back on our times at SOCC with a certain amount of fondness. Starlight certainly made me appreciate some of my coursemates a lot more as well. I have come to realize that first impressions don't always count. It is through tough times that friendships are tried and tested, and when you find out who are those left standing at the end of it all, your bonds are even closer than before.
One of the many scenic views on show in Starlight. This one was taken at our deployment site at Si Qin Tang, ZAMBIA 2.
My platoon 1 buddies enjoying our last day in the bunk of Meilin Camp before heading off.
yeongest 8:16 pm