Advance Infantry Training - NAVEXs

This week was a rather "siong" week, did Nav Ex, Navigation Exercise in one of the training areas for AIT (Advance Infantry Training). for those who know what my vocation is about, will think like WTH, why are you going out field... answer this question, i myself don't know too. maybe my Papa Charlie and my Oscar Charlie one fine day that we are too free and decided that they should find something for us to do, maybe that is how my AIT came about.

Nav Ex was not bad, but the bad part was the LBV aka Load Bearing Vest which replaces the SBO aka Skeletal Battle Order which was in use for the past decade or so. the LBV is not suitable for outfield use, (at least this applies for the one i got, mine is a different one, with camo prints on the LBV). this are the reasons why LBV should not be used for outfield, at least for my time...

1) Too many Pouches... really Too many. 13 pouches in total plus a 2.5 liter water bag, not counting the ones built in on the inner vest itself

2) The Inner Vest has a joint area on the shoulder area (at the place where the shoulder tab is on your No. 4 uniform is) with the weight of the LBV, the joint area causes abrasion more than the SBO when you wear it, especially so with SAR21.

3)Water bag Taste funny..... it has a plastic taste and water stored from there has a powdery feeling.

4) the LBV does not let air goes in and does not let heat dissipates, leading to a high possibility of heat exhaustion or heat injury when training in hot and humid singapore

- and the list goes on...

i hope that i can use the SBO for my future outfield exercises as i belong to the "old generation" of SAF -haha

if not for the LBV i think Nav Ex is actually quite fun! especially the compass course. although a bit wet and humid at night due to the rain and i definately stink after the exercise, it was quite fun, especially after hearing tian pei "hor laning" in the 180m by 180m area...

oh yes there was something unpleasant that happened during the Nav Ex, one of the team actually had a close encounter with the "other world" at the exercise area during the night navigation. it was not one who saw the "thing" but all 5 of the team members saw the "unidentified white object" floated pass them infront of their eyes on a single direction road near a four split junction. -scary eh... the team was so shocked to what they saw (i guess i would too) and at the same time the signal set just died on them (how coincidence) that the team IC had to break the seal of the handphone and call the conducting officer to pick them up.

and the best part was, my team walk pass the place where the "sighting" was encountered and also camped in the forested area next to the road of the area and didn't see it -lucky us... during the Nav Ex, walked onto a top of the knoll where there was spectacular night view of the northern part of singapore. at the last check point we rested for quite a long while on top of the knoll where there was a plateau and admired the moon. - so romantic..

oh yes, the this week we organised a "king of the court" street soccer challange, we put in alot of effort into this battalion event but too bad CO cannot come as his wife gave birth to a baby girl.. CONGRATS SIR! but all of us had fun and the event was very successful

This week we were also educated by 2LT Li Hong Yi - PM Lee's Son on how to write a successful complain letter to the SAF or your Bosses... those intrested in reading the magnificient english, error free, 5 page complain letter by this "patriotic" young SAF officer you can click here

and ironically i found this interesting blog post talking on 2LT Li's email.. below is what i found it amusing:

How to write a complaint letter

Here's a step-by-step guide on how to write an effective complaint letter in your organisation.

1) Direct the letter to the Head/Chief Minister/Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director or equivalent and preferably hundreds more (his assistants, those below him, staff, colleagues, etc) so that everyone can read it and share. It is much better if this complaint is sent via email so that the content can be easily spread through the intranet and internet.

2) Don't forget to start off with a bold subject line and give the appropriate greeting - Sir/Mdm, etc. For example:

Subject: A complaint about the quality control of SAF officers
Dear Sirs and all,
3) Follow up with a brief description of your role in the organisation.

4) Then write an extensive report of your complain, preferably at least 10 paragraphs long. Remember to make it as detailed as possible.

5) After the report, write your editorial or analysis. This is where you make your feelings known if you feel you're being mistreated or an action taken isn't fair, why should the organisation take your complaint seriously, etc. Make sure this is around 10 paragraphs long too. The longer, the more impact ya.

6) And to end it all do provide a summary and sign off with your name and position. For example:
While I may only be a 2nd lieutenant, I am a citizen of this country. And as a citizen I have the right to demand high standards from the leaders of the SAF While it is true that high standards are hard to come by and even harder to enforce, for such events to come to light and yet nothing be done about it is to say the very least, unacceptable and disappointing.

Yours Sincerely,
2LT Li Hongyi
That's it. Oh I forgot to add that it helps if your father happens to be the Prime Minister of your country, your mum runs the country's investment arm and your grandad is the most powerful person to have ever lived in the country.

For a great example of a complaint letter (written by Li Hongyi -yup, he's the PM's son), click here.

Good luck.

Update: If you are too lazy to write one yourself, here's the automatic complaint letter generator. (Thanks Pete)

picture of the week... the team picture cpt chan help us took for the NAV EX (will be uploaded when i get it)

Countdown ticker Stands at:

372 Days to Admission to NUS