| Guard of Honor at the Istana,1987. Here I am (arrowed). Holding the sword and accompanying the Prime Minister of Papau New Guinea is our Commanding Officer. Behind him is beloved Singapore President Wee Kim Wee. The picture was published in the Strait Times. Big thanks to the newspaper for sending me a complimentary high-quality print. |
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| I'll be so happy if you could sign my guestbook.Thank you very much. |
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| Commando Interview - How a frail, skinny, colour-blind boy with a fractured arm got into a commando unit. |
| Our Red Beret Presentation, which officially made me a commando |
| How I got stitched without anesthetics as a result of a martial arts fighting accident. |
| Unarmed Combat - "Kill Kill Kill!" we yelled as we fought |
| Parachuting - An assortment of my airborne stories |
| Water Miracle - "God, I am dehydrated. I need water badly. HELP." |
| Heat Exhaustion deep in the hot and humid tropical jungle. |
| A Mountain After Another - We had just finished scaling a gigantic mountain. Could anything worse be waiting for us? |
| My Tribute to a Fallen Lieutenant - He did something which made others bitter but made me appreciate and respect him even more. I miss him. Farewell, Lieutenant Sir. |
| Quest for the Black Belt - As part of the exam, I had to fight a seasoned Black Belt fighter called "The Bull." Could I overcome him? |
| Army Memories - An assortment of short stories. |
| Five Days Without Sleep - and a 35 km march to round up a week of torture, to earn our corporal stripes. |
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| Life at the Home of the Commandos |
| Me, 1987 |
| Home of the Commandos In Guard of Honor uniform. Me (5th from left). |
| I served in the 5th Company, 1st Commando Battalion for my two and a half years (Jun 1985 to Dec 1987) of National Service. The battalion was one of the toughest in the Singapore Army. It was the greatest ordeal of my life. I faced danger, pain, heat exhaustion, hunger, sleeplessness, grief, and despair. I also made mistakes, some with potentially tragic outcomes, but I learned precious lessons that I would never have learned any other way. Till the day I die, I would never forget these two and a half years. Exhaustion The training was far more grueling than what I had expected. No Rambo bravado; no Hollywood "tough guy" persona. Sleep was never enough. Once, I had no sleep at all for five days and five nights. I fought to stay awake even when my eye lids weighed a ton. Given the chance, we slept in whatever conditions we found ourselves in. Some even fell asleep standing. |
| Training day and night, we were constantly exhausted. We pressed on even when our bodies screamed for rest. We persevered even when our legs felt like collapsing and our lungs gasped for breath. Injuries Injuries were widespread. Some malingered, exaggerating injuries to escape training. (One even consumed ten pain-killer tablets to escape training.) But most of our injuries were all too real. When our National Service ended, only half of us remained in the company as combat-fit soldiers. In the following stories (see links below), I describe the injuries � some of which I suffered myself. I was among the combat-fit half, but my serious lower back injury eventually took its toll, forcing me to be downgraded (declared not combat fit) years later as a reservist. Magnetic Resonance Imaging at the National University Hospital revealed three damaged disks - two seriously (L4 and L5). Doctors certified that I could do no more parachute jumps. I had mixed feelings. Though glad for my safety (so were my parents), I missed the thrill of jumping. Deprivations The unique army experience taught me to appreciate the basics in life such as water, sleep and rest, which I had often taken for granted. A cold soft drink, a nice warm bed and a telephone conversation (pre-handphone days) with a caring civilian friend were considered luxuries. Danger My own life-and-death situations, as well as the deaths of fellow soldiers, show that life is fragile and fleeting. Life is precious; I learned not to take it for granted. I am grateful to God and to my parents for giving me life. Humbling Lessons The experience also taught me to be humble and to rely upon the good Lord above. Countless times I found my physical and mental strength failing, but God was always there for me with His amazing grace. I faced many impossible odds, and God always came through for me just when I had lost hope. These words of the Bible were true: My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26 NIV God, in His infinite wisdom and mercy, had looked ahead. He knew that such training would benefit me as I faced more trials (see my life at Stanford University). Till today, I don't know how I survived. Angels must have been watching over me. (That�s why you�ll find many fairyangels on my website.) I share my experiences in the following pages. Thank you for reading till here. I appreciate your comments either via email or guestbook. God bless you. |
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| Commando's Prayer - Meaningful prayer. Reveals the spirit of the commando. |
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| Graphics by |
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| Favorite Military Links - includes the Singapore Commandos and other Special Forces. |
| Barracks Haunting - The old commando barracks where we lived are reputed to be haunted. They were used as a POW prison during World War Two. Many prisoners died. Here are the stories as reported by the Singapore Paranormal Investigators. Click on "Haunted Changi" and scroll down to "Commando Barracks" |
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| My Army Stories |
| Historically, there have always been situations where you needed exceptionally good troops for a special mission. That�s what commandos are: the most capable troops, sent to take care of the most difficult missions. Until a century ago, the commandos were summoned with the phrase, �Send me your best men.� The exploits of these exceptional warriors became part of many cultures, the warrior myths that were based on real ones. These formidable warriors were seen as Perfect Soldiers� -- James F. Dunnigan |
| "You have never lived 'til you've almost died. For those who fight for it, life has a flavor the protected will never know." |
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| My Tribute to RSM Sam Choo - He was a much respected commando. |
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| My Army Picture Album (a separate website for pictures) |
| Memoirs of a Singapore Commando |
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| Border Design (left): I took a picture of this Orchid flower at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. The Orchid is the national flower of Singapore. |
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| My Army Pictures Slideshow 1985-1987 (4 mins 47 secs) |
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