Basic Military Training in the 1970s

My Basic Military Training was in Changi Camp. I was in Delta Company Platoon 14, a mixture of all races, different educational levels and of different social economic background nearly 50 years ago.

Unlike the softy softy recruits of the present day, 2024, when family members or themselves put on social media how/what their precious brother or son experienced on their first day, all of us then was left alone and sent to the unknowns.. From the day of enlistment at Dempsey Road Camp to the barracks, we were transported by 3-tonner trucks for a 3-month confinement in camp which 3 weeks were spent in solitary confinement. We could only contact our loved ones via a public phone during the off hours. We all somehow survived.

DO NOT expect fancy air-conditioned transportation, great food or soft beds which are now the defaults in the present day National Service. Nowadays, even parents ,brothers or sisters or girlfriends were allowed to savour the moments and specially cooked meals and a tour of the barrack. It is just like going for a holiday camp rather than going through sacrifice for our Nation , as the social media made it to be, Hollywood or Bollywood-like.

Our barrack was situated in the midst of the present day Commando Camp area (Bus Route 2) and was a 3-story British built construction. Woe behold when we had to run down and up the staircase to the parade ground again and again during 'change parade ' in the middle of the night. We have to put on our uniform and boots and then change into PT attire or combat attire as a form of punishment and 'training for alertness and readiness'.

It was only after 3 months before we were 'passed out' as privates and sent to different units for vocations. Happiness was when we knew that we were posted to a service unit rather than be in combat.

Front Row: Satrah , Aziz Ibrahim, Cpl Oh Chong Ho (Sect Instr), Cpl Chandra (Sect Instr), Cpl Peh Eng Chin (Sect Instr), L/Sgt Leong plt sgt, Lta Tan Boon Teck,

2LT Archie Ong (Pl Comdr),Cpl Mohinda Singh (Sect Instr), Cpl Lim Kang Seah (Sect Instr), Cpl Pang Chee Seng (Sect Instr), Cpl Koh Eng Kian (Sect Instr), Ragiman Raduan

Centre Row: Wong Poh Kong, Chee Eng Soon, Pay Loo Seng, Chye Chorn Mer, Dhavantray Shah, Sim Seah Lim, Low Yew Huat, Woo Peng Fei, Sukhwender Singh (my bunk mate), Tan Choon Tee, Tan Kok Leng, Skadiang Edward, Lim How Chuah, Jaafar Abdullah, Zainal Rahim, Leong Hou Kit, Hamzah Dawam, Karam Singh, Duad Ali, Chua Mui Tieh

Back Row: Md Jali, Abdullah Mohidin, Jumaat Aziz, Sinnathambi, Shukor Mohd, Azmani Sitam, Seow Keng Siong, Tan Cheng Huat, Abdul Rahman, Mohd Ismail, Mohd Ali, Goh Seng Huat, Lim Fook Ming, Mahmud Hassan, Tan Hock Heng, Md Nasir, Sanip Rahim,. Lim Meng Yhee, Cheong Seng Wah, Seng Boon Wah, Ho Yong Heng, Jasine Jaafar, Abdul Karim

Absent: Zainal Baktoo, Ng Poh Choon, Yew Wing Keong, Gesmasamy, K Rajendran, Kaneson Sockalingam

July 1975 - in army green, after 3 weeks of confinement. We bent or fold our 

      cap to make it presentable