The Personal Value of National Service

SAF Day was yesterday, and as such let us explore the topic of National Service.

It is a long-standing societal opinion that National Service matures young males. I'm not entirely certain I agree with that statement; but one thing is for sure - it does something. Exactly what that is, varies from person to person.

For those not born on local soil, National Service (or "NS" for brevity) is a rite of passage for males from sixteen years of age and onwards. They are conscripted into the Singapore Armed Forces where they will spend at least two years in a military unit learning the skills needed to defend Singapore. And through that experience, they will mature into men.

Soldiers.

At least, that's the plan. It sometimes works out differently.

Some people manage to coast through the entirety of two (or more) years doing absolute jackshit until their time is over. Those learn nothing except for how to avoid responsibility, which admittedly is a skill. Just not a very marketable one.

Some perform well, even becoming officers and leaders of men... only to be found woefully inadequate when navigating the rigors of society and all its nuances.

I venture to say that NS does not necessarily bring maturity to young males. I don't even think it "toughens them up". What NS does, is provide perspective. Whether or not these young males put that perspective to good use, is a whole other matter.

What's perspective got to do with it?

Well, in a nutshell, the old cliche that things could be worse. Usually when people say that, it's hypothetical. For some survivors of the NS experience, it could very well be literal.

I served my NS in the Republic of Singapore Navy. Sun, sand and sea, they said. Well, the "sun" part was real enough. A sizeable part of my time there was spent on the docks of Tuas Naval Base, which for some odd reason seemed to be the singular hottest place in Singapore. Not in terms of excitement level, but in terms of temperature. The sun would rise in the morning and afternoon, bathing us in her scorching majesty. The rays would get reflected back by the surface of the surrounding sea, and the end result was that we were caught in what felt like a huge microwave oven, roasted evenly on all sides. At the end of the day, most of us would be dehydrated without fail.

Phew, it's hot out here.

Today, for tasks like ship-painting, deck repairs and general dirty work, the Navy hires contractors. But back then, it was done by guys like us. Soldiers. Seamen. Cheap labor. And the experience of being baked by the sun while being bathed in paint fumes, engine exhaust and sea spray, is something I remember fondly only because I no longer have to do it.

God's honest truth, I love being out in the sun. Because every time the sun is beating down on me now, I'm reminded that it could be (and has been!) way worse. Would I rather be here sweating it out under mere 30 Degrees Celsius weather, or be cooking in the glorious heat of Tuas Naval Base? 30 Degrees Celsius weather wins hands down. Every. Single. Time.

Or take, for example, the issue of food.

Last year, during a fresh outbreak of COVID-19 in the dormitories of migrant workers, attention was drawn to the meals that these workers were provided with. I remember looking at all the food that was allegedly being thrown away, amid online cries that the food was "not fit for human consumption", and thinking with no small amount of perplexity, this doesn't look too bad. I'd eat that.

Meh.

And no, I'm not some sort of masochist. Before being sent to the Navy, I went through Infantry boot camp. In hindsight, the food was, shall we say, a right mess. But back then, we were put through so much physical exertion that when it was time to eat, our hunger overrode our good taste. And we got so used to it that once we got out, we were pathetically grateful for anything that wasn't Infantry food.

Now every time I'm tempted to complain about food not being up to standard, I first check myself. If I paid for it, then yes, I gripe like my life depended on it. If someone cooked or brought it for me personally, I suck it up and remember with some bemusement how I used to eat food worse than this. Not only did I eat the food back then, I wolfed it down like a starving man. We all did.

Applying perspective

What I've just demonstrated is the usage of past, not so pleasant NS experiences to remind myself that things could be worse, have been worse, and just live in the moment. But what if we took it further? What if we learned the art of applying perspective in relation to other unpleasant periods in our lives instead of just NS?

For example, the life of a software dev is not all sunshine and roses. There are times the pressure to perform at work, coupled with occasional feelings of inadequacy (yes, even His Teochewness has those moments), threatens to overwhelm. What to do then; roll over and die?

Crushing pressure.

No, I bring to mind the stress encountered while being jobless. What would I rather have - stress from drawing a salary, or stress that I'm literally not paid for? Remember, I actually love my job.

Or even during the periods of joblessness, when nothing seems to be going my way, I remember that things could be worse. I could still be an inexperienced tech doing Desktop Support - a fate worse than death.

Back in 2012, I was working under a demanding boss who put me under constant bombardment. How did I get through that? I simply reminded myself that my previous boss could be just as demanding - and had an unfortunate habit of paying us late. I was at least getting paid on time here.

What about when I was working for that boss? Well shit, at least I was getting paid! The one before that hadn't paid me for over half a year!

Fast forward to 2014, when I was doing the jobs of three devs for the price of one. Not only did it not bother me, it actually felt like a vacation compared to everything I had been through. And I was actually being paid more than I'd ever been paid before (at the time, anyway).

This is how the NS experience taught me to apply perspective to everything. Sure, I could possibly have figured this out on my own. But I like to think that over two years of my youth spent in military service, helped.

The Conscription Conclusion

NS does offer something valuable to young males. But whatever it is, it's not maturity or toughness. That, they will have to discover on their own.

The grass is always greener on this side!
T___T