Part 2: More NS myths debunked

Hi! If you've arrived here without having first read part one, I recommend that you start there please: http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/part-1-limpeh-debunks-some-ns-myths.html This is part two where I will deal with myths 6 to 10, these are commonly held beliefs by female Singaporeans about NS which I will explore.

Myth 6:  "NS will teach me about team work and leadership skills."
Verdict: Team work 100% true but leadership skills 70% false, 30% true.

I feel I had to divide this myth into two parts because team work and leadership skills are really two quite different things. One definitely learns team work in the army - there is really no choice in the matter. Tasks are often assigned to a group, take something as basic as area cleaning: if you do not pull your weight during area cleaning, then you would incur the wrath of your platoon mates.

Mind you, there was one guy in one of my units who did manage to escape all that - but his was a unique case. He was an ex-DB (detention barracks, ie. army jail) convict, fresh from DB. We were not given full details of why he was incarcerated but it seems it was to do with a fight whereby he nearly killed someone in a fight in camp. As a result, he was charged and put away for a long time and then released back to us. We were all afraid of him so if he didn't want to do area cleaning - nobody said a word and the officer in charge knew about it, but chose to look the other way since nobody complained. This ex-convict would simply either take a nap or just retreated to the smoking corner for a cigarette.

Area cleaning...

Oh the things you learn in NS. I think most of us in civilian life wouldn't even know of dangerous ex-convicts like that - but NS not only puts you face to face with them but makes you work with them. Was it a useful experience though? No, not unless you wanted to go work in the prison service or in any other line of work where you have to deal with convicts.

And as for leadership skills, well - you have to be in a position of leadership in the first instance before you get to exercise any of it. That does eliminate a number of a portion of NSF who simply are not assigned anyone under them to manage (regardless of their rank). There is often a case of "too many cooks spoil the broth" - imagine if you're in a unit where you hold the rank of 3SG (3rd sergeant) and okay, you're halfway up the food chain and you witness a dispute between a private and a lance corporal - what do you do?

• Step in and attempt to exercise your leadership skills and resolve the conflict 
• Refer the matter to someone of senior rank and hope that the person of senior rank will resolve it rather than delegate it back down to you, so you don't have to take any responsibility in case the matter is not adequately resolved.
• Pretend you didn't see anything and look the other way

If I didn't see anything, then I don't have to get involved, so I won't look...

I think you can guess which option most would choose, in the culture of the SAF, if one has the opportunity to pass the buck, oh you will always pass the buck. Why? I would hear the accusation of "lazy", "slack", "siam arrow" and "lacking leadership qualities" - however, it's a far more simple matter of the risk reward ratio. If you take responsibility for something, there is no reward for it (financial or otherwise), but you do undertake the responsibility should something go wrong. Hence under those circumstances, even those who do have the opportunity to exercise some leadership skills often do not.

And even if you are an officer, let me remind you that this is the military, there are so many rules and regulations as stated by the SAF - you are told exactly how they want things done. There is absolutely no room for maverick officers who decide to try to do a Robin Williams in Dead Poet's Society kind of radical change to the way one runs things in a unit and you will have a superior to answer to (who in turn has a superior to answer to). It's a big layer cake and because everyone always has a boss to answer to, no one upsets the system so what little leadership skills you get to display is very much curtailed strictly within the established system, so don't get carried away, get real. This is real life, this is not a Hollywood film.

Nonetheless, I do accept that there are indeed those who do rise to the occasion and somehow find the opportunities to exercise leadership qualities regardless of whether or not they are rewarded for such initiatives, hence that's why I have placed it at approximately 30% true on the leadership issue - but like I said, it really varies and the average statistic will probably not reflect your experience. 

Myth 7:  "NS can encourage social cohesion as you make men from different backgrounds work together."

Verdict: 90% false, 10% true 

This is a tough one and one needs to consider the wording on this myth. NS does bring men of different social backgrounds together, making them work together in a unit. Does it work? It depends on what your definition of success is. If you are wondering if the unit does successfully function and perform the tasks assigned, then yes it is a success. If you're wondering if the men of different social backgrounds are able to work together? Again, the answer is yes, they do - but not always, as describe in the story here: http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/how-to-rationalize-ns-in-singapore.html

But if you're wondering if this experience results in any more permanent change in the relationships between those of different social classes? No, there is no permanent change - the men merely tolerate each other, they learn to put aside their differences for the purpose of working together and finish the task at hand. That is all the SAF asks of them and they do that pretty successfully - the SAF does not ask for them to genuinely like each other. Is this difficult? Not really given how Singaporeans are by nature quite polite anyway so this isn't really a problem. The bottom line is that you can't force anyone to like someone else and the moment the soldiers book out of camp, they always revert to their civilian ways where their social habits are pretty much defined by their social class. 

Can NS really bring the different social classes together? 

If NS was any longer than 2 years (yikes, perish the thought), then the men might approach their relationships with other soldiers differently given that it will be then viewed in long to medium term perspectives. However, given that it is now only 2 years, the NSF tend to see this as a short term state of affairs, where they press the pause button on their civilian lives and enter military mode.

To be blunt and totally un-PC, if you were to ask this question to a big group of men in NS, you would probably get two different answers. Those from the working classes would probably tell you that they enjoyed working together with those from wealthier backgrounds and that the experience reminded them of their shared humanity and that despite their differences in wealth, they're just the same on the inside. Those from wealthier backgrounds will tell you that they managed to put up with the working classes during NS but that is an exception that would make just for the world of the SAF - once they step back into civilian life, their paths will never cross in the civilian world and that's the way it will remain, get real. 

Time to get back to the real world outside the SAF camps...

Let me give you an example: when I was in NS, I was very polite with everyone simply because I didn't want to make any enemies. Even if I really disliked someone, they would be the last to know - that was my strategy to get through NS in one piece. Now there was someone who reminded me of the way I behaved back then. When I was working in Bangkok, there was the concierge at the serviced apartments where I stayed. His name is Som and he spoke very good English (which was necessary given that practically all the residents there were expats). He was extremely friendly and helpful with everyone - even the most nasty and demanding Americans who said horrible things about Thai people to his face would be greeted with a smile. He never showed any other emotion apart from his friendly smile.

I remember how this American woman returned to the building one evening, cursing the traffic, the weather and how filthy the city was and how she struggled with a stupid taxi driver who didn't speak English - it was all verging on being racist towards Thais. Did she forget that she was ranting about Bangkok to a local Thai person? I was mortified - but he merely nodded, smiled and said, "Yes I know what you mean." What he thought of this American woman, I could only guess - but there you go, it was a job, he was being paid to be nice to nasty foreign bitches like her. He didn't do it because he actually liked her - hell no, it was a job. Likewise for me, I was nice to everyone in NS because I treated it as part of my job. I didn't have to like them, I just had to be nice to them, just like Som my Thai concierge. 

No, this American woman wasn't impressed by Bangkok at all...

Singapore is a country divided by a huge wealth gap between the rich and the poor. There are many issues to be addressed about how the working class are often struggling to make ends meet whilst the rich keep on getting richer. To imagine that somehow, all these unanswered questions and unresolved issues will go away because all Singaporean men, rich and poor alike, have to serve NS, is quite frankly, laughable. It's a big problem that requires a very complex combination of solutions to address: just expecting the problem to go away on account of the share NS experience isn't going to work. 

Nonetheless, yes you will learn a lot about other sections of society outside your social class - so it is an educational experience if you look at it that way. Whether you like what you learn about these other people is a different matter altogether and it is up to you to decide for yourself - hey, that's one of the few things in NS you can actually decide. 

The good life in Singapore does not come cheap baby!

Myth 8:  "NS will teach me/my son/my boyfriend discipline."
Verdict: 50-50, half true.

I refer you to myth 1 because the explanation is basically the same, ie. Don't expect miracles and a lot of this depends on the upbringing the boy has prior to his enlistment in the first 18 years of his life.

Myth 9:  "Singaporean men look forward to reservist activities as it's like a holiday - they are paid generously for their time, they get to catch up with old friends and it's often a welcome break from a hectic job. "
Verdict: 80% false - and that is me being very generous, feel free to tell me what you think on this one!

Do you actually think that this guy is on holiday and enjoying himself?

OK if you're comparing two entitles, you've got to know what you're comparing. So the comparison is as follows: one's civilian job vs one's NS vocation. So if you do have a job in the civilian world that you absolutely hate, nasty boss, scheming colleagues who can't wait to stab you in the back and long hours every day, then yeah under those circumstances, it would be a nice break to get away from that horrible environment to escape to reservist camp. But if you have a nice job which you enjoy and you have a vocation in NS which you dislike, then no, reservist is going to be a pain in the butt.

Would you rather be in camp doing army stuff? 

A common complaint by many of the men in Singapore is that their employers are counting on them to perform important tasks in the company and taking them out of their workplace for up to 40 days a year is a massive inconvenience not just for them, but for the company as well who has to find other people to cover the reservist. Often when they return from their reservist activities, they find a huge pile of work that needs to be dealt with and for the following weeks, they have to put in extra hours to clear that backlog of work.

"Welcome back, please have a look at your in-tray... couple of things waiting for you to deal with."

Furthermore, the SAF is not inviting the reservists back to go on a holiday - hell no. They usually have a long list of activities lined up for the reservists, it is work, work, work and if you get any rest and socializing - well, that is a bonus and should be treated as such. Furthermore, if you do have good friends from your army days, why should you wait for your next reservist activity to catch up with them? Certainly in the age of Facebook, there's nothing to stop you from catching up with them any time you like if you really want to see them, given that Singapore is not a big place. Heck, I've even flown all the way to New York to catch up with KC, my best friend from my NS days.

I was tempted to write 100% false for this one - but I am allowing the possibility that some Singaporean men who have really shit jobs and will welcome the chance to get away from their work, so I am putting that figure at 20%. Given that I emigrated immediately after my ORD and never had the pleasure of any SAF reservist activities, I would appreciate some feedback on this point from my Singaporean male readers, thanks.

Soldiers on training.

Myth 10: "NS fosters a sense of patriotism and makes Singaporeans more loyal to their beloved country."

Verdict: 90% false - and that's me being generous again.

Now note the wording of the myth before you jump to the wrong conclusion and I have underlined the words 'fosters' and 'makes'. I have to point out something so obvious - upon enlistment, the recruits are at least 18 years old if not older. By that point, they would have already formed an opinion on the issue of patriotism and how they feel towards defending their country. Some will be fiercely patriotic, whilst others will be ambivalent and still some others will not be patriotic at all. Is NS going to change their opinions which have been established prior to enlistment? No, it is unlikely. There is a sense of putting the horse before the cart with that statement. Being patriotic makes you want to serve NS, but putting it the other way round - would serving NS make someone who hasn't been patriotic change his ways as a result of the experience? No, it simply wouldn't.

The fact is you can subject two people to the very same experience and they can experience very different emotional responses to it - why? This is because they are very different characters and it is hard to produce a consistent conditioned response from the same stimuli. Now a recent series of HSBC ads captures this aspect of human psychology very well:

A very memorable HSBC ad campaign - what has this got to do with banking BTW? 

Now with an experience like NS, there are positive aspects and there are negative aspects. It's not all good but it's not all bad either - it's a mix of both. So someone who is already patriotic will draw on the positive aspects of the experience to feed his patriotism as he is already patriotic whilst someone who is not patriotic would focus on the negative aspects of the experience and remain negative. So when you ask the two guys, "how was NS?" One would tell you "fantastic!" whilst the other would say, "horrible!" You'll be amazed - it probably has little to do with what they experience and probably far more to do with their opinions of the SAF and Singapore prior to enlistment. Of course some people do allow their minds to be changed, but you'll be amazed how small that percentage is. Humans can be stubborn creatures of habit.

If you already like something or someone, your mind automatically does two things: firstly you will focus on the best aspects of that thing/person and secondly, you will somehow ignore the negative aspects of that thing/person. By the same token, if you dislike someone, you would somehow ignore all the more positive aspects of that person and just focus on their faults. This is what we call a self-fulfilling prophecy: your brain would naturally pick examples, case studies and experiences to support an already established point of view and try to ignore evidence to the contrary. It is a very natural human instinct - so those who are patriotic stay patriotic regardless of how awful their experiences may be and those who are not patriotic will not change their minds even if NS does turn out to be like a 2 year long holiday camp.

It can be further argued that NS is a major burden for Singaporean males - this has already been discussed in depth here: http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/how-to-rationalize-ns-in-singapore.html A young Singaporean student might be oblivious to these challenges prior to enlistment and might become quite patriotic as a student, particularly if he has parents and teachers who send him positive messages about being patriotic. Confronted with the realities of this burden upon enlistment - what do you think is the likely outcome? If anything, it is going to make those who are not patriotic (and possibly those who have been sitting on the fence) start googling "how to emigrate to Australia/Canada/UK/NZ/USA etc".

Might NS make you think about seeking greener pastures in America?

Well you'll be surprised - many Singaporean males do stay fiercely loyal and patriotic and even I have to acknowledge that. There are plenty of reasons they can find to love their country and feel this way: so for these people, they don't need NS to make them more patriotic - they are already super patriotic anyway. They can simply look into a bowl of laksa and the laksa can evoke childhood memories reminding them of how they grew up in Singapore and feel patriotic as a result of that. Me, when I see Singaporean laksa, I just see good food. Man, I love laksa and I miss laksa now that I am living in Europe.

The bottom line is simply this: the NS experience wouldn't really change the opinions of the majority of the men when it comes to the issue of patriotism. They have already made up their minds on the issue and prior to enlistment and will selectively remember the experiences which will only reinforce their opinions.

So there you go, that's the ten myths explored. If you think I have not been fair or if I had been inaccurate in anyway, please let me know, leave a comment - thanks!

Akan datang: Enough about NS for now... Limpeh is going to talk about ice cream for my next piece.