Q&A: PES E9, to upgrade or not to upgrade?

Hi everyone, in the follow up to my previous post on the Sky Vaden Lim case, I am going to answer a question left for me by my reader Jacob on the issue of his PES status and his dilemma.

jacob stradivarius11 September 2013 03:32

Hey limpei can i get some advice.
currently i am pes E9L9 the lowest pes before exemption from NS. I am wondering if i should request an up pes and go through army life like the rest or my peers. Or would you advice me to instead gain knowledge on business or finance or learn french haha since i will have some free time while in ns. I didnt chao geng to get pes E9. i was a sportsman and got several injuries, i am really not sure if i can even up pes. But would of course love to make sure this 2 years will be fulfilling especially for my future.

Thank you for the very interesting question Jacob. I must begin by reminding you that your PES status is determined by a panel of doctors upon your check up at CMPB and you are PES E9L9 for a valid medical reason. It is fairly rare that one is given a PES E9 status - this is reserved only for cases where the soldier has a very serious medical condition. You did not tell me what the reason was for your downgrading, but if the panel of doctors have determined your status serious enough to warrant a PES E9 grading, then you should respect their opinion since you're not a qualified doctor.

Trust me, I am a doctor.

But let's say, hypothetically, you do have the option to march up to CMPB, ask to be upgraded and they will say yes (highly unlikely, but let's just run with this hypothetical scenario, okay) - should you accept that option to upgrade then? Most Singaporean men who have been through NS will scream at this point, "NOOOOOO! You xiao or stupid or both?" Allow me to analyze this "choice" you are contemplating.

Some guys actually do have a great time in NS - they are assigned a vocation they enjoy, they learn new skills along the way, they find themselves challenged in a way that they would never be in civilian life, they grow a lot mentally and make loads of wonderful friends in the process. Yes it can be fantastic - but by the same token, there are also guys who are assigned a vocation they totally hate, they are made to do mundane physical chores that do not challenge them in any way whatsoever, their brains feel unstimulated for the full duration of NS and they totally hate the people they are forced to work with - and they have effectively wasted 2 years of their lives doing useless, vapid, stupid shit that is not useful, not fulfilling and serves no purpose whatsoever for their future. (And there's everything in between.)

What kind of experience did these soldiers have?

My experience was "in between" - I had two vocations, the first I hated, then I was very lucky, I was given a different vocation which I didn't exactly enjoy but because it was so much better than my first shitty, horrible, nasty vocation, I felt lucky and thankful for it. I didn't find myself stimulated or challenged in any meaningful way during NS (thus I turned to self-study courses for mental stimulation and self-improvement) and I suppose the most important lesson I learnt was how to get along and work with horrible people I utterly totally hated - it was my first taste of office politics and a dose of reality for me as I had to encounter plenty more of that in the working world.

So what determines the quality of your experience in NS then? In one word: luck. Some people get assigned vocations that neatly suit their preferences, are placed in units where they have caring and kind officers who take good care of them and they meet wonderful friends along the way. Others get assigned vocations they totally hate, are placed in units where the officers just want to bully them and they only meet horrible people they hate and have a thoroughly miserable, lonely time in NS. Where will you be assigned should you upgrade your PES status? I don't know Jacob, that depends entirely on your luck. Are you a lucky guy Jacob? Have you always had good luck?

Do you realize you're taking a huge gamble on this Jacob?

By that same token, as a PES E9 soldier, you will be given a clerical vocation and most of the above still applies apart from the question of your vocation (which will definitely be clerical). You still don't know what kind of superiors you will have to answer to or what kind of people you would have to work with - there is still a large amount of uncertainty left to chance/luck in your case. You will have virtually no control over the situation.

Many guys who are facing NS simply have to cross their fingers, say a prayer (if they are religious) and hope for the best (whilst expecting the worst) and try their best to deal with whatever situation they are thrown into. You actually do have a choice Jacob - you can either roll the dice and see if you're lucky (ie. what all the other guys have to do), or you can say, "I will have a clerical vocation which will allow me to have my evenings and weekends free - I can make use of that time to learn foreign languages, expand my professional network by attending industry events, take care of my family, gain work experience, study external courses and maybe even gain credits for university."

How is this going to be relevant to your civilian life?

The onus would be then on you to make sure that you make full use of those evenings and weekends to do useful things to enrich yourself - don't forget, you would have done a full day's work by then and will be tired. The temptation would be then to just go on and watch crap on TV, spend time on the internet or just sleep, rather than study or work. In my time, I saw loads of PES E9 soldiers who simply wasted their evenings and weekends rather than do anything useful or productive in that time. My question for you Jacob is this: do you have the self-discipline to pursue a self-study course or run an internet based business in the few free hours you will have in the evenings?

If the answer is YES, then you should accept your PES E9 status and start thinking about what you want to do with your free time in the evenings. What are your long term ambitions when it comes to your career and what can you achieve in these two years to help get you where you want to be? Are there courses you can study? Are there languages you need to learn? Or is there work experience that you can get in your free time? If the answer is NO, then you can consider upgrading, rolling that dice, taking that gamble and hoping that you may get a good experience as a combat fit soldier (if your health condition permits that). The question with all gambles is this: are you feeling lucky punk?

Are you feeling lucky, punk?

Quite frankly, I wouldn't if I were you - because you could lose this gamble and pay a very high price for losing that gamble. I get the feeling you don't realize just how high the stakes are and how high a price you will pay if you lose that gamble - I have seen too many PES A/B soldiers who are stuck in horrible vocations and are so utterly totally miserable they are suicidal (and some have indeed committed suicide). Do you want to risk being one of them for the (very, extremely) small possibility that you may get something out of the experience that will be "fulfilling" and useful for your future? Don't be bloody stupid lah. You should never gamble with something like that when the stakes are that high.

Let me put this to you: what if you rolled the dice, took a gamble and lost? You end up with a horrible vocation, kena tekan and bullied all the time by horrible people, you totally hate the experience and are utterly miserable. What then? Do you think you can reverse your decision at that stage and ask for a clerical vocation instead? It is not so easily done - many people try to get out of horrible, nasty vocations by seeking a PES status downgrade and usually these are rejected. If everyone who tries to get out of a horrible vocation is given a downgrade, then who is there left to do these really horrible jobs that no one wants to do?

What is there to be gained if you win this gamble Jacob?

Here's the thing you have to realize about the SAF: there is this saying from my time (and I am sure they still use it now), "this is not your grandfather's army". That means, "you will do as you're told, you don't get a say, so shut up and follow your orders." If you haven't grasped that concept, then I suggest that you get with the agenda ASAP. If the medical officers appointed by the SAF deemed you are PES E9L9, then the only appropriate response on your part would be the words, "Yes sir." Do not question their judgement, do not question their decision, they are of senior rank, they are officers. You are obliged to follow your orders, not question them - get that into your head and start functioning like a soldier and not a civilian Questioning authority like that can get you into a lot of trouble in the SAF.

Lastly, there is s a good reason why you probably won't be upgraded. You have been given your PES E9 status for an injury you have sustained. The doctor who then takes it upon himself to upgrade you is taking a huge responsibility because if you are upgraded, placed in a combat situation and then an accident happens which results in you becoming seriously injured and permanently disabled (or even your death). Your parents then become furious - there is a huge public outcry. "My son is obviously not fit for combat, " your distraught parents scream in fury. "Who is the idiot who upgraded him to a combat fit vocation and placed him in a situation where he was obviously not physically fit to cope with? This doctor caused my son's death, I want to see this doctor put in jail for a very, very long time!" Did you consider how your parents may feel about this situation?

Which doctor would want to be placed in a predicament like that? I refer you to the case of Private Dominique Lee who died because of a training accident under tragic circumstances. Given his existing asthma condition, he should have never been placed in that situation in the first place which led to his death - clearly, the doctor who certified him medically fit enough to participate in that medical exercise is to be blamed. This is not a decision for you to take, you cannot certify yourself medically fit for an upgrade - this decision lies entirely with a medical officer (doctor) at the SAF and he has to take responsibility for upgrading you. There's just too much risk in upgrading a PES E9 soldier and I just don't see it happening when it requires a doctor to certify you fit enough for combat duty. If it proves to be a really bad decision, he risks being struck off the medical register, losing the right to practice as a doctor and even going to jail. No way, that doctor is simply NOT going to put his career on the line just to make you happy.

There you go, that's my take on your situation. I welcome others to add their comments below if they have a different take on the situation. Thank you for your question Jacob and if you have any further questions to raise, please let me know and I will be glad to answer them. All the best and good luck.