ARMOUR









The men of the black beret
the least heard of in the singapore military
well at least to me when i was a kid.
When i received the letter from MINDEF stating that i was to
report to KRANJI CAMP to 41 SAR i had absolutely no idea at all
what armour was about.
Friends told me that i would be a trooper chasing after tanks
others told be that i would be carrying additional ammo for the vehicular weapons
what-ever i was told. it was not good.
However as time passed,
the longer that i was in the unit
the more i felt proud of belonging to it.
There is a strange feeling
belonging to armour brings about to a person.
A sense of belonging
I am sure that this happens to all vocations
but it is just special to armour.
The most memorable moment in my army life was not ORD,
it was this day .....6 months after i enlisted,
after 3 months of BMT and 3 months of Trades Course ...
We were turned out just before dawn for a mini route march into the training area behind our camp.
The beaten dusty rocky route there was lined with candles every few feet.
As we marched to our destination we belted army songs cheers and poems at the
top of our lungs.
The early morning mist and the dark purple sky brought about the very best in us.
We marched with our SBO( Skeletal battle order) and our riffles.......
our stomaches in and chests out.
Each step taken in confidence and pride.
When we finally reached our destination, the command to halt was given.
We complied as one. The soles of our feet contacting with the ground at the very same time.
The BANG was so loud its ghost reverberated through the area.
The place as i remember was some-what of a open patch right next to a reservoir of sorts.
Peaceful and calming, its beauty brought a tear to my eye.
Our CO(commander) gave a speech about our accomplishments........
and then at about the same time as dawn breaking......
our section platoon and company commanders walked through our ranks....
each of them presented us with our prize.......our "right"....
a gift that we had bought for ourselves........
A BLACK BERET.
We had finally earned the right to don the black beret....
YES we are armored
we storm the front-lines
we are the first to reach and last to leave.
we are the Calvary ...............