My Learning Journey so far...

We're into the 4th week of the course and the relentless schedule is beginning to take its toll. The amount of reading we have to go through, the discussions we have to prepare and the weekly 1000/3000 word essays we have to complete meant that time management is very important.

We have been introduced to Organisational Learning, Security Studies, Leadership Development, the Conceptual Reframing Methodology and Sun Zi Bingfa. We have gone through psychology tests like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI) personality inventory and Belbin® self-perception inventory and gotten to know ourselves as well as our syndicate-mates better.

My day usually starts at about 0300hrs in the morning where I will spend about 4 hours reading up and preparing for my lessons, followed by lectures and discussions from 0830hrs till 1730hrs with a short 1 hour lunch in between. Monday and Thursday evenings are occupied by Physical Training and Sports. Tuesday evenings are reserved for the Distinguished Speakers Programme and Friday evenings are for the weekly Officers' Mess Happy Hour. Our only reprieve is on Wednesdays where we get the whole of the afternoon for 'self study'. However, this is usually occuppied by 'other' commitments like the committees we have to participate in e.g. Magazine Committee, Social Committee, Dining-In Committee, Graduation Ball Committee, etc.

Through all this, I have discovered more about myself in such a short time. I went through the exercise on Personal Visioning again and strengthened it, rediscovered the power of vision, was re-inspired by Robert K Cooper's "Uncommon reminders to bring out the best in you" and fell in love with photography all over again after watching DeWitt Jones' "Everyday Creativity" and "Celebrating What's Right with this World" for the umpteenth time. I have become more self-reflective, I don't leap up the 'Ladder of Inference' as quickly as most of us are akin to do, I read more critically now after having gone through the Critical Reframing Methodology training where we 'painfully' went through Samuel Huntington's article on "Officership as a Profession" and Thomas Kuhn's synopsis on "Scientific Revolutions" and linking them together to form new concepts and came up with a paradigm shift.

Just today we were introduced to Sun Zi Binga by Prof Wee Chow Hou. It was a very interesting and enlightening lecture peppered with anecdotes from the business world as well as ancient China. I am certainly looking forward to more of his lectures in the coming weeks.

Well, my first paper up is the one on Security Studies due in 2 weeks time...something about whether ASEAN is becoming a security community....hmm, maybe I'll solicit some views and opinions from a certain Associate Professor from USM who is coming down this weekend for Buang's wedding...boleh kan Abang Zam? ;)

What drives you?

I would like to welcome my brother to the wonderful world of driving! Yes, yes...he passed his Class 3 driving test on Tuesday albeit by the skin of his teeth. A pass, is a pass, is a pass...no matter the point, especially for driving tests! My advise is that he should take note of the areas he is weak in and work on them. Don't avoid them, but work on them.

This brings me back to the time when I passed my Class 3. That was waaaaaay back in 1993! (Suddenly, I feel old!)...I was then a young lieutenant in command of a platoon of 27 men in the third battalion Singapore Infantry Regiment. Due to time constrains, I endeavoured to complete my Class 3 as fast I possible. I did it all in 3 months - the Basic Theory, the Advanced Theory and the Practical Test itself! And the first thing Abah told me to do after I got back from the Practical test (held in the morning) was to sent Boboy to school! Kewl!!! And that night, I drove all the way back to Bedok Camp on my own! I'll never forget that feeling...

4 foodie nights and a guilt-trip!

This has been a weekend of gastronomic indulgence. Friday night was satay night after a rip-roaring session of Borat with my dear cousins @ Lau Pa Sat. We ate till 0200hrs Saturday morning. Saturday night was spent eating seafood at Danga Bay with 22 other souls celebrating Cik Eton's CPF withdrawal and her birthday! Thanx Cik! Sunday night was spent at Cik Eton's house eating curry chicken with bread, fried noodles and chicken korma. And just now, I had Korean BBQ at Seoul Garden with my entire syndicate. My, my, my...I've had so much food these last couple of days that I HAVE to run tomorrow running...call it a guilt-trip if you must, I'm calling it payback time!

10 years to retirement!

Yep...as 2007 started, it dawned on me that I'm into my last decade in the Service! Who'd have thought that time flies so fast, who'd have thought that 15 years have flown by like a blink of an eye...sometimes it feels like it was only yesterday that I was still a "young and green, blur like f*^k" second lieutenant hailing out those words as I knocked on the doors of the Officers' Mess in Bedok Camp waiting for my turn to be initiated!

2007 will also be the last year that I can take my Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT) without going for an FFI (Fit For Instruction) or what civilians know as a medical check-up! Although I turn 35 this year (shudder!), the date for the cut-off to jump a Category is 1 April so since I will still be a 'young' 34 on 1 April, I will still be in what is known as Cat Y1 (30 - 34) so no need for an FFI...

The First Daughter started her second year at the 'masjid school' (as she fondly calls it) without much fuss. She's a 'veteran' when it comes to attending places of formal instructions, having gone for Tumble Tots, KinderGolf, Growing Up Gifted, piano classes, ballet classes and swimming classes. All this at a ripe 'old' age of 4+! But lest we be thought as the 'typical' Singapore parents who send their kids for everything under the sun, I make it a point to always ask her if she's enjoying her classes. At the first hint of 'boredom' or other signs of 'distress', we would ask her if everything was alright. If she didn't seem to be enjoying her classes, we would find out the reasons why with both she and her teachers. As much as we would want to give her an all round education, we would not want to force her to do things that she would not enjoy doing. I'm happy to say that she always looks forward to her swimming, ballet, piano and early reading and writing classes. Just the other day, she enquired why she can't have piano classes everyday! To me, having gone through the trials and tribulations of a short life, education is the key and the education of my kids are the uppermost in all that we do as a family. And by education, I don't mean just the formal schools and classes that she attends. We strive to create a learning environment away from class. Whatever we do with our daughters, be it playing with them, going out with them, we make it a point to pique their curiosity and would always encourage them to ask questions.

The Second Daughter on the other hand, started her very first day of school on Wednesday! Unlike her elder sister, she's not such a pro when it comes to formal schooling having only attended weekend 'enrichment' classes at Growing Up Gifted. So although we had talked to her about being prepared for school, cajoling her, encouraging her, she 'cramped' a little during one of the colouring activities. She sometimes does this in new environments or around people she is unfamiliar with. But other than that, she enjoyed her first day at school...Awww...my baby is all 'growed' up now...let's see what tomorrow brings...

Oh, btw, I cleared all my 3 papers that I took in UniSIM...heh...So 80 credits down...40 more to go! But I'll be defering this year due to my Command & Staff Course...

I would just like to mention my Better Half. I am ever so thankful to my BH for taking care of the whole family. She is the fabric that binds all of us together. Untiring, she takes care of my princesses day in and day out, seeing to their needs, whims and fancies. With no leave or off, she carries on with her duties without complain. Because of her, I can concentrate on my course. Because of her, we are stronger as a family. That is why I make it a point to go out on dates with her at least once a week. (Oh, make that twice a week now since we go for a short dinner date after our Mandarin classes every week!). These dates are only possible because my mum and mum-in-law help to take care of our princesses while we are out. Thanx to all the ladies in my life!

I've not had a New Year's resolution in a long while since I know that most of the time it will be broken. Instead I always use the SAFTI motto as my beacon, "To lead, to excel and to overcome" and the Officer's Creed as my guiding light...(See below)

My being in the Command and Staff Course would mean that I will be a full-time student for the major part of this year. The first 3 months will be full of papers to research and write followed by exercises later on.

My CSC started off on a poignant note! We went on a study trip today to trace the Battle of Singapore following the lecture on the Malayan Campaign yesterday. We went to Reflections at Bukit Chandu, the Battlebox @ Fort Caning, Changi Chapel Museum and ended at the Kranji War Memorial. Although I had been to some of these places before, it never fails to evoke stirring emotions in me as I read about the brave soldiers of the Malay Regiment who put up a valiant struggle to the end on top of Bukit Chandu, how Percival come to the decision of surrendering Singapore to the Japanese, a decision he made at the Battlebox, how POWs were treated in Changi Prison and how those who perished in World War 2 but whose bodies were never found had their names etched on the 13 columns of the Kranji War Memorial. All 24,000 of them! The whole tour concluded with a simple but poignant ceremony on top of the Kranji War Memorial where a poem was read, a wreath was laid, a bugler played the 'Last Post' and 'Reveille' and a bagpiper played 'Amazing Grace'...I had goosebumps throughout the ceremony and shed a tear as I read how, with a heavy heart, the late 2LT Adnan bin Saidi, said goodbye for the last time to his heavily pregnant wife as he sent her and their two boys away before Singapore fell...Reflections at Bukit Chandu made me reflect on a few questions I posed to myself - what would be the last thought on my mind if I were to suffer the same fate as 2LT Adnan had at the hands of the Japanese and would I be willing to give up my life for my country as what 2LT Adnan and many others before and after him had done...The answer is obvious and with that I present, the Officer's Creed.

SAF Officer's Creed

I am an officer of the Singapore Armed Forces.
My duty is to lead, to excel and to overcome.

I lead my men by example.
I answer for their training, morale and discipline.

I must excel in everything I do.
I serve with pride, honour and integrity.

I will overcome adversity with courage,
fortitude and determination.

I dedicate my life to Singapore.