You're Crazy! You're Beautiful!
All pictures dedicated to Shih
I really do not know what to put down in words in this post. I've written it a few times only to clear off the slate and to delete everything because I feel that it just doesn't make any sense at all. Nevertheless, I'd like to share some honest and frank observations. In the meantime, do enjoy the pictures of the Fullerton Hotel, that I went for a night photography stint a few days back. I'd love to capture the essence and beauty of the Christmas Spirit at orchard road before its too late.
How quickly the year has passed me by. The hours and days and months are slow. Yet the weeks and the years are fast. Another 2 more weeks and I'd be in N.Slavery for officially two years. Yes, I've kept count of the number of days I have left since the day I enlisted. And I've not stopped keeping a track of it all. Its something that now perks me up when about the time I enlisted, was something that would really weigh me down. Overall, its been a mildly worthwhile stint in N.Slavery as I get to soak into sights and experiences not seen or appreciated by many others in my batch.
Overall, I think that a very serious matter is brewing with the nonsensical police national service department in our rotten base (its really rotten, as usual, but the team just rocks). Overall, at the end of any NSmen's stint, he would be given a Certificate of Service or COS as known in short. And usually there's a ranking on each COS based on Outstanding, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair and Satisfactory as well as Poor and Very Poor. Usually they say that this certificate is important for the application of gahmen jogs in the civil service sector else other things in the working world.
The stated criterion more or less is something along the lines of "passing IPPT", as well as "Score for Shooting" as well as "Courses Attended". Basically passing the IPPT puts a grade where a person stands in terms of physical fitness (NAPFA for the uninitiated). Shooting is basically for our revolver shooting and the grades are Marksman, 1st Class, 2nd Class and a fail. Lastly courses that can be attended vary in number, for most NSmen at my side, most it is things like the sergeant's course (for A-Level and Diploma Holders) or else the Steerman's Course, which is of course, the right to get a boat license to officially steer a boat from the MPA (Marinetime and Port Authority - another useless gahmen agency).
Unfortunately, there have been a huge brash in cases for the patrol crew team members to receive just "GOOD" in their COS despite having passed their IPPT, passed their shooting and attended the steersman Course. Its not easy to get a free boat license in Coast Guard. Vaccancies are extraordinarily limited and priority is always given to regulars (which means that NSmen almost never go). The management at our rotten base have set a limit of just 2 NSmen per team per year. Goes to show how far their attitude with regards to "NS and Regulars are equal" is really true. Utterly farcical, if you ask me.
So soon, there will be a good amount of people who have Gold for the IPPT, as well as a Marksman grade for their shooting and have managed to obtain their steersman license. And they will only get "Good" for their service. I think its quite sad to note that these people who risk their lives on a daily basis, bearing with uncomfortable living conditions onboard as well as the harsh living conditions out at sea and living with the high risk of injury and running their lives of health-destructive shift work will never be appreciated for their service to the nation. Sad to say that people in Coast Guard will be the first to face any external enemy treat out at sea during peacetime. This isn't like the SAF where they have loads of training safety regulations and all. Out at sea. If you drop into the sea and drown because no one can safe you. No amount of safety regulations is going to help you if the life jacket finally gives way.
Compare this to the people working in the office. Those who work easy regular hours. As well as enjoy the liberty of doing office desk jobs. They will be most likely rated "Outstanding" or at the very least "very good" on their COS. By principle of mathematics, economics or philosophy and logic, it is very obvious that all the "outstanding" and "very good" are going to the office clerks who wouldn't even survive one hour on the boat whilst the NSmen who really lay their lives down on the line of the defense of our country will never be accorded what they truly deserve. Me included. I think if you read the archives on my blog. One will note about the few times I've mentioned how violent the storms out at sea can be. How I was once almost electrocuted via a high current power, or almost dropped into the sea on numerous occasions when conditions were very tough. I have yet to mention the fact that i get injured slightly almost everytime I go out to sea. I've had times when my engines die out at sea, or when something in our equipment fails. Or our radar just dies on us at night and we can barely see anything, lest navigate safely and put our lives at risk at all times in the most crowded straits in the world.
At the end of the day. Its politics that such things have to happen. Everyone knows what bootlicking or "angkat-ting" your superior officers will do for you, especially when your boss is a high ranking person. And most of the NSmen in the teams have their recommendations and service reports filled out by very much lower ranking junior officers who may just carry the rank of a sergeant or a staff sergeant (regulars only). So i guess it does not bode well or reflect well on the facts and efforts of the NSmen that really sacrifice themselves for the better sake of the nation. What's the point of going through so much risk, so much danger out at sea, so much hazardous conditions. Doing checks on indonesian supply boats and trade craft that might bring goodness-knows-what into our country as well as keeping a constant lookout and vigil for illegal immigrants and other things. At the end of the day, I myself will feel unhappy when my work, for all the effort that I've put in is not reflected honestly in my certificate of service.
And the experts in paperwork who know how to bootlick higher ranks above them will gleefully enjoy their easy life in an office (almost akin to a whitehorse's life) and later on leave with "Outstanding". Outstanding in photocopying paper. But put them on a boat out at sea and they wouldn't even be able to survive the shiftwork. Much less navigate safely or bear with the conditions out at sea. Oh well, that's why life is unfair isn't it? And God is fair? I don't know. I can say that there is alot of friction between the teams who guard our waters and our management at the rotten base. The management has been ranked worst in the police force for the last few years running. Basically, you have all the condemned policemen who are thrown into coast guard that suddenly find the limelight in the new age of terrorism as well as sea-borne threats. However, this does not apply to our commander, who is a good man and actually bothers to take care of the men on the ground, yet he himself is just too busy to look into any details. Sad to say that most of our management in our base are just plain lousy. Plain useless and plain a waste of time.
Its quite interesting to note that as many people in the base want to have an NSmen whom they can call an assistant, and then chuck all the work to the assistant to do while they have a nice cup of coffee in the canteen. Oh well, I know of many more damning allegations that I would love to use, but that's next year when the commissioner will have an outlet for all the ground officers to express their greviences as well as unhappiness to him. I'll help all the teams in charting a damning report to get our management shipped out once and for all. Literally. No one will believe how lousy our management is until they have experienced it first hand. Maybe its ranking as worst in the police force might convince some of you that read this. Then again if we look at it this way. Its just too bad when the politics of NS, rank, seniority and a warped up system of values clash and collide, we'll end up with a artificial system of legalised slavery at its very best.
NSmen can't do much. They have to "go through proper channels" if they want to seek redress. But really, "proper channels" is just an administrative and beaureacratic technqiue used to "tai-chi" away all the complaints by means of inefficiency or simply by not even entertaining the requests. NSmen can only say yes, do a few mindless things that they are instructed to and they can't do anything else if they want to say no to the work or the instructions. At the end of the day, our entire national service thing needs a huge revamp. Its even sadder to note that changes instituted at the top (5 day work week) are often lost in the middle and never reach the ground. I know of friends who still have to stick to that 5 and a 1/2 day work week thing because just somehow "it doesn't apply to NSmen" and there are much more to say. Maybe the general defeaning silence and apathy of Singaporeans aids to such ends, yet I can say that while the police force looks great from the outside. When seen from the inside, its really a waste of my time. Almost like a whitewashed tomb. A rotting carcass with perfume sprayed over. I can't wait to ORD. It just plain sucks to be in NS. Especially in a place where people are so free that they can indulge in politics and backstabbing on a very daily basis.
When we question the shitty and utterly useless police national service department about why patrol team crew NSmen are often give just "Good" only. Their response lies in the vagueness of "not having any arrests" or that "our IPPT is not good enough" or that we must "compare with division" or that "we have a ranking system". I'm not surprised if the fellas at the police national service department rank themselves FIRST, followed by other people in the department, followed by the clowns who work in the office hours and finally, those who work in the ground duty. After all, I have seen NSmen doing the rankings themselves (so much for the work of regulars). I'm a truly disillusioned with the way such things work. Its complete rubbish and crap. Almost assuming that ground officers are the lowest and they deserve the worst. And that these useless clerks whom I can replace on any given day have this God-given right that their work is so incredibly important. Police Coast Guard can do without them. But it cannot do without good NSmen in the team.
At the end of the day, in the coast guard. There are not many arrests. Maybe one arrest per month, perhaps even none. This is unlike a police division where hordes re taken into custody on a daily basis. So "not having any arrests" is just not a good reason at all. Besides, if the seas are so safe that no arrests need to be made (assuming the good efficienty of the team), isn't that a cause of safer seas and lesser crime? And that we have done a good job in deterring crime out at sea? Sigh. The shortsightness of these "educated" clerks truly baffle me. Not to mention their attitude problems when I try to apply for leave. Even for my trip to Japan and New York, they were the ones who were blocking me all the way in attempting to obtain my leave to go overseas. They are the true beareaucracy that has hindered many of my plans. Sad to say that most of them (along with the likes of the Clerks at the Police Headquarters and New Phoenix Park) have this tremendously high-and-mighty attitude problem.
Divison and regular police officers have told me honestly that the people with the biggest attitude problems in the police force are: 1) Police National Service Department. 2)NPPK - New Phoenix Park, Ministry of Home Affairs. 3) Police HQ - Cantonment Road). I find it to be pretty true since I have my fair share of going to these places and seeing the stuck up attitude that these clerks give. Oh well, they look down on the very ground officers that are the core definition of the police force. They laugh and deride the very people who have the knowledge, the ground experience as well as the mental toughness to approach the scene and to take action. Ask these clerks to pick up a dead body on the sea and we'll all laugh at how suddenly squeamish they will become. Oh well. As much as I don't wish to be judgemental, through my eyes, things will certainly be slanted in one direction. So do moderate your views on this matter someway or other. Yet I stand firm by my views.
At the end of the day. If I recieve a "Good" or even a "satisfactory" on my Certificate of Service. I'd like everyone to know that I have a markmans for my revolver shooting, that I've not taken a single day of MC for the whole year (hospitalisation MC for my accident in january is not counted). And that I cannot attend the steerman course because there are enough regulars in front of me that I can ORD and never need to even prepare for the course. That I've done plenty of checks, I know how to operate my guns onboard. I am au fait with the things out at sea and that I can navigate with relative safety in the hours of darkness as well as experiences my very fair share of tumble, bumps and rough-outs on the boat out at sea. I've had my engine failures, my radar failures, my night vision equipment failures. Been stuck out in zero visiblity heavy storms several times before and that I have also been blessed by a loving and faithful God who bothers to take care of my life and has been faithful to me even when I have been unfaithful towards Him. So there. And if you put me in the office anyday, I could easily replace these clerks who only know how to play computer games on their PCs and check E-mails or send e-mails of complaint out. We'll see. We'll See.
If we do not recognise the people who put down the greatest sacrifice for this nation. Then truly, meritocracy is a farce. Then truly, it doesn't pay to do your best during NS (I do my best because I love my Team) and it doesn't pay to work hard and above expectations of a majority of people (I patrol in the best team in the whole police coast guard) and finally, I think its one more reason for quitting this country. For good.
All pictures dedicated to Shih
I really do not know what to put down in words in this post. I've written it a few times only to clear off the slate and to delete everything because I feel that it just doesn't make any sense at all. Nevertheless, I'd like to share some honest and frank observations. In the meantime, do enjoy the pictures of the Fullerton Hotel, that I went for a night photography stint a few days back. I'd love to capture the essence and beauty of the Christmas Spirit at orchard road before its too late.
How quickly the year has passed me by. The hours and days and months are slow. Yet the weeks and the years are fast. Another 2 more weeks and I'd be in N.Slavery for officially two years. Yes, I've kept count of the number of days I have left since the day I enlisted. And I've not stopped keeping a track of it all. Its something that now perks me up when about the time I enlisted, was something that would really weigh me down. Overall, its been a mildly worthwhile stint in N.Slavery as I get to soak into sights and experiences not seen or appreciated by many others in my batch.
Overall, I think that a very serious matter is brewing with the nonsensical police national service department in our rotten base (its really rotten, as usual, but the team just rocks). Overall, at the end of any NSmen's stint, he would be given a Certificate of Service or COS as known in short. And usually there's a ranking on each COS based on Outstanding, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair and Satisfactory as well as Poor and Very Poor. Usually they say that this certificate is important for the application of gahmen jogs in the civil service sector else other things in the working world.
The stated criterion more or less is something along the lines of "passing IPPT", as well as "Score for Shooting" as well as "Courses Attended". Basically passing the IPPT puts a grade where a person stands in terms of physical fitness (NAPFA for the uninitiated). Shooting is basically for our revolver shooting and the grades are Marksman, 1st Class, 2nd Class and a fail. Lastly courses that can be attended vary in number, for most NSmen at my side, most it is things like the sergeant's course (for A-Level and Diploma Holders) or else the Steerman's Course, which is of course, the right to get a boat license to officially steer a boat from the MPA (Marinetime and Port Authority - another useless gahmen agency).
Unfortunately, there have been a huge brash in cases for the patrol crew team members to receive just "GOOD" in their COS despite having passed their IPPT, passed their shooting and attended the steersman Course. Its not easy to get a free boat license in Coast Guard. Vaccancies are extraordinarily limited and priority is always given to regulars (which means that NSmen almost never go). The management at our rotten base have set a limit of just 2 NSmen per team per year. Goes to show how far their attitude with regards to "NS and Regulars are equal" is really true. Utterly farcical, if you ask me.
So soon, there will be a good amount of people who have Gold for the IPPT, as well as a Marksman grade for their shooting and have managed to obtain their steersman license. And they will only get "Good" for their service. I think its quite sad to note that these people who risk their lives on a daily basis, bearing with uncomfortable living conditions onboard as well as the harsh living conditions out at sea and living with the high risk of injury and running their lives of health-destructive shift work will never be appreciated for their service to the nation. Sad to say that people in Coast Guard will be the first to face any external enemy treat out at sea during peacetime. This isn't like the SAF where they have loads of training safety regulations and all. Out at sea. If you drop into the sea and drown because no one can safe you. No amount of safety regulations is going to help you if the life jacket finally gives way.
Compare this to the people working in the office. Those who work easy regular hours. As well as enjoy the liberty of doing office desk jobs. They will be most likely rated "Outstanding" or at the very least "very good" on their COS. By principle of mathematics, economics or philosophy and logic, it is very obvious that all the "outstanding" and "very good" are going to the office clerks who wouldn't even survive one hour on the boat whilst the NSmen who really lay their lives down on the line of the defense of our country will never be accorded what they truly deserve. Me included. I think if you read the archives on my blog. One will note about the few times I've mentioned how violent the storms out at sea can be. How I was once almost electrocuted via a high current power, or almost dropped into the sea on numerous occasions when conditions were very tough. I have yet to mention the fact that i get injured slightly almost everytime I go out to sea. I've had times when my engines die out at sea, or when something in our equipment fails. Or our radar just dies on us at night and we can barely see anything, lest navigate safely and put our lives at risk at all times in the most crowded straits in the world.
At the end of the day. Its politics that such things have to happen. Everyone knows what bootlicking or "angkat-ting" your superior officers will do for you, especially when your boss is a high ranking person. And most of the NSmen in the teams have their recommendations and service reports filled out by very much lower ranking junior officers who may just carry the rank of a sergeant or a staff sergeant (regulars only). So i guess it does not bode well or reflect well on the facts and efforts of the NSmen that really sacrifice themselves for the better sake of the nation. What's the point of going through so much risk, so much danger out at sea, so much hazardous conditions. Doing checks on indonesian supply boats and trade craft that might bring goodness-knows-what into our country as well as keeping a constant lookout and vigil for illegal immigrants and other things. At the end of the day, I myself will feel unhappy when my work, for all the effort that I've put in is not reflected honestly in my certificate of service.
And the experts in paperwork who know how to bootlick higher ranks above them will gleefully enjoy their easy life in an office (almost akin to a whitehorse's life) and later on leave with "Outstanding". Outstanding in photocopying paper. But put them on a boat out at sea and they wouldn't even be able to survive the shiftwork. Much less navigate safely or bear with the conditions out at sea. Oh well, that's why life is unfair isn't it? And God is fair? I don't know. I can say that there is alot of friction between the teams who guard our waters and our management at the rotten base. The management has been ranked worst in the police force for the last few years running. Basically, you have all the condemned policemen who are thrown into coast guard that suddenly find the limelight in the new age of terrorism as well as sea-borne threats. However, this does not apply to our commander, who is a good man and actually bothers to take care of the men on the ground, yet he himself is just too busy to look into any details. Sad to say that most of our management in our base are just plain lousy. Plain useless and plain a waste of time.
Its quite interesting to note that as many people in the base want to have an NSmen whom they can call an assistant, and then chuck all the work to the assistant to do while they have a nice cup of coffee in the canteen. Oh well, I know of many more damning allegations that I would love to use, but that's next year when the commissioner will have an outlet for all the ground officers to express their greviences as well as unhappiness to him. I'll help all the teams in charting a damning report to get our management shipped out once and for all. Literally. No one will believe how lousy our management is until they have experienced it first hand. Maybe its ranking as worst in the police force might convince some of you that read this. Then again if we look at it this way. Its just too bad when the politics of NS, rank, seniority and a warped up system of values clash and collide, we'll end up with a artificial system of legalised slavery at its very best.
NSmen can't do much. They have to "go through proper channels" if they want to seek redress. But really, "proper channels" is just an administrative and beaureacratic technqiue used to "tai-chi" away all the complaints by means of inefficiency or simply by not even entertaining the requests. NSmen can only say yes, do a few mindless things that they are instructed to and they can't do anything else if they want to say no to the work or the instructions. At the end of the day, our entire national service thing needs a huge revamp. Its even sadder to note that changes instituted at the top (5 day work week) are often lost in the middle and never reach the ground. I know of friends who still have to stick to that 5 and a 1/2 day work week thing because just somehow "it doesn't apply to NSmen" and there are much more to say. Maybe the general defeaning silence and apathy of Singaporeans aids to such ends, yet I can say that while the police force looks great from the outside. When seen from the inside, its really a waste of my time. Almost like a whitewashed tomb. A rotting carcass with perfume sprayed over. I can't wait to ORD. It just plain sucks to be in NS. Especially in a place where people are so free that they can indulge in politics and backstabbing on a very daily basis.
When we question the shitty and utterly useless police national service department about why patrol team crew NSmen are often give just "Good" only. Their response lies in the vagueness of "not having any arrests" or that "our IPPT is not good enough" or that we must "compare with division" or that "we have a ranking system". I'm not surprised if the fellas at the police national service department rank themselves FIRST, followed by other people in the department, followed by the clowns who work in the office hours and finally, those who work in the ground duty. After all, I have seen NSmen doing the rankings themselves (so much for the work of regulars). I'm a truly disillusioned with the way such things work. Its complete rubbish and crap. Almost assuming that ground officers are the lowest and they deserve the worst. And that these useless clerks whom I can replace on any given day have this God-given right that their work is so incredibly important. Police Coast Guard can do without them. But it cannot do without good NSmen in the team.
At the end of the day, in the coast guard. There are not many arrests. Maybe one arrest per month, perhaps even none. This is unlike a police division where hordes re taken into custody on a daily basis. So "not having any arrests" is just not a good reason at all. Besides, if the seas are so safe that no arrests need to be made (assuming the good efficienty of the team), isn't that a cause of safer seas and lesser crime? And that we have done a good job in deterring crime out at sea? Sigh. The shortsightness of these "educated" clerks truly baffle me. Not to mention their attitude problems when I try to apply for leave. Even for my trip to Japan and New York, they were the ones who were blocking me all the way in attempting to obtain my leave to go overseas. They are the true beareaucracy that has hindered many of my plans. Sad to say that most of them (along with the likes of the Clerks at the Police Headquarters and New Phoenix Park) have this tremendously high-and-mighty attitude problem.
Divison and regular police officers have told me honestly that the people with the biggest attitude problems in the police force are: 1) Police National Service Department. 2)NPPK - New Phoenix Park, Ministry of Home Affairs. 3) Police HQ - Cantonment Road). I find it to be pretty true since I have my fair share of going to these places and seeing the stuck up attitude that these clerks give. Oh well, they look down on the very ground officers that are the core definition of the police force. They laugh and deride the very people who have the knowledge, the ground experience as well as the mental toughness to approach the scene and to take action. Ask these clerks to pick up a dead body on the sea and we'll all laugh at how suddenly squeamish they will become. Oh well. As much as I don't wish to be judgemental, through my eyes, things will certainly be slanted in one direction. So do moderate your views on this matter someway or other. Yet I stand firm by my views.
At the end of the day. If I recieve a "Good" or even a "satisfactory" on my Certificate of Service. I'd like everyone to know that I have a markmans for my revolver shooting, that I've not taken a single day of MC for the whole year (hospitalisation MC for my accident in january is not counted). And that I cannot attend the steerman course because there are enough regulars in front of me that I can ORD and never need to even prepare for the course. That I've done plenty of checks, I know how to operate my guns onboard. I am au fait with the things out at sea and that I can navigate with relative safety in the hours of darkness as well as experiences my very fair share of tumble, bumps and rough-outs on the boat out at sea. I've had my engine failures, my radar failures, my night vision equipment failures. Been stuck out in zero visiblity heavy storms several times before and that I have also been blessed by a loving and faithful God who bothers to take care of my life and has been faithful to me even when I have been unfaithful towards Him. So there. And if you put me in the office anyday, I could easily replace these clerks who only know how to play computer games on their PCs and check E-mails or send e-mails of complaint out. We'll see. We'll See.
If we do not recognise the people who put down the greatest sacrifice for this nation. Then truly, meritocracy is a farce. Then truly, it doesn't pay to do your best during NS (I do my best because I love my Team) and it doesn't pay to work hard and above expectations of a majority of people (I patrol in the best team in the whole police coast guard) and finally, I think its one more reason for quitting this country. For good.
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