POP :: BMTC

Crawled up at 5.45am so that I could attend HW’s Passing Out Parade for Basic Military Training. I wouldn’t have bothered, but because HW’s family couldn’t fly to Singapore to watch it, S asked if I could go. Because I love her, I was seated in those stands by 7am.

I’ve never visited an army camp, never attended any of these military parades, and I obviously cannot be arsed to attend National Day Parades or Previews either. As much as I understand the need for military might and trained soldiers guarding this city, I honestly am not particularly supportive of compulsory National Service. It’s not the violence or guns I’m against. I’m all for that. It’s the general attitude of Singapore military machinery that I have a problem with, and how two years of National Service wreck havoc in these young men’s career trajectories. Hmm...this is an opinion for another day.

HW didn’t grow up in Singapore. His ties to the country are tenuous. He has zero friends here. His parents gave him all the information he needed, had many discussions over the years, and left him to make the decision. He could have opted out of serving National Service, but he flew back to do it anyway. The man and I had a chat with him. He takes wine (champagne and white, apparently) and yucky Jäger shots, but NOT BEER. HOW CAN?! Hahah. His attitude and mindset are like a breath of fresh air. This isn’t a teenager who’s full of himself and feels so entitled. H and S have raised a fine young man in HW.

The songs that accompanied the marching and the ones they made the newly minted soldiers sing threw me into multiple giggling fits. Those lyrics couldn’t be cornier, I swear. I heard the newly recorded version of the National Anthem. Sung in this setting, against the backdrop of the Singapore city skyline, the gravitas was present, and grandly so. I’m proud of HW for taking the plunge into this chapter of his life, entering a whole new world.