Did you spend some of your National Service time overseas? For some Singaporean men, overseas training may be part of the National Service experience, either during full-time service or as part of a reservist stint. As a young man, Chun See had the opportunity to take part in an overseas training exercise, and he now reflects on how time has changed as his son has gone for overseas training as well.
cc image by fox2mike
How has overseas NS training changed over the years? Chun See writes:
There is one other big difference between father and son. For me, that trip on the SIA 707 was my first time in travelling in an aeroplane. I remember my section mate Simon Ong was excitedly taking photos with the SIA air stewardesses. As for the young men leaving for their overseas NS training this morning, it must have been their umpteenth time travelling by plane. Nowadays, most Singaporean kids go to distant places for their holidays. In school many would have gone overseas for sport events and educational trips. Furthermore, within their two-year NS period, they would have gone overseas at least two or three times.
Read Chun See’s post Then and Now – Leaving for overseas NS training here.
Add A Comment