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OFFICER CADET TRAINING
200
ELEVEN
and not seniority in service would count towards advancement, the current arrangement was
in MID’s best interest.
About two thirds of the cadets, as they now were formally called, had been in ‘A’ Company
for the basic and section training phases. But it was a new environment for those from ‘B’
Company as there had been little cross-company interaction. In dribs and drabs, the cadets
drifted in that benchmark Sunday, some well before night to check out their new grouping
on the company notice boards. The pack had been pretty thoroughly shuffled though some
close links had sustained, with buddies being assigned to the same platoon and even the same
section. There were three pairs of siblings. One pair, Titus and Javamani Stephen was in the
same section. The other pair, stepbrothers Lien Beng Thong and Hee Kam Yong too ended
up in the same section too. Another pair of stepbrothers, Subandie bin Sahari and Amin bin
Jantan ended in different platoons. But, new contacts and new relationships were inevitable
and it was remarkable how quickly the bonds developed. The section was still the primary
group, and as the training progressed, the mutual support within each section became, in many
instances inviolate, as against other sections in the same platoon and even more so against
other platoons. However, mainly because the routine training was not on a competitive basis,
there was little inter-platoon rivalry except for a brief interlude during the inter-platoon boxing
competition.
Barrack rooms and rifles were re-assigned but each cadet had taken back his entire issue of
uniforms and kit in his duffle bag, called Ali Baba bag for the break and brought them back in
reasonably presentable condition in preparation for the first muster parade as officer cadets.
Many had simply taken their uniforms to the laundry at 15 ½ milestone, Upper Jurong Road
before the break and picked them up en route to camp. The laundry had become used to this
Sunday night routine and stayed open until around midnight. The assigned cadets sorted out
their own bunk distribution in each barrack room and spent the first evening, for the most part,
lining their cupboards with brown paper and organising their cupboard layout. The dress code
included a white plastic disc backing for the badge on the jockey cap and white georgettes for
collar lapels in the No. 3 Dress configuration. Cadet Under Officers had to wear a white sleeve
with a single thin blue strip on each epaulette while the respective NCO appointment holders
wore wrist straps with the badges of rank. The first Cadet Under Officer was Officer Cadet
Gurcharan Singh.
The first night was spent as usual with the majority polishing their leather combat boots and
sand brass fittings to a mirror finish, with some compulsively ironing their uniforms before
fitting on the georgettes and laying them by for the muster parade the next morning. Once
again, no one fully recollects that first morning, but there was a muster parade in No. 3 Dress
and a vague notion of an intensive inspection by the new Platoon Commanders and new
section instructors. The company then marched to the company auditorium for a briefing on
the cadet appointment holders’ duties, responsibilities and delegated authority, followed by an
address by MAJ John Morrice and an overview of the syllabus by CPT Daljeet Singh. There