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STAFF AND TRAINEE DYNAMICS
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THIRTEEN
VI. UNCOMMON PROFESSIONALISM:
NON COMMISSIONED OFFICERS
that he expected the trainees to find their way out. It would have been marginally effective
instruction if he had been genuinely testing the trainees but their consensus was that he had
tanked. Similarly, another Second Lieutenant, with a permanently dyspeptic disposition—
also during a raid through the Mandai forest reserve at night, became so negatively charged
that he abnegated his responsibilities to his trainees and appointed one to take over and get
them out of there as best he could.
Generally, however, the trainees respected the NCOs and officers at Pasir Laba and they
in turn proved worthy of that respect. They must have had considerable inkling of their
predicament, but they kept it to themselves and pursued their responsibilities conscientiously.
There was not one instance of victimisation or bullying, whereas there were many instances
of compassionate support and understanding. From recruit days to the Commissioning
Parade, the Platoon Commanders, Officer Commanding ‘A’ Company, Officer Commanding
‘B’ Company (recruit and section leader phases), the Company 2I/Cs, and the NCOs of each
platoon earned the respect and in many cases, the lasting affection of the trainees.
During the recruit and section leader training phases, NCOs who were section instructors
often dropped in on their section in the barracks after duty hours to pass time with the
trainees, as well as to provide feedback and professional guidance on matters within their
purview. In ‘B’ Company where all the section instructors were NCOs, they would turn
up in blue PT shorts, bare-bodied and wearing the cheap canvas PT shoes (which was of
brown canvas but blackened with Kiwi shoe polish as a standing order) and coolly deposit
themselves supine on a trainee’s immaculate bed. In most cases, they were forthright, full
of risqué jokes and anecdotes, but good company. Many had curious perspectives on things,
messy home lives and frequently, impecunious lifestyles. Their personalities, while unique
individually, invariably carried an aura of nonchalance towards the inevitable vicissitudes of
military life. They were changeable in their interactions with the trainees: joking one moment
and smiling tigers the next, they made an art of controlling trainees by keeping them off-
balance. Their biggest weakness was that they did not have the confidence to go beyond
what was in the lesson format when they were instructing. Quite probably, the culture in the
SMF had not encouraged them to take the initiative in terms of professional knowledge, but
rather go by the book. It would put many of them at a disadvantage with potential officer
cadet trainees, and even more so with the National Servicemen whom they would encounter
before long.
Among themselves, they behaved differently than when officers were present. Most were
always ready for a lark. During patrolling exercises and other field camps, they were not