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STAFF AND TRAINEE DYNAMICS
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THIRTEEN
above ‘liberating’ a free-ranging chicken or two for dinner, chatting up the kampong girls, or
pulling one off against the officers. They managed the mix of races among themselves and
the trainees with easy camaraderie and pointed but friendly racist barbs.
There were occasions when the NCOs in general, would adopt irregular practices in their
interactions with trainees. These came up when they wanted to apply some informal pressure
on one or several of them short of putting them on a charge. In theory, under military law,
as a safeguard against abuse of authority, no form of punishment may be imposed without
the accused being charged under the SAF Act. Following the charge, a Junior Disciplinary
Officer, a Senior Disciplinary Officer, or a Superior Commander can deal with the case under
summary disciplinary proceedings. At the risk of more serious outcomes, the accused can opt
for a formal court martial if he or she feels that a fair hearing may not be forthcoming from
a summary proceeding. Summary proceedings are designed to expedite justice and usually
if the accused is guilty, he or she admits to the charge, agrees to accept the Disciplinary
Officer’s punishment which can range from a fine by way of pay stoppage, to detention in
a unit guard room or a military detention barrack. But, even with this fast-track process, for
some offences—perhaps better described as misdemeanours—the process may be onerous.
Immediate superiors frequently need to get their subordinates into line several times a day
when training a large body of trainees involved in complex teamwork activities. Recognising
this, the military has officially endorsed minor punishments such as extra drill, the immediate
execution of several push-ups or chin-ups, or a run around the square or other forfeits, so
long as they don’t go over the top.
The NCOs would come up with various forfeits: a favourite was to order the trainee to run
up Good Morning Hill (Spot Height 205), shout “Good Morning!” loudly enough to be
heard below (hence the name of the hill, together with the fact that it was also one of the
destinations for the 5 BX runs at dawn) and come back to the training shed; another was to
trim the grass at the edge of a portion of the parade square with a pair of scissors; another
favourite was an assignment to catch 50 or 100 grasshoppers for several NCOs’ pet birds,
and Officer Cadet Chen Yew Peng, who also kept birds, became quite proficient in this.
But, the trainees understood the minor punishments for the forfeit system it was and hardly
resented it at any stage of the training. They also recognised it, as officers-to-be, as a useful
tool to keep soldiers focused and on the ball in circumstances where there were temptations
for minds to stray.
The Platoon Sergeants—who were the more senior Staff Sergeants and WO2s—presented
a sterner mien in keeping with their need to manage their Platoon NCOs and the trainees,
while also administering the platoon. Sometimes, their limited education showed through
because unlike the soldiers they were used to in the regular units, all the trainees of the first
intake were better qualified then they. But, they carried themselves well and the trainees
gave them the respect they deserved, subject in rare instances, to an appeal to the Platoon