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STAFF AND TRAINEE DYNAMICS
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THIRTEEN
VIII. UNCOMMON PROFESSIONALISM:
OFFICERS
prior to remoulding him (or her) into some sort of military automaton was not acceptable,
or at least not through mindless military ‘bull.’ It must be said that the ‘deconstruction/
reconstruction’ theory was highly exaggerated and seems rooted in the preference of later
generations of officers and civilian administrators to level down military practices to a low
common denominator which was easier to demand of conscripts. Certainly, among the
first intake, there was no sense that individuality as such was being suppressed. What was
evident was that the whole establishment made it a point to eliminate a civilian laissez-faire
approach in a military environment. This meant benchmarking standards from the shine of
the boots, to the tautness of bed sheets and to the level of attention during training and
everything in between. As in kendo or taekwondo, the rituals were mainly to hardwire the
mind. The CWOs, in particular, made a point of keeping out of the way except in matters
that were strictly within their purview. But, they demanded certain standards in military
bearing and conduct, in area cleaning and in drill movements. One thing both CWOs (‘A’
and ‘B’ Companies) made clear was that the parade square was hallowed ground and not to
be treated as a pedestrian mall: during duty hours, it took a reckless trainee indeed to saunter
across one. Another was that drill was an exercise in precision.
Officers tended to remain aloof during the recruit and section training days almost certainly
because they would have to make objective assessments about selection for the officer cadet
phase. The generous age limit for the first intake of recruits, due to both urgency and to
seed the SAF with officers of post-secondary education, had created a unique situation
where many of the trainers were training their schoolmates and even seniors. There was also
anecdotal evidence to suggest that MID had admonished the trainers to handle enlistees
with post-secondary education more sensitively; or, it could have been natural prudence.
The training company officers thus sought to avoid fraternising with the trainees because of
the obvious risk of showing partiality to any school contacts among the trainees. They were
more relaxed during the officer cadet phase since, by then, the first cut had been made and
there was a general sense that the cadets were making the grade on their own merits. In fact,
by the last few weeks of training, both trainees and instructors had begun to smudge the
distinction in the relationship and speak to one another on more equal terms.
But unwittingly, many left their mark on impressionable young minds. One was Clarence
Tan, the ex- Malaysian Special Service Unit officer, always game for anything, always with a
smile on his face, compactly built and smartly turned out, was a natural model; especially as
he had been featured in the recruitment brochure beside his shiny sports car. Another was
Cedric ‘Butch’ Klienman, who looked like a poster boy and impressed all the recruits with
his clipped English diction, his Herbert Johnson peak cap and his general air of military
efficiency. Then, there was burly Deputy Superintendent of Police, T. E. Ricketts, OC ‘B’
Company, with his fighting face, Police Reserve Unit beret and perpetual jungle boots, who