"Bobo shooter" and "bobo thrower" are the keyphrases of the week.

Actually I heard I'm not supposed to share military secrets or anything I've done in camp, to outsiders. That means speaking, writing or posting online is not allowed. As such, I went home this weekend with nothing to say to my parents.

But heck, perhaps I misintepreted the rule. Anyway I had Guard duty for Sunday. Guard duty is actually a regimental duty, but for my case, I lost a small brush, so the duty was given to me as a punishment. Damn it. The brush can be bought outside. Anyway upon completion of the duty, one may apply for a vocation in Guards unit. Lol. No I was kidding, Guard duty is quite crappy. I worked for 2 hours and was given 4hours rest. This is 1 cycle that has to be repeated 4 times throughout the 24hours duty. I was a prowler which means I walked around the camp for 2 hours. At least being a prowler keeps me awake as compared to sentries who will stand at their position for 2 hours. Suay ah...

Anyway after I have finished my 24hours, I didn't get much rest, and was sent to the live range for live firing test. This is a very bad combination because you can't afford to lose concentration while shooting. Given that I was tired, sleep is what I needed most. So it was quite tough to keep myself alert. In any case, live firing is freaking shiok. Finally I get to shoot the SAR21 with live bullets. If I'm not wrong, my score is 28/32. Good enough to be a marksman =) but the score is not confirmed. Initially I was afraid of misfires. 1 misfire and you can be charged and subsequently sent to detention barracks. But thankfully, there are sufficient safety measures to ensure you do not misfire, that is if you follow the safety measures carefully.

Then the rest of the week was quite crappy. After live firing, of course there will be a major clean-up of the rifle. Therefore, hours will be spent scrubbing parts of the rifle, so things that were in black will turn silver. On Thursday and Friday, I had to swim and crawl in wet mud. Then Saturday was the day for throwing a live grenade. This is usually done once in a lifetime. So better treasure the experience.
And for the first time, the commander begs his recruits to treasure life, and for goodness sake, please throw the grenade properly. No one wants to die. In other words, a recruit has the power to determine the fate of himself and his commander. It is a nice feeling, really.

I have more or less said the stuffs that I did in the week. It is somewhat exciting, definitely less physically demanding. 7 weeks have gone. I'm left with 2 weeks worth of BMT. I'll soon be leaving Pulau Tekong. And frankly, Tekong isn't a hellish place, although the treatment of recruits can sometimes be harsh. Still, being recruits have certain advantages. For example, punishments tend to be less severe, and recruits have less responsibilities. But of course, Tekong isn't a holiday resort.

G.Y.