Serving my country again...

Reservist.

2 weeks in camp.

With a programme that includes IPPT training, live firing exercise, outfield training and camps, with tons of hours sitting around and doing nothing.

But still, you learn so much about human relations, leadership and communication.

My friends during my NSF days will know how much of a ang-moh-pai I am. My Chinese isn't really fluent and when I do speak it, I tend to use a more formal lingo compared to the conversational lingo that is more prevalent in the army. So when I find himself in a new unit, stuck with strangers who speak Chinese (95% of the time) for 2 weeks, imagine my discouragement.

Some of my platoon mates are already tight-knitted because they were from the same unit during their NSF stint. This makes it harder for newly-posted folks like me to integrate into their circle.

But then I learnt something. Regardless of the language one speaks, the language of values and actions are more important. People will respect you because you help them, watch out for them, care for them, and learn from them. And most of the time, they will reciprocate with the same values and actions.

And funny how it's always the hokkien-peng and the ones who are less educated who have better values.

I'm so glad for the new friends I made in-camp. There's still another 9 years that I will be spending with them. Some will stay. Others will leave. But the bond that we forged while talking rot during our outfield exercises and just helping each other, well, that's priceless.

And I also learnt something about communicative leadership . In the army, when there are a whole bunch of people who dread the experience of being forced to do things they don't want to do and can't wait to get out of camp, it really pays to communicate your intentions with them. Let them know what they are doing, and why they are doing it for. For instance, share with them the urgency of the tasks, link it to a bigger objective, and throw in incentives for doing the task properly.

We can be going through hell but if we know that there's a good reason for doing so, we'll gladly go all the way.