Well,
NS could be beneficial, depending on our superiors.
But it will certainly NOT be if we have:
1) Miserable superiors who haven't even gone for basic management
courses.
2) Miserly superiors who make life difficult for NSFs by
introducing all sorts of stupid rules that's as senseless as the
people who introduced them.
3) Superiors who backstab and thus destroy the cohesiveness in the
unit.
Ain't happening for you? Well, these situations are well alive and
kicking in my unit. Not only that, they're starting to mutate
beyond our control.
I think we would generally be satisfed if we were working under
compentent superiors. People who know how to motivate and show
concern for NSFs. Some units operate as if there were only 6 SAF
core values. Even 2 years can seem like 2 days, if you are working
under the right superiors. Or it can seem like 20 years.
That's besides the fact that we have to live through the monotony
of regimentalism for 2 freaking years! It may be true that NS
prepares us for the aftermath, but it also must be true that if I
had to choose between 2 regimental jobs that pay me $350 and $3500
respectively, I'd be happier to put up with the rules for a more
substantial pay. Which is sadly, not the case in NS. Sometimes, my
unit's NSFs are told to report at a particular place by 7am.
Usually, this place would be in Tuas, since we manage NSmen who
have their in-camp training there. Some of us live as far away as
Pasir Ris, and there's no way we could have gotten there even if
buses came with ten wheels. Not mentioning those who own vehicles,
the only way the rest of us can get to Tuas by 7am is to take a
cab. A one-way trip would easily cost $20 if we are living in the
East. However, standing SAF directives are such that we can only
make transport claims if we are travelling from camp to camp.
Fantastic, isn't it? We earn less than what an illegal immigrant
from China would have earned in a month here, and yet we're
expected to be so generous.
Never mind if we had to go through this crap for people who
appreciated our work, who even bothered about our welfare. However,
the sad truth is that many superiors in SAF only bother about their
careers. They expect NSFs to do the sh*t they don't want to do and
to tie up their loose ends for them. When they've attained whatever
they wanted to attain, we do not get a pay rise or other benefits.
All we get are more rules and more sh*t from them. Ungrateful?
Well, maybe we could look on the brighter side... maybe it's
because they haven't any management credentials, that's all.
Hey I better not talk too much more, if I already am. Who knows,
maybe they installed spy cameras in my room. And by the way,
insubordination is not equal to NSF being rude to superiors. It is
equal to NSF stating facts that face-seeking superiors cannot
accept.
Have a pleasant day ahead 
