Now i don't think its just pure irrational fear that got hold of
TS. It wld be harsh to just continue piling the blame, or impose on
him our own judgements based on how we would react being in the
similar situation (which then again is only often based on our own
NS experiences)
My guess is that the TS suffers from social anxiety problems...
which in this particular scenario may involve having intense fear
of being evaluated, and being potentially embarrased by others.
This fear brings about much mental and physical discomfort to the
TS, therefore inhibiting his normal social behaviour. Normal social
behaviour would in this situation be the various tasks he would
have to perform in NS. His recursive thoughts of being humiliated,
though often inaccurate and self-defeating, would bring about panic
attacks such as (most commonly) heart pulpitations, blushing,
stammering, nausea....and in his case 'breaking out into cold
sweat'. To simply avoid the whole trauma of being at the mercy of
his panic symptoms (which can be really severe) and to avoid being
really humiliated in the NS, he chose to shy away from everything
altogether. This final act is called social avoidance.
To attribute this completely to not being man enough or being too
pampered would be plain oversimplication and ignorance on our
part.
While whether or not TS's scenario actually took place is
contentious, I do affirm that it is possible for somebody with
social anxiety to take such a route.
But above all I think the issue here would be to what extent would
MINDEF hold psychological disorders such as obsessive-compulsive
disorders, tourette's syndrome, social anxiety disorders,
depression, or even just simple phobias etc, in similar regard as
tangible medical injuries/illnesses? One argument would be that
diagnosis of psychological disorders can be subjective as their
effects vary according to circumstances. But it is also possible to
suggest that there is still not much awareness of such
psychological disorders yet, at least within our community. Any
ideas guys? 
