2LT Sherman Pay, ROS Commander with 128 Squadron,
RSAF
It was to be a decision many Singaporean boys who have grown up
overseas, would have to make – whether to return home to Singapore
and serve National Service (NS). Not necessarily an easy decision
for any 19-year-old Singaporean; not when you’ve lived the last 11
years of your life overseas.
Home Away from Home
For Sherman Pay, home had been in the Chinese city of Xiamen in
Fujian province where he lived with his family. They would return
twice a year to visit their relatives, often during Chinese New
Year and the summer holidays. Save for his relatives, Sherman had
hardly any friends in Singapore. Not surprising, given that he had
spent most of his growing up years away from Singapore.
Sherman is ‘focused and ready’!
His parents had made known their preference for the family to
remain as Singaporeans. He recalled his mother signing him up for
tours that took him around Singapore’s landmarks during his visits
back as a child.
While serving NS, Sherman lives with his uncle. However, being
away from his immediate family does take its toll: “Sometimes I
really miss them. I have learned to appreciate them more,
especially when I am feeling lonely. There would be times
when I feel really down. But for me, my mom had brought me up to be
independent and that really helped”.
‘What-Ifs’ and ‘How-Woulds’
Prior to Sherman’s decision to return home to serve NS, his
parents had concerns. Their uneasiness rubbed off on Sherman as
well: “My mom was worried that I might get bad influence as there
were people from all walks of life serving NS. She was also afraid
that I couldn’t blend in and it would be hard for me to make
friends. I was worried that I would be quite alone as I didn’t have
friends (in Singapore) to begin with. I didn’t know how physical it
(NS training) would get as I didn’t have my physical education
here, so I didn’t know how (physically) fit I was compared to
Singaporeans here. I didn’t know if I could keep up with the
physical standards. My mum was worried about cultural differences
because I don’t interact with Singaporeans that often. She was also
worried I may not adapt to it.”
All geared up behind the ROS
As for his father, he was worried as to whether Sherman was both
physically and mentally strong enough to endure the training and
demands of a soldier and if he might be bullied by his platoon
sergeants. “I think it was because he believed Army trainings mean
harsh treatments by the sergeants, but in reality, the trainings
are carried out professionally with safety as a priority,” Sherman
says with a grin. It helped that Sherman had Singaporean friends
he’d grown up with in Xiamen who’d returned ahead of him to serve
NS and they were able to cope well in NS.
Flying High In Many Ways
Sherman has been doing well in NS since his enlistment two years
ago. The well-respected officer with the Republic of Singapore Air
Force (RSAF) is addressed by his men and superiors in the 128
Squadron as ‘2LT Sherman Pay’. He makes no qualms about aspiring to
be an officer prior to his enlistment. “I have a few cousins who
went to OCS (Officer Cadet School), so they told me, ‘If you can,
try to be an officer as the experience would be more enriching.’
Therefore that was my goal during BMT; I was very motivated.”
Despite the initial anxieties, Sherman felt that serving NS has
been a good and positive experience for him and it has made him
mature from a boy to a man.
It wasn’t just a positive attitude and hearing about success
stories that got Sherman geared up for life in military fatigues.
He credits his superiors who were very supportive and maintained an
open communication channel with him during his Basic Military
Training (BMT): “My supervisors did a good job. My OC (Officer
Commanding) in BMT (Basic Military Training), he tried to engage us
overseas Singaporeans, on enlistment day and told us that if we had
any problems, if we couldn’t blend in, to look for him and he would
help us. When we’re down, he’ll always motivate us. Although your
family is not around, but during the time in NS, you have your
so-called ‘brothers’, your bunkmates (and) they’ll also motivate
you.” Yes, training will get tough, but the recruits will have to
support each other to spur on and pull through together.
Setting up the ROS
These days, Sherman literally has a bird’s eye view on things
through the videos by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), which would
be fed back to the Receive-Only Station (ROS) that he operates with
his team. The video feed, when relayed to the ground commanders,
provides better battlefield situational awareness and enhances
mission effectiveness.
Appraisal to be Well-Adapted
Sherman’s immediate supervisor Major (MAJ) Sam Ong, the OC in
charge of ROS for 128 Squadron, says that Sherman has adapted very
well in the Squadron. He believes Sherman’s positive experience in
BMT and how those who had returned from overseas to serve NS were
actively engaged by their superiors, set the foundation for a
smoother transition for the recruits. “Those things are very
important because the initial phase is when these overseas
Singaporeans will need to adjust to the change in environment and
that’s when engagement must come to the forefront. When Sherman
came to the unit, I didn’t feel that he had any problems adjusting
to the operational requirements of 128 Squadron. That foundation
served him well and enabled him to adapt to the operational tempo
without any difficulties” says MAJ Ong.
Sherman with Major Ong
MAJ Ong regards Sherman as “a very outstanding NSF who’s not
just able to lead when he’s required to, but he’s also a very
capable team player. Sherman’s positive attitude and his
willingness to take on challenges and overcome them will serve him
well in the future”.
Does MAJ Ong feel that Singaporean youths who return from
overseas to serve NS are disadvantaged in some way? He doesn’t
believe so as information is readily available in this age of
connectivity and ease of access to the internet, where “you’re able
to sift out information pertaining to NS. It’s this sense of
wanting to find out what’s ahead that makes the difference. Perhaps
years ago when information was limited, that would have made it
more difficult for overseas Singaporeans to find out more about
NS”.
Seeing Significance in NS
The most memorable event for Sherman was when he was
commissioned as an officer. “My parents came back to attend my
commissioning parade and they were very proud of me. After being
commissioned as an officer, you will take up a leadership role. So,
you’ll need to exercise a lot of your leadership skills. When you
have to inspire people to be more capable beyond their normal
abilities, make them go an extra mile, that’s when it feels very
rewarding,” he says, beaming with a sense of accomplishment.
Posing beside a UAV
How this contrasts to his initial scepticism of how serving NS
would help in the defence of a small nation like Singapore. That
faded after Sherman underwent the National Education programmes
conducted by his supervisors. It then dawned on him the crucial
role each serviceman, himself included, played in national security
and the defence of Singapore. MAJ Ong believes that the key to
creating a positive NSF experience is to make sure the NSFs
understand and internalise their role in national defence”.
But it is easy to think that two years serving NS is two years
too long. In Sherman’s perspective, “If you think of your career,
your studies, it’s a postponement of two years. So before I
enlisted, I was also thinking, ‘You waste two years of your life.
People already get their degrees and you’re still studying. People
are already working’. But after I enlisted, I realised I learnt a
lot during NS. I learnt about leadership, having a positive
mindset, how to overcome hardship – these kinds of things. The
experience was enriching in many ways, and in the end I felt I’ve
become more mature and better equipped as a person. My two years in
NS wasn’t wasted”.
Sherman and his team together with Maj Ong
When we hear of National Service (NS), it is often assumed that
it relates to the time spent with the army or the SAF, but that’s
not always the case. “Growing up, my father always talked about the
SAF and his time there, so I always thought that I would be joining
the SAF. So when I received my enlistment letter and found out that
I was to join the SCDF, I was definitely surprised!” Such was SGT
(Sergeant) Raphael Tan’s initial response when the enlistment
letter indicated that he was to join the Singapore Civil Defence
Force for two years of NS. In this
second issue of ‘NS through the Lens of an Overseas
Singaporean’, we met up with Raphael Tan, a Singaporean who lived
abroad and came back home to serve NS in the SCDF.
Since his birth, Raphael has had to adapt to both Western and
Asian cultures due to his parents’ commitments in missionary work
and overseas businesses. “I was born in Cardiff, Wales and spent a
couple of years growing up in the UK and in Sweden before coming
back to Singapore for pre-school. Following that, we left for
Bangkok, Thailand in which I spent 13 years there.”
When it was time to return for his NS stint and not knowing what
to expect, a nervous Raphael went on to find out as much as he
could about the Singapore Civil Defence Force. “Despite being a
little worried, when I found out that they train fire-fighters, I
was actually quite excited about it,” revealed the young sergeant.
For those unfamiliar with the SCDF, this uniformed organisation
belongs to the Ministry of Home Affairs and plays a critical role
in Singapore by providing fire-fighting, rescue and emergency
ambulance services. They also oversee the implementation of fire
safety and civil defence shelter matters.
SGT Raphael Tan (left) demonstrating a training
drill with two of his trainees
When enlistment day arrived, a sense of uncertainty could be
felt among the new recruits, “I was quite nervous but I wasn’t the
only one because on the first day, you see many other nervous boys
as well.” He was quick to reassure though, saying, “The instructors
were quite kind and understanding as they were once in our shoes as
well, so it wasn’t too bad actually.”
What helped Raphael was that his overseas experience allowed him
the opportunity to meet different people from diverse backgrounds.
This made interacting with others in the SCDF much easier for him,
especially when certain situations force you out of your comfort
zone. “We had a training stint at Outward Bound in Sabah,” recalls
Raphael, “and did hiking treks into dense jungles. A lot of us were
placed out of our comfort zones and because of that, you could
really see what people were really like. It was a real eye-opening
experience where we learnt a lot about ourselves and of each
other.”
Following his basic training phase, Raphael is now a Fire and
Rescue Specialist trainer. “I’m in the fire-fighting branch, so I
instruct trainees on how to fight different kinds of fire.” Fires
like flashovers and backdrafts are just some of the many thermal
accidents that fire-fighters encounter and have to deal with. One
of the ways to do that efficiently is to ensure that they are
well-versed in their drills, in which our trainer/resident expert
and his team will give you a sneak preview of in our video.
Having almost completed his two-year NS stint, Raphael now looks
forward to becoming a Physical Therapist in the field of Sports
Sciences and will take the skills that he has learnt from the SCDF
with him wherever he goes. He reflects, “There are many things that
I’ve gained from the SCDF and a lot of what I’ve learnt can be used
in most emergency situations in our daily lives. I’ll bring along
all these knowledge with me and touch wood, if I need to draw upon
them one day, at least I’ll be mentally well-equipped.”
While there are some who might still feel that NS is a
hindrance, both to their career and study plans, to Raphael, NS is
an opportunity to continue learning new life skills in an
environment that is unlike any other. “You’re going to go through a
lot of new experiences so take it all in and you’ll learn a lot of
new things. Embrace it because a lot of what you will experience
here, you won’t get a chance to do so outside of NS. Once you
leave, you might just miss the time you’ve spent here.”
By Wan.
Video by Evon Kua and Ian Tan.
The first part of 'NS through the Lens of an Overseas
Singaporean' can be found
here and it features 2LT Sherman Pay, a ROS
Commander with the Republic of Singapore Air Force.
