http://www.sgforums.com/?action=thread_display&thread_id=62060
Good luck with getting into Arty if you kena BSLC. It's a good
life, when compared to SIR or SAR. Arty is supposed to be for those
with better mathematical aptitude, but IMO not so much with Arty
NCOs (now called Gunnery Specs or something) & gunners. You
won't need to carry signal set & follow infantry either.
Foremost, it's "zay chia" (sit vehicle) all the way &, while
the maintainence part is siong, it's only super-siong if you kena
21 SA (tracked-based, not wheel-based vehicles).
21 SA is traditionally the most SAR-like within the formation, even
during my time. It's the only Arty fireable in Singapore, for a
start, so there was usually more internal field exercises &
then supporting infantry ones on live-firings during
weekends.
If you kena a 155mm unit instead, it's a DIV-level weapon & so,
technically-speaking, some 20km from the frontline (if you're that
"chicken") but can otherwise train in the most-desirable overseas
destination (Taiwan) during both NS & reservist.
Khatib Camp is quite schizo when compared to the individual camps,
believe me. Plenty of wayang on the SOA/HQ SA side, esp. when OCS
cadets are in-course (marching from point to point). It was fun to
see ARTC being transferred there to site in the opposing block,
though, always prompting an angry Encik marching across the car
park screaming at a bo-chap/bemused reservist ~lol~ 23SA & 24SA
(a radar-tracking unit) are also long-term residents. A SADA unit
& the old SAF Boys' school used to too during my time, so you
can imagine how regimentated the camp used to be. Now, with FCC
also there to conduct RT for reservists, the stadium looked like
East Coast Park from every late afternoon onwards!
But travel can be quite lechey. There's a side gate that leads to
Khatib MRT but it's not always open & even then available
sometimes only to authorized personnel (no reservists or RT
personnel). Accessing the main gate entails travelling either a
long trip down Sembawang Road (after passing a number of other
camps; imagine the peak-hour commutes) or a surprisingly-long
(15-20 min) bus transfer from nearby Yishun MRT. Not easy to grab a
cab either.
