I had quite an uneventful ORD day. My farewells were said a week
before that, when I came back to the office for a day or two.I
still remember that morning when I wore my no.4 back to camp for
the very last time. The office and workshop was quite empty, for
some reason I can't really remember. My boss, (Branch Head &
CSM) was in though, and I was thinking that I would be lazing
around more or less. However, he came up to me and said that he and
two of my fellow colleagues would be going to ALB to collect
something. Having came back from STK the day before, I didn't mind
going out on another trip. After all, it certainly beat sitting
around in the oil-smelling office.
Only when I was in the tonner that I found out what were
collecting. Matadors. 
That was my last "duty" in uniform as far as I can remember.
Volunteering to be the armed escort for the convoy. It's one of
those rare events where you have 1 MSG and 3 3SGs doing
transportation and armed escort duty.The tonner was fully loaded
with Matador training kits and we went back to base lying on the
top of the crates, not after heading to STK to settle another
issue. I still remember the ice-cold refreshing chin chow sold at
the STK canteen, and how I mistakenly ordered vegetarian the first
time I went there.
Me and the other 3 chaps in the back ended up talking about life
after NS, and it's quite sobering to think that while we were
moving along to university, lots of the other guys would ORD to
uncertainty, fear of unemployment and expensive part-time courses.
You've got to be grateful for what you have I guess..
I went back to collect my NRIC on a Friday. No one was in, except
my RSM and a few clerks in HQ. I had a good talk with him, and he
was basically saying that "All
you A-level guys, don't waste your Uni life. Do something
worthwhile with it"
He was a good RSM, leading by example and not hesitating to back up
his Specialists when issues of professionalism cropped up. So after
that, I basically went back to my workshop office and chatted a bit
with another friend who was on branch duty and left. The sentry and
RP at the gate gave me a high-port as I left.
I don't deny that there were a lot of moments in NS that left me
pissed off and seriously questioning the intelligence of the
higher-ups, but when me and the mates gather around for a kopi, my
NS life was a breeze compared to what the rest had experienced, and
I was grateful for the exposure I enjoyed. Being in the know helps,
because you see more than the average soldier and you can see the
justification for certain ideas/systems. That's all I can say.
