MANGKOK GUIDE TO SPF ENLISTMENT
Thought since I had some time to kill before going to sleep I'd
write this for all the people who are going to enlist in SPF for
NS, now and in the future.
Things to
bring/wear on enlistment:
- Wear a decent shirt & jeans for oath taking
- A pair of running shoes*
- 10 days worth of underwear and clothing suitable for PT
(including socks)*
- Extra jeans in case your No.3/Walk-out attire is issued
late
- Singlets (At least 3)*
- Qualification certificates
- Pen & paper
- SHAVER, DEODERANT* & other toiletries
- A basket that you can hang for your toiletries (very
important)
- $30 worth of $1 coins (for laundry & drinks)*
- A COMBINATION lock*
- Kiwi & lint-free cloth*
- 8 hangers at least (if you like being neat, if not 6 will
do)
- Plastic bags for storing your used clothes (there will be a
lot)
- A torch light*
- An extra battery
- Some snacks if you want*
- An iron* (the OB room has, but a lot of demand once you are
issued your uniforms.)
- Ear plugs*
* indicates this is not mentioned in the enlistment letter.
_You will not be issued any items for a few days, inclusive of
running shoes. If you don't wear running shoes you'll be doing PT
in whatever you brought, which is not fun at all. Following the
initial issues you will find that you will need to change several
of your items, and be without them for some time._
General
Information
Surrender all your cigarettes, lighters and chargers. You will be
confined if caught. This is not just a threat, it is true. One of
my bunkmates is sleeping in HTA on his own right now. Do not worry
you will get them back at the end of your _10 DAY
CONFINEMENT_
Confinement is for 10 days irregardless of whether you are in prep
course or fit squad. There is no such thing as waiting for the fit
squad before confinement.
There are partitions in the shower room. You will not be seeing any
wild birds.
Every bunk holds 10 men. Do not bring an over-sized bag on
enlistment day because you will be issued an SPF bag. You do not
want to try stuffing two large bags into your cupboard, because the
FIs will expect you to do that.
The FIs in HTA are mostly not unreasonable people. If you keng they
will know. At the same time, if you are genuinely ill/injured, they
will _most certainly understand._ My personal suggestion is you do
not try to keng, or you will be marked and confined if found to be
on light duty too many times.
Shave everyday or you will definitely die a horrible death.
The laundry rooms in all coys are generally heavily used at night.
If you want to do your laundry at night, get your clothes and dump
it on a washing machine. Make sure you wait for the person whose
clothes are being washed to collect his or yours willl be dumped on
the floor. Alternatively you can wake up at 5 am and do your
laundry - my personal recommendation. The machines take $1 coins,
as do the drink vending machines.
DO NOT WALK OUT OF YOUR COY WITHOUT PERMISSION. If a roll call is
done and you are absent, you can be charged for AWOL. This is NOT a
light charge.
You will be punished as a squad. Do not think you can get away with
being selfish. You will be punished even if you have done nothing
wrong. It is your responsibility to make sure your squad mates do
nothing against the rules.
There is a certain way to iron your uniform. The FIs will tell you
this but you do not want to be the squad to wait for this to
happen. Make sure there are ZERO creases on your shirt or trousers.
The lines must be VERY visible. For your trousers make sure the
line ends somewhere at the groin area, on both the front and
rear.
Choose your bed carefully. Always choose the bed in the middle.
Never choose the bed at the end of the bunk because all the dust
will collect there. Do not choose a bed near the door because when
people go to toilet you will wake up. The bed in the middle is the
best because you will always have two fans blowing at you.
Choose your squad IC very, very carefully. If you get an incapable
squad IC, be prepared to hear the following very often:
"WHY YOUR SEDIA SOUND LIKE BIRD SHIT!?"
"WHOLE LOT OF YOU TO YOUR RIGHT ON YOUR PALMS DOWN!!"
"TOO SLOW! ON YOUR FEET UP! TO THE LEFT ON YOUR PALMS DOWN!"
"WHEN I SAY DOWN YOU GO DOWN WHEN I SAY UP YOU COME UP UNDERSTAND
MANGKOK???"
For the unintiated, "to the left/right on your palms down" means
push up position 45 degrees in the specified direction.
I suggest you cut your hair before enlistment. Make sure you cut it
extremely short. If you let the barber cut your hair, your hair
will stick to your skin and you will feel EXTREMELY uncomfortable
before you get to take a bath/wash your hair in the evening.
CAMERA PHONES ARE ALLOWED IN HTA. DO NOT BOTHER BUYING ANOTHER
PHONE BEFORE ENLISTMENT.
There is a recreation room in every coy. Use it.
Bring an alarm clock, you will need it.
Coming from a mangkok himself, I hope this guide helps all the
future mangkoks enlisting in SPF. If any of you feel like adding to
it, go ahead and do so. I should say this is all the information I
wish I knew when I enlisted but didn't. All this will make your 10
day confinement and subsequent first few weeks a much more
enjoyable time I believe. Cheers!
Courtesy of Natnai
some other things-
never use eye-power whenever an FI is around.
fill up bottles to the brim at least 10 mins before water parade
(to avoid getting f*cked, but it would still happen anyway)
never fall asleep anywhere outside your bunk
refrain from shouting in your bunk
do not argue,bargain or complain
those in PES BP squads should NOT buy drinks from the vending
machines or bring food in (except some sweets or biscuits)
do not hang your underwear outside
to dry clothes quickly, hang them on the clothesline near the
wash area. on a hot day, a soaking wet t-shirt would dry up and be
as hot as if it was ironed in an hour
take a bath whenever possible
do not wake up too early (5.10am is the best) ; try to sleep
right after night water parade
lastly, don't slip and fall in the mess hall
especially if youre wearing walking out attire 