I SHARE the view that a soldier must carry his own backpack
("Another view" by Mr Bennie Cheok; yesterday) and not pass the
load to a maid.
The person who posted the photograph highlighted in Monday's
article ("He's in the army... but she has the backpack") is not
wrong to raise an important point. I disagree with Dr Paulin Tay
Straughan's view that youth today have to meet tougher challenges
and more complexities that many adults did not have to face when
they were younger ("Let's be fair to our young soldiers who do
their duty"; yesterday).
When my son enrolled in the army in the 1980s, it was much
tougher. The uniforms were made of tougher, heavier material and
the backpack was far heavier.
I had a maid then but we never got her to carry the backpack. I
felt that going into the army would make my son strong and
independent, and it did. The army uniforms and accessories have
much improved today using light-weight materials, and the food also
has improved greatly.
Jeffrey Tan
