Just met a NSF on the bus today. A very "large" chap. Ok, to put
it bluntly he was fat. REALLY fat. I'm surprised they even have a
number 4 that could fit him. I've nothing against portly folks. In
fact many of my friends are on the large side.
But doesn't it look a little odd having fat (almost obese) men
walking around in army garb? Ok so we aren't a "famous" armed
forces like the Americans or Israelis, but surely there's a little
something to be said about image.
Having an obese, or almost obese person in uniform I feel portrays
the wrong image. Yes, we are a citizen's army & every man
counts. Indeed, many of these obese folks do contribute be it as
storemen or clerks. But imagine if you are a foreigner (tourist,
foreign "talent", wat have you). And you see these ppl walking
around in SAF PT kit with the word ARMY or in smart 4. What would
you think?
Israel, Korea & Taiwan also have NS, but I don't see obese
servicemen in those countries' uniforms. Granted that I don't live
there so I MIGHT have missed them. But still.............
I'm not saying obese folks should be exempted from NS. But for
those who are non-combat fit & are almost guaranteed a
non-combat vocation, maybe we should just excuse them from
uniforms. Let them wear civvies instead.
