Why do we Singaporeans go through National Service?Why do we go
through conscription?Why do we train to become soldiers?
Singaporeans are in general a peaceable bunch.We don't train to be
soldiers with the hope of one day using our skills in combat.We
don't become trained killers just to be feared.We don't wield
insane amounts of firepower for a country our size(it is my
personal belief that the SAF has pioneered the concept of "beyond
overkill" by sending 700 men to catch 3 robbers)just waiting for
someone to come along so that we can pounce and devastate them with
our insane amount of weaponry.
One of the main benefits from from national service is the
increased self-confidence that comes with increased physical
proficiency and prowess in combat skills.This actually prevents
violence from erupting as we don't feel the need to prove ourselves
with our weapons,and the knowledge of such power deters possible
adversaries.We regard the actual use of force as a last resort,for
only if diplomacy fails do we turn to violence.
To help make my point,here's a saying by Robert A. Heinlein,a late
sci-fi author who wrote Stranger
in a Strange Land and Starship Troopers,among numerous other
volumes.He was noted for constantly imploring readers to be
self-sufficent and self-reliant.
"The price of freedom is the
willlingness to do sudden battle anywhere,anytime and with utter
recklesness."
Encapsulated in those 18 words is what it means to live the life of
a defender of any homeland.We train our bodies and minds so that we
may unleash our skills at a moment's notice and control our minds
in the chaos of battle so as to protect our comrades,family and
loved ones.
We maintain our security and the peace of our land by letting
others know that we'll rain down death and destruction on the enemy
if we are forced to.Of course,we'd prefer that everybody get along
well.
The only part of Heinlein's statement that I would change is the
word "recklesness".I'd substiture "abandon".Recklesness indicates a
lack of caution and control,while abandon implies a lack of concern
for what happens to ourselves as we battle to preserve the
well-being of those we care about and have vowed to protect.
We soldiers and aspiring soldiers know that this is the price of
freedom-to surrender our time,a fraction of our lives,to train so
as to be weapons of war to defend our comrades,friends,family and
loved ones,to maintain our freedom as a nation and most
importantly,as a people.
For us,eternal vigilance against the imposition of evil is not an
option;it's a responsibility,as the soldiers of Singapore.
