Camp FEAST

Camp FEAST has been highly eventful for me, it being the first time I have attended this activity since its inception. I participated in this three-day activity in the capacity of Bravo 3 Platoon Commander, and I daresay that the men under my charge were of comparatively better natures and keener mental faculties than some other cadets (including officers) I could but will not mention.

The most remarkable event was a sporadic outburst of violence from a nondescript Chinese boy of unimposing stature who slashed his neighbour in the face with a pocket knife after the latter had accused him of wasting good, wholesome food (which is not only a crime in epicurean eyes, but also an offence under the Singapore Armed Forces Act). The only recompense in this sorry episode was that the assailant was duly apprehended and the wounds were diagnosed by Nee Soon Medical Centre to be superficial and wholly unworthy of prolonged medical attention.

The second incident of note was a stealing spree that was perpetrated in the wee hours of the morning under mysterious circumstances. Two mobile phones were reported to have gone missing from their owners' bags and seconds later, it was further realised that forty dollars had disappeared without a trace from a wallet together with two plasters. Despite the very best intentions and efforts of 2LT Morris who had once studied in several of Singapore's finest institutions, the case remains, sad to say, unsolved. Pending a more detailed investigation, initial observations seem to lay the guilt at the door of a 14-year-old Malay cadet, who had been given packing orders the previous day after having been caught in the possession of cigarettes (one of which was midway through his lips).

Of course, these incidents cannot in any way suggest that the camp was filled to the brim, and overflowing, with adrenaline-pumping action. Due to a fortuitous thunderstorm, much of the second day was spent lounging in the bunk, where I was given the chance to understand the pysche of my colleague (Assistant Platoon Commander TAY Li Hang) in greater detail. Using my powers of deduction, I have come to the inevitable conclusion that his mind alternates between periods of sobriety and self-delusion. While displaying lucidity, he speaks for hours on his mobile phone to someone whose name is truly reflective of cosmopolitan Singapore, the city where East meets West. In his secondary state of mind, he mistakes his pillow for the very same person and, between inarticulate moans, performs acts that can only be diplomatically deemed  as "regrettable".

All in all, Camp FEAST was a mighty instructive exercise.