4 months

So I've survived 4 months in my new squadron and I must say the transition from AFTC to live environment is quite steep. From what I can recall, the first "orientation" week in my new squadron was rather disorientating. I had a hard time finding who was who, where was what. Everyone was so busy doing their work. It seemed like a hive of bees to me and there I was, trying to find where I fit in. And just when I thought that I've finally graduated from C3 School, the real TRAINING begins. From what I see, training never ever stops and I guess that's what I love about the RSAF. There's always something to learn, and another level to progress to.

Some milestones I've conquered along the way include getting qualified to be able to man solo and getting my own callsign at the "welcome party". The thought of it seems rather daunting, there's a real life out there in my hands. I guess that's where I have to trust the system and all the training I've been through. It definitely wasn't easy to get qualified to be able to man solo. We have to go through loads of on the job training with an instructor and finally a qualification test to see if I am able to handle alone. No doubt there were some failures and I was really disappointed in myself since I felt that I did put in the effort but sometimes I don't achieve my goals. Things are never dull and mundane here, and everyday brings a new challenge. :)

Right now, I consider myself being a Primary 1 in this big place and it's going to be a long long journey of training and studying. The bar keeps rising and I'm gonna just be gaining experience to level up. If I ever think that I can't conquer whatever is ahead of me, I only have to think of how far I've come - literally, how I wanted to give up so badly during all my route marches but I told myself that each step forward is one step towards becoming a C3 Officer.

101/15 Commissioning Parade

Wow it's been almost 2 months but I've yet to blog about the milestone of every officer's journey, the Commissioning Parade!

The long awaited day, 26th June 2016, came and our batch of 101/15 finally commissioned! The parade training has been tough with long scorching days and aching arms. When it was time to march onto the parade square, everyone was really excited and the thought kept running through my mind, "Is this really it? Is this for real? Finally 9 months long of training is concluding on this parade square.." Next thing I know, we are marching onto the parade square with thousands of spectators on the grand stand and SHIT JUST GOT REAL... I'll never forget the moment though, when my mum and dad looked so proud and pinned on the rank for me. My dad rarely smiles but let alone see his teeth when he smiles.. I'm glad that my family supported me in my decision to sign on and they're proud of me coming this far :)

So right now, 2 months on, I'm in squadron and back to being a trainee >< The transition from simulated to live is another steep learning curve coupled with numerous secondary tasks to attend to. Well, thing's cant get any worse so I'm sure in due time things will only get better :)  In the mean time, my hard-earned officer sword on display at home will remind me everyday to just keep pushing on and why I'm training so hard in the first place :D

02/16 RCGC

2nd June marked the day we officially graduated from our respective vocation training and it was definitely an eventful day. It was like a dream come true for me to get my very own sword with my name engraved on it. What's worth it was that it was through a lot of hard work that the sword was earned, and not just bought off a shelf. 

Also, now I can don the AWO wing! Somehow at times I still feel like I'm dreaming. Have I really gone this far? It seemed like just yesterday that I went to an open house as a civilian and admiring all the blue no4 uniforms. Now I'm part of the big RSAF Tribe!

Come this Sunday 26th June, I'll be back at the SAFTI MI parade square for the commissioning parade. I always love watching the RSAF news and watching the parades, batch after batch, year after year. I never thought I'd really be there, marching in as part of a contingent. But here I am, through with all the parade rehearsals and ready for this Sunday as the batch of 101/15. 

Parade rehearsals are definitely tough, standing still for ages under the hot sun. Perfecting and executing sharp drills and making sure not only my contingent does the drills together, but the WHOLE 101/15 batch. A relatively large and heavy 4 kg SAR 21 on one arm is also a huge challenge, Counterpain does the post rehearsal remedy :) 

I'm still on this journey though, understanding what it means to be an Officer in the RSAF. Wearing the rank doesn't make me automatically a leader. 

The Final Sprint

It's been almost about 9 months since I've enlisted in July last year (5 months since I've entered AFTC). The days seems to repeat itself and there seemed to be no end in sight. Training may seem to last forever but sometimes I find little things to motivate myself to keep pushing myself forward. Every week I'll try to find something to work towards to and last week my motivation was going back to ALB to loan our no.2 and no.1 uniforms! It was nostalgic going back to ALB as I recalled last year in June I was there trying on helmet sizes, combat boots, no.4 uniforms, etc for equipment fitting before entering tekong for BMT. Now, I'm trying on the sizes for RCGC and Commissioning Parade that most likely will be held at end of June this year. Just like that, 1 year has almost passed.

Loaning the commissioning parade no.1 uniform came with the AWO Wing and Officer epaulets. Although I have not earned the rights to wear it, just seeing it gives me a great sense of excitement and motivation for the final sprint of this training. In the weeks to come, I will have to sit for my final practical exam and theory exam before I earn the rights to wear the AWO Wing.

I'll hang in there and finish well with everyone else! :)

AWO C3 Course

I can't even remember when was the first official day of the AWO C3 course since the weeks have been whizzing past. I'm at the halfway mark now and the journey hasn't been an easy one. Most of the days seem to be the same, a brief in the morning followed by practice in the simulator and then another brief to end the day. The learning curve is pretty steep but I guess that's where the FUN lies, the CHALLENGE! :)

It's pretty much like uni/poly where there are so many different "modules" to cover and after a few  "modules" there's one consolidating practical exam. What I love about the practical exam is that YOU CANT MUG FOR IT! Books are a definite NO-NO for me. Glad that most of the time are spent in the simulator instead of hitting the books.

Picture from Cyberpioneer

Sad to say, there are still a lot of vital information that needs to be STUDIED and hence the theory exams. Speaking of which, the next theory exam is NEXT WEEK! To add icing to the cake, there's also a project presentation in the same week. I guess I'm going through the motion of things and hopefully it continues on this momentum. Most of the time I love the feeling of being so caught up in work cause time seem to pass faster. I love the sense of achievement when works get done PROPERLY with STANDARDS. Does this make me a workaholic? Or a high performer?

Still the same worry though, part of me is scared to OOC.  I'm scared of failing because I want to do well. Part of me is fighting to better myself everyday, just to see how far I can push myself. I'm somewhat a perfectionist and I demand high standards for myself. Then again, personal standards are subjective. For example completing 2.4km in 10mins may be considered a "high standard" to someone else but for me if  I manage to hit 12mins I'd be over the moon! Does it mean 10mins is a higher standard than 12mins? What are the criteria to determine so?

I believe strongly in healthy competition where everyone strives together and excel. Maybe it may seem a tad bit idealistic since it requires everyone to be altruistic but still, what's the point of reaching the top but you're stepping on others? What respect will you earn?