2LT X. L. FOO

It was the 14th of June 2008 and the Foo family makes a historic trip to the SAF Military Training Institute to mark the comissioning of the youngest in the family.

Well my younger brother's initials are X.L. in case you're wondering and the family and army joke is that it stands for Xtra-Large. Hehehe. But finally after a 10 month stint the youngest one is now a proud comissioned officer of the Singapore Armed Forces. The family is as proud as he is. Finally there is an officer in the family.

The huge empty parade square of SAFTI. . .

We were the typical Kiasu Singaporeans arriving an hour and a half before the parade so as to grab the best seats possible.

But I suppose we pale in comparison to these lot. We managed to grab seats towards the back of the grandstand. Man. . . How early did those who got the front row seats arrive???

My Mom and Sophie along with Jermaine's good buddy's parents on the left. Its a coincidence that we managed to sit together for the parade.

The iconic OCS tower as its called. . . I think.

A decomissioned A4-SU Super Skyhawk on display

Along with some other artillery and base defence pieces. . .

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I snapped photos like free since I was bored. . .

Elder bro beat boredom by listening to his iTouch and playing game on his HP.

Ah yes with clockwork precision, the parade finally began at 5.41pm on the dot

The SAF band was superb, playing peices after peices while keeping in step and rhythm. The drum major (the dude right in front of the contingent) happen to be the Princess' JC classmate. Cool eh???

There were about 500 plus officers to be in the parade, making it an unusually large cohort

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They hail from the Infantry, Amour, Combat Engineering, Signal, Logistics, Navy, Airdefence Artillery, and lastly the Weapon Systems (Airforce) Divisions

The good thing about Jermaine is that you can always spot him. He happens to be the left marker and the front row person for his contingent. That would be the first man right in the foreground decked in the Midshipman's all white uniform.

I was impressed with the precision and uniformity of their drills. While it seems easy for those who have never taken part in a parade, quality drills need countless hours of practise. I believe that they probably did much more than countless in Jermaine's definition.

Even the moderately complex "Hormat-senjata" drill was good

Handing of colours of flag to juniors

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Awaiting the guest of honour. Throughout the parade songs that portray the loyalty of soldiers towards the nation were also sang by them.

Guest-of-Honour arrives. Mr Wong Kang Seng had kindly took his whole Saturday off to oversee the parade and also stay behind for the dinner.

The GOH salute

Inspection of the contingents

I finally know the secret of an Officer's power - They get blessed by the representatives of the 8 different religions. POWER. . .

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The cadets bowing their heads in prayer

Mr. Wong making his graduation speech, which was suprisingly short. Barely 2 minutes. Even the GOHs in all BMTC parades speak longer than that. Hmmm. I wonder why. . .

Reciting the SAF pledge

The cadets prepare for the next segment of the parade which includes a march into the spectator stands, which by far was the most refreshing part of the parade since I have not seen it elsewhere.

Once again the very visible Jermaine is the 3rd person in the row after the 2 sword bearers. You rock bro!!!

A better mugshot of him

Notice the unsheathed bayonet attached to the M16? Well I heard that cadets have accidentally cut themselves while executing the drill "Ruso-senjata" during rehearsals. It involves flicking the rifle up and grabbing it by the handle with the foresight tip resting in between the armpits. A badly done job would mean the unsheathed bayonet being flicked right into you armpits or cutting one at the upper arms. OUCH.

The rest of the cadets clambering up the stairs to put their rifles away for the last and most important part of the parade.

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And they return!

With the secretly held 'bars of power' in the left hand

The final drill before the all important comissioning

The first close up pic of Jermaine in white with his girlfriend (Sorry did I mentioned he was taken already??? Hahaha)

The last picture of CADET Foo

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My folks comissioning the young one. It was really a memorable moment for the whole family. Though my parents didn't mention anything, nor do they know the significance of the rank, I can tell that they were very proud of Jermaine. Good job I say! Keep up the good work!

My very happy parents with the happier newly comissioned Jermaine

We're all as proud and happy as you are!

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Snap happy moments :

I managed to sneak a quick photo of the swords of the Sword-of-honour winners. And the officer guarding it gave me the look like he might pick up one and brandish it in my face to deter me from getting any closer or if I linger longer to take more pictures. Hahaha.

It may be a bar but still. . . I guess only those who have served in the army would know the real responsiblities borne by all commanders be it specialists or officers alike.

The parade square was filled with laughter and joy, something that is eons away in comparison to the blood, sweat and tears that would put any cadet this far for graduation.

I gotta say that the navy uniform beats that of the infantry anytime. Damn seems like people in the infantry always gets the lousy stuffs. I wished I was in a specialised division too! Hahaha.

Reciting of the officers creed


And its graduation lo!

The lovely sunset heralded the close of a very memorable day

The buddies and their parents

Apart from the threats to 'knock me down' (which you will never have a chance to anyway, wahaha!), I am personally very proud of the accomplishments of my younger brother. He has gone on to accomplish what my elder brother and I have failed to do so with our own capacities.

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As junior commanders we probably would not make much of a difference in the armed forces. There are always things that could have worked out better, or could have been made more efficient but we're powerless or not 'powerful' enough to do so. That does not really matter. Personally, the main reason why I choose to be a commander (pay aside) is not so much of the fact that one will have the supposed 'power' or 'prestige' within the forces. Nor was it totally for patriotism outright (I must stress in my case only). But its more so for the ABILITY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE WITHIN THOSE THAT EVER CROSS MY PATH throughout my years of national service, no matter how small. The difference made might be minute from a large scale point of view, but it means the world to those whom you've made an impact on. I know I have done it.

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And so I now wish that for you too Jermaine. All the best to you in the navy dear bro!