Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Reunions and the like







Last week my SSC intake had a reunion. This was the fourth and certainly different, as we visited Kem Sebatang Karah-the place where we were destined to know one another 34 years ago. It was memory lane all the way. Some features were no longer there, but remnants of familiar buildings,shooting range,arms kote et. were there for us to view and recall. At the BBQ, later that night, we talked of the Two M and one S of basic training. We were made to understand that the Army is reverting to this. The Melt, Mould and Shine concept worked well for us at PreOCTU (as the unit was called then). Our camaraderie and comradeship has not faded after all these years and we were certainly delighted to catch up on each other. Sad to say that when I tried to organise one for the regiment we shared once upon a time, it was a disaster. only two of us turned up. I was very taken aback when during my SSC reunion, one chap made a very profound statement. He stated that our intake shall shrink in numbers and eventually there will be one last man standing.How true this is, I thought. His point was for us to record our forays and let the last man standing to give it to someone for posterity sake. In the same spirit I wish for us to "leave some record"and let the next generation know how it was with us. Food for thought, certainly this is.