weekends are getting more boring

this week went by quite well. it was really fun taking the new golf cadets, guiding them on their first day and teaching them about different weapons like the claymore mine, trip flare and the SAW.

this coming week is going to be hell as there's grand slam. fortunately, it has been cut down to 4 days 3 nights from Mon to Thurs because we need to rest on Fri in preparation for Sports Day on Sat. I have not served my 2 extras yet, but I have a bad feeling that it's going to be on this coming weekend or during the long national day holiday.

oh well.. I'm okay with serving the 2 extras anyway, it seems like my book out days are getting more mundane and boring. I just felt quite fucked up about the reason why I got the 2 extras. I felt like I was being used as a scapegoat/warning to the rest that the discipline standard must be high. After so much effort I put in as an LPS, I am rewarded with 2 extras. Nice. Whereas those that didn't do a good job as an LPS didn't kana anything. I guess it just goes to show that you can make mistakes in the army as long as you don't get caught.

anyway, I spent my weekend lazing around at home again, just like last weekend. sigh. Sometimes you feel as if you have a lot of friends, but then suddenly the realisation comes crashing down that maybe you don't. I want to go out and do something rather than staying at home all day just resting. It seems as though ever since I enlisted, things haven't been going very well for me. But I won't blame army totally for that, I think it is just my bad luck sometimes.

argh freaking bored as hell.

it is weird that we all can't wait to book out in camp, yet when we finally book out, we are left with an empty feeling of not knowing what to do next.

Ultimax 100

So I was feeling quite bored and went to find out more information about the Ultimax 100 Mark 3, otherwise known as the SAW (Section Automatic Weapon) which is the rifle that I use most of the time. Apparently there are many reviews out there by foreigners about the SAW. It was even reviewed by fpsrussia on YouTube LOL. I had no idea that the SAF was that open about its weapons. But anyway, I agree with most of the comments made by the reviewers.

First of all, the name Ultimax 100 really sounds stupid as mentioned by one of the reviewers. I think they should call it SAW21 but let it stand for Singapore Automatic Weapon instead LOL

However, I agree that this is a great weapon because of its extremely low/non existent recoil. From my own experience, this weapon is easy on the shoulders because you don't have to press in the butt stock that much to fire accurately. Moreover, the rate of fire is reasonable for an automatic weapon and it is cool that there is a front grip for the firer to hold on to for stability. The Mark 3 variant also allows the firer to strip the barrel making it easier for cleaning as compared to its predecessors.

Overall I like using the SAW, despite its notoriety amongst NSFs for its risk of Negligent Discharge (ND). However, the only damn problem I have with the SAW is its magazine housing. I'm not sure if it's because the M16 magazine it uses sucks or the housing doesn't fit in the magazine properly, causing frequent jams because the bullets aren't fed properly. That was what caused me to experience a lot of IAs yesterday during the Section Quick Attack for both blanks and live rounds. Tried to change the gas regulator to the highest setting of 3 but I still experienced IAs and had to waste time clearing them argh. Not sure if it's because I snap the trigger (which is a bad habit of mine) or the magazine problem mentioned by so many reviewers. One suggestion was to tie a black rubber band from the magazine to the trigger guard so as to push the magazine backwards, causing the bullet to be parallel to the bolt so that it will fire off properly and not cause an IA. Maybe I'll try that next time, cause most of the IAs I experienced had an empty cartridge stuck in the bolt.

I think I'm boring people out who don't understand wtf i'm talking about so here's a picture of the weapon I found on google. Don't charge me please I didn't take a photo of the weapon in camp this is from google damn it.



and the mark 5 variant which I think should be used instead cause it looks way cooler:



anyway the new cadets are coming in on monday, and i'll be taking golf coy! kinda excited to teach them about the SAW cause that's the station i'm in charge of :)

Random thoughts

Doing guard duty now and I'm really bored. 

Was thinking about something my parents said about me recently. 

They told me that I was weird/strange because I always took the path less travelled. 

When I asked them why, they gave me some examples in my life. 

I chose to go NJ even though I had no idea what the school was like at all. I only knew NJ existed on the day I opened the JAE booklet during O level results day. 

I chose to take aerospace engineering in uni even though most people would try for prestigious courses like medicine with my grades (I'm not boasting about my grades, it's what my parents said)

I expressed strong interest for SCS even though most people would express interest for OCS for the prestige and pride, largely due to societal pressure. But to me, the choice between being a sergeant or an officer is not about which one is better than the other, it's about which job you prefer as a person. It's about which role suits your personality. And to me, I think I would have made a better sergeant even if I may have qualified for OCS. 

Though my parents sometimes think I'm quite foolish for making such unconventional decisions, I don't regret any of them. All of these choices that I have made have exposed me to a world that I've never knew and broadened my perspective on life. 

So I don't really think I'm a strange/weird person. Just because someone behaves differently from the majority, doesn't make him completely different from the others. It's the decisions we make that makes us unique from one another. I mean, can you find any other person in this world who is an NJ climber training to be a sergeant and aspiring to work in the aerospace industry in the future?

I hope whatever shit I just said made some sense cause I was just typing whatever came to mind. Off to prowl with  Fareez now lol

every week again and again

haven't blogged for v long because I was so caught up with army training that i'm just too tired to gather my emotions. the days are getting tougher and tougher that not a single week is relaxed any more. so much shit has happened recently that I just don't know what to say.

being the army has not taught me about brotherhood and camaraderie, it has taught me to be a selfish bastard. the way some people push the blame to others just to cover their own ass makes me sick. but it's the only way to survive in this harsh and rigid organisation. these days, i don't see a need to help others in the army any more. after all, I was forced to know and live with them. it was not like in JC where you could choose who to mix with. so why should I help people who are just strangers to me? of course, I did make some friends in army, but they just come and go with every new posting that it's hard to catch up with them. it's even hard to try and meet up with old friends these days...

i'm sorry whoever you are that's reading this, it must really suck to hear me rant about army on almost every single blog post ever since I enlisted. but I guess there's nothing more to talk about in my life right now. maybe it's the miserable feeling of having to book in again, to yet another challenging week.

celebrated my parents' birthday recently. my mum's birthday is on the 5th and my dad's birthday is on the 6th. kinda cool how their birthdays are so close to each other, just like how they've been for the past 27 years. i'm really thankful for all the support they've been giving me ever since I enlisted, it's nice to come back to an inviting family every time I book out. If it wasn't for them, I would totally have no motivation to serve any more. I guess it is true that every singaporean son has to defend his country because this is home to his family... it may sound like a shitload of propaganda but it's something I agree with...

gonna start packing my bag, have my dinner and set off for camp soon. probably won't update in a long time.