Leadership

That was the topic we were on today. Major Nathan played Episode 7 of the Band of Brothers, even though I have the box I haven't had time to finish it, so I have never been across the episode, however, this one episode displayed the ethos of many characters in the series. However, I notice that there are always good and bad officers, be it in the Singaporean, British or the US army. All the system does is to sieve out the better officers while some just slips through the system. Yet, it is heartening to see that there are indeed more good officers than bad ones. Then again, the method of judging an officer differs from country to country too. Does doing well as a Cadet has a correlation as to whether you will become a good officer in the future. Maybe to a certain extent, with the fact that most commissioning courses tests the Cadets to the limit and doing well in it meant that one can handle both mental and physical stress. But what about the average Cadets, will they not do well in the future? I guess not. What is more important would be the spirit of learning, to never stop learning or be complacent. No one will be an eternal winner, but we can always have the spirit of learning going on, at least then you know you are moving along and not stagnating or 'marking time'.

C2DRIL was what our Commandant live by. Selfless commitment, courage, discipline, respect, integrity, and loyalty. These are the values and standards that he holds dear to himself and I guess every officers should have some core values that they live by. These will be the bedrock or foundation of their career, when shit happens, they know that they can rely on such values to make a decision. A decision that might not be right, but a decision nonetheless, so at least things will continue moving and not stagnate.

All in all, easier said than done. And those that emerge from the shittiest situation will be the epitome of a great officer.