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.

I have decided that I should blog when I can, and use it as a way to rant or just to reflect upon my day. After Ex First Encounter, we are launching ourselves into the Faraday Hall stretch, lots of lessons and "intellectual stimulation". However, I still have yet to recover from the sleep lost from Ex First Encounter, still feeling slightly lethargic and not being able concentrate during lectures and lessons.

After going into the Gas Chamber today, we had two periods of PT and then a whole stretch of lessons. The lesson by my CABS (Communication and Applied Behavioral Science) tutor on creative thinking was good. The fact that as military commanders we need to think out of the box and at times consider a different approach to a certain situation was what we needed. Especially as Infantry officers, sometimes it is not simply about taking the objective from the left, right or center, creative methods could be applied into tactics and most of the time that is how you win a battle.

DIA however was boring, there seem to be no value add to the lesson, partly it might be due to the fact that I am not very well versed with the current terrorist situation all around the world but the tutor simply asks for input from the ground and does not really give us much information during the lesson.

In any case, it has been a tiring day. The problem with Sandhurst, too much curriculum, too little time, always rushing from point to point. Start of the Faraday Hall stretch, hopefully it gets better..:)

Hey dear,

Just came back from route march. Saw two British cadets quarreling with one of the foreign cadets from Nigeria. Don't know whether it is done on purpose or that we cannot comprehend what some of the British cadets are saying, but I feel that some of the instructors seem to be more harsh on the foreign cadets than the British ones. The fact that the other three foreign cadets in my platoon do not have a good grasp of English causes the platoon to have this animosity towards foreign cadets, seeing us as people who do not understand English, thus not being to comprehend instructions as quickly as they can thus slowing the platoon down. This makes it really hard for me to communicate with them as I feel that they have this negative impression about foreign cadets. And I do not know how to better communicate with the rest of the foreign cadets as I get frustrated sometimes too. HELP!

Dear Harrison,

I felt so sad hearing you speak over the phone. You sound so sian every time I talk to you... and the worst part is, I don't even know how to help you.

This reminds me of the time back in mid-J2 after we broke up. One evening after studying at the library I came to look for you at the council bench. Suddenly I just burst into tears saying that I felt no motivation to study at all. I couldn't find the reason for studying and attempting to do well. Getting good grades just means getting into a good university and the course of my choice; after that it's on to getting a good job and leading a happy life, blahblahblah. It bored me, and I didn't want that to be the reason why I should study. Everything was so bleak too... I didn't do well for block test 2 and there was just too much content I didn't understand. Every mock paper that I tried to do, I couldn't finish half. And those questions I thought I knew how to answer, I got them wrong. It was overwhelming. And I felt like giving up...

So I came to you. You were busy studying, I remember... I was asking myself if I should be looking for you since you did break up with me so you could focus on your studies. But there wasn't really anyone else I could turn to. I don't think anyone would understand me like you did. And you had seen me cry so many times until you probably wouldn't find it weird anymore if I cried in front of you. (You know me -- I hate crying in front of anyone else.)

And you talked to me. You just spent time listening to me and letting me say whatever I wanted to say. The best thing wasn't actually what you said to me, but the fact that you were there physically just for me to say something to and to see you respond to me.

I want to help you, dear. I know it's not easy over there. I think I'd break too, having stupid men yell at me all day. But you can't break. No. Your going there is not just for yourself. It's for everyone who believes in you. For your family. For your peers. For your superiors. For me. You have so much to prove to everyone around you too. To prove that you're more than just a Chinese dude who can speak pretty decent English. So you can't break. God forbid you should ever give up.

Take everything one step at a time. It'll surely help you if you keep everything in perspective. Set small goals for yourself. Keep yourself occupied. Everything will work out fine. You need to believe that. You need to believe in yourself. You can do this.

Give me a call whenever you're free. I can't be there in person, but I'll do my best to tide you through your year in the UK. I promise.

Love,
Claire

Hello Harrison! Happy Chinese New Year!! I've collected quite a bit of angpao money over these two days... heheheh :D And I've eaten way too many biscuits, crackers, sweets, chocolates, and cups of ice cream! I'm going to go over the 50kg mark, I just know it! :'( Anyway, this is a picture of me and my brother in our house. I hope I can get to bring you along and show you off to all my relatives on both my dad's and mum's side next CNY! And let's take manymanymany photos together!! :D

This is what I wore on the second day of CNY when I went over to my grandmother's house for the day. Nice?? :D The pants were bought by my mum from Dubai and they're one size too small, unfortunately. It's really uncomfortable to wear :'( But quite nice right? :D

And look at this super cute thing! HAHAHAit's a rubberband! I took it out of my bag and left it on the table in the sun when I got home, and after a few hours it turned into this shape!!! I think it's a special kind of rubberband that was originally in this shape. Have you seen this before? It's SOOOOOOOOOOOOO CUTE!!!!!!! Sigh~

Shall post more soon okay! Stay tuned ~ <3

Dear Claire,

Abit down today. Its CNY and I am still having lectures after lectures, did not treat the people around me very well either. There was this guy who asked me if I understood a movie that was played during one of the lectures and I asked him why not, in a not very nice tone I guess. Then I guess he did not really want to talk to me afterwards. Just feeling abit moody and tired. I know I should be more positive and try to make new friends but it just gets so tiring sometimes. Haha! Tell me about CNY! Post pics!:D

Dear Claire,

Thank you for creating this blog and inviting me to be part of it. I hope that this is where we can post pictures that we want each other to see as we are in different sides of the globe at this point of time. I just want to say that I have been missing you. Talking to you face to face, hugging you and kissing you on the cheeks. Though all this cant be done till I am back in April, I hope that we can continue to communicate to each other and with technology we not fall apart! I LOVE YOU! Take care! <3