"If the English language made any sense, a catastrophe would be an apostrophe with fur." - Doug Larson

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On RT:


Mr Wang: "I do expect soldiers to be fitter than the general population."

So do I. And actually I'm sure they are. Full-time soldiers, that is.

Not people who only put on a military uniform for a total of 1, 2 or 3 weeks a year.

Anon: Easy way to get out of all this IPPT/RT rubbish is migrate. I did that eight years ago, and have never seen the inside of an SAF camp ever since. Good riddance.

Anon: @wenxiu:

So you feel that the will of the individual should be subjugated to that of the system/few running said system?

We've been through that before, and you can see just how well the USSR/Nazi Germany/Imperial Japan turned out.

Anon: I've encountered more Internet hardmen than I've in reality.

If many more people would be equally passionate when it comes to doing their jobs as they are when slamming people for being lazy/not exercising, many of this world's problems will be solved.

Anon: I don't know how you can siam RT/IPPT. But I do know how you can do that for your yet-to-be-born sons - make sure your wife give birth in Canada or USA. Citizenship by Birth! Lots of Taiwanese and Hong Kongers have been doing that for decades. Just read carefully, the next time you come across a news article about such and such an actress giving birth. What can be easier? Just a 12 hour flight will spare your son a life-time of agony. And it is not even more expensive than Singapore.

Oh, there is a bonus in it for you too - your son can apply Canadian/American PR for you when he turns 21. Give a few more years for you to get citizenship, and it's just about time to collect all your CPF money when you relinguish singapore citizenship.

See? At least two birds killed with one stone! Ha!

Anon: >From a female point of view, NS is indeed outdated in SG. Just look at Taiwan, conscription has been reduced from 2 years to 1 year. China is just next door but who cares as they feel 1 year is just rite.

Also, look at France that has abolished conscription way back in the late 1990s, they rely on their Foreign Legion to fight their wars in French colonies in Africa & Carribean islands. They recruit from all over the world, they even have mainland Chinese in Foreign Legion too based on a recent article in International Herald Tribune. Best thing is they are a loyal force to France.

If Spore gahment day in day out keep punching their hands in the air & shouting "Foreigners good lah, come come, you Sinkie citizens better welcome them". My reply to gahment is that you might as well recruit these foreigners into our military to serve as regulars. If France can do it so can you. USA also has a mercenary force operating in Afghanistan & Iraq, if you think those TV images that you see are of true blue Americans, then you are wrong cos these are Pinoys, Hispanics & Caribbeans who do NOT hold US citizenship. Only upon completing their tour of duty would they be given USA citizenship. It was reported in the news recently that the USA could not have done without these mercenaries.

So Spore gahment can simply recruit from
China - since there are so many FTs from this country might as well make it more merry by recruiting shiploads of Chinese peasants from rural areas. They will be eternally grateful to serve Spore for the rest of their lives if you cloth & feed them & their families.

India & Nepal - ditto above for China.

Upset: I faced a different problem: that of doing well in IPPT.

I am a reservist NSman in my mid-20s and still studying in university. I took my IPPT last year and got gold.

Because of that I was hit with a SAF 100 last week telling me to attend weekly training sessions for a running competition.

The sessions are held before 8am every Saturday. I was given a week's notice.

Is this permitted by law?

[Someone on Facebook: haha my friend also kena... he was worse - got Silver for IPPT and got asked to join the ARR (Armour Road Relay).]

Anon: Although I've suffered through all three arms of NS - Police, Army and Civil Defense, as well as reservist in two of them, I'm not giving the following comments along the lines of "I have suffered, then so should the rest of you".

Rather, I'm speaking clinically as a fellow taxpayer.

Yes, as we are all taxpayers, we have to realise that reservist training costs money. Those who go through the regular training go under the regular Defense budget. Those who fail and need extra training would become an extra burden to us, the taxpayers.

In this light, I have to conclude that the $100 is not a punishment/fine, rather it's a small contribution to lessen the burden to the taxpayers. I'm willing to bet that the $100 is actually not enough to cover the true cost of conducting the extra training course plus the second test. (Never mind that SAF itself calls it a fine.)

As a taxpayer, I urge Rob and those like him to look at the $100 as an equitable sharing of cost between him and the rest of us (taxpayers), arising from his failure to pass the required standard.

Now, there are those who will quibble with what is the correct standard, or even if NS itself is right or wrong, but that is outside the scope of my comments. We have to focus on the specific issue and make the proper conclusions before dealing with broader issues.

So, assuming that we small fries are not able to change the test standards, or not able to abolish NS itself, I ask fellow taxpayers what do you prefer? To pay entirely for all the extra training costs of reservists who failed, or to share the extra cost with those who failed?

Anon: going along the lines of those who say "i can pass IPPT, why can't you, you stupid?"

i dont roll over credit card debts every month, why can't you?

i can fix and troubleshoot pc problems, why can't you?

I can cook, why can't you?

I can take care of babies, why can't you?

i know enough not to touch weird investment products like minibonds and high notes way before the whole thing blew up, why can't you?

i can grow my own vegetables instead of buying those from market that're treated (whatever), why can't you?

typical smokescreens to sidetrack from the main issue, which is

"Is there room for improvement in the RT system?"

Anon: I wish to thank myself and all NS men, past & present, for 45 years of peace. Peace to grow this island republic into one great metropolis.

Today our AWAC watches over the island like a hawk, our fighting falcons comb the skies and swoop down at Paya Lebar and our subs snoop the rims of the region.

Our infantry is ever ready with its cutting-edge fighting machines stand ready to defend our mothers, wives, sisters, daughters and our way of life.

Thanks a million our comrades in arms!

Me: Our mothers, wives, sisters, daughters can defend themselves just as well as our fathers, husbands, brothers and sons.

Then again, knowing Singaporean women...