[h=1]WHY IS THE SAF PUNISHING ME JUST BECAUSE I CAN'T PASS MY IPPT?[/h]
<!-- /.block --> <style>.node-article .field-name-ad-box-in-article {float: left;margin: 15px 15px 10px 0;}.node-article .field-tags{clear: both;}</style> Post date:
4 Jul 2014 - 10:39am
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Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Day is celebrated every July 1 to acknowledge the contributions of national servicemen — those on active or reservist duty, those who have completed their entire tour of duty, as well as regular service personnel.
Unfortunately, I did not feel particularly acknowledged or appreciated.
Let’s put it this way: I am pretty pudgy and have had problems passing my annual physical fitness test since I left active duty in 2003 and for the past seven years as a reserve in the army since I started my annual obligations in 2007 after completing university.
Since 2007, I have been fulfilling my National Service commitment on all fronts. I attend the annual in-camp training that is usually three weeks long, I fulfil all my duties with no disciplinary problems and work with my team-mates and unit. I also take my physical fitness test every year, I just do not pass it.
The physically fit who pass the annual test lose about three weeks of their civilian life attending in-camp training. I, however, could potentially lose another 12 weeks of civilian life completing the required 20 sessions of remedial training.
The NS system severely disrupts the lives of civilians who fail the annual Individual Physical Proficiency Test, as it has for the past seven years of my life, and does not appear to take into account the record of service. I do not cause any problems for my team-mates or superiors. I am just someone who did not pass the physical fitness test.
I have probably spent more time trying to pass this test than being a military reserve.
Those who have failed the annual physical fitness test might be a minority, but we have also fulfilled the same obligations as everyone else.
Brian Koh
*A version of this letter first appeared on the writer’s blog.
<!-- /.block --> <style>.node-article .field-name-ad-box-in-article {float: left;margin: 15px 15px 10px 0;}.node-article .field-tags{clear: both;}</style> Post date:
4 Jul 2014 - 10:39am
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Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Day is celebrated every July 1 to acknowledge the contributions of national servicemen — those on active or reservist duty, those who have completed their entire tour of duty, as well as regular service personnel.
Unfortunately, I did not feel particularly acknowledged or appreciated.
Let’s put it this way: I am pretty pudgy and have had problems passing my annual physical fitness test since I left active duty in 2003 and for the past seven years as a reserve in the army since I started my annual obligations in 2007 after completing university.
Since 2007, I have been fulfilling my National Service commitment on all fronts. I attend the annual in-camp training that is usually three weeks long, I fulfil all my duties with no disciplinary problems and work with my team-mates and unit. I also take my physical fitness test every year, I just do not pass it.
The physically fit who pass the annual test lose about three weeks of their civilian life attending in-camp training. I, however, could potentially lose another 12 weeks of civilian life completing the required 20 sessions of remedial training.
The NS system severely disrupts the lives of civilians who fail the annual Individual Physical Proficiency Test, as it has for the past seven years of my life, and does not appear to take into account the record of service. I do not cause any problems for my team-mates or superiors. I am just someone who did not pass the physical fitness test.
I have probably spent more time trying to pass this test than being a military reserve.
Those who have failed the annual physical fitness test might be a minority, but we have also fulfilled the same obligations as everyone else.
Brian Koh
*A version of this letter first appeared on the writer’s blog.
