Space and Time

Space and time are curious properties. Change either or both of them and our lives can be altered ever so dramatically. Here we are on this tropical island, just north of the equator, where peace reigns and there is relative prosperity. But travel thousands of miles northwest to the country of Iraq or Afghanistan, and there violence rules and poverty is prevalent. Or travel back in time here in Singapore to 1942 and there we would find blood being shed in the defence of this island. Or travel back in time to 6th June 1944 at the Normandy coast, and there we would find the waters of the English Channel dyed red with blood. Is it not amazing how vastly different our lives could have been were any of these 2 properties changed? And yet few of us who live in peace realise that even as I type these words, there are probably people, people just like us, 19 and just out of high school, who are risking their lives trying to make a difference.

Watching Black Hawk Down in camp the other day made me realised just how similar we were to some of the US troops who had fought in that battle. Similar in the sense that they were not much older than we are. Similar in that they too came from an enviroment not very different from ours, having just finished high school in a first world country and serving in the military (although their enlisting was voluntary). And yet, there was such a world of difference. As I watched the battle unfold, I wondered just what I would have done were I in their shoes. I wondered how I would have reacted under the heavy fire, and if I could have continued to lead a platoon of men while people are getting shot all around me. And here's the chilling part. I could have easily been in their shoes. Its just all about being born at the right time and place. Why I wasn't is a question to which I do not have an answer to. All I know is that I could have easily been in their shoes. For that matter, I could have been one of those men fighting on the beaches of Normandy. All it would have took was for me to have been born at such a time whereby all able-bodied men were drafted into the military to fight in a war far away from 'home'. At the other end of the spectrum, I could also have been born into a country torn and ravaged by civil war, a place where hope for a future would seem dim if not non-existent. Why then, am I placed in such a safe and secure place while others are condemned to such a hard life? I do not know, and can only thank God for his grace that He has placed me in a peaceful nation. But why then, some might question, is God so unfair as to place countless many millions in such hardship? Indeed, where is the fairness in this world? Well, I guess the 'fairness' in this world was thrown away the instant evil came into the world. However, I do believe that God is still fair and just, 'for to whom much is given, much will be expected'. Truly, 'all that we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us'.

Yet, it is sad that most of us who have been so richly blessed don't give a second thought to those who are less fortunate, choosing instead to turn a blind eye to their troubles by living in our own secure and safe world. And it is ironic, that most of those who choose to try to make a difference tend to come from less fortunate backgrounds. Somehow, most of those who have been richly blessed have grown to become distrusting and cynical about the world and its governments; and instead of helping to change the world for the better, choose instead to merely occupy themselves with meaningless things. There's something about extraordinary things coming from ordinary people. More often than not, it is those who are thought of as 'ordinary' who does extraordinary things. More often than not, courage is found in the most unlikely of people. Perhaps the following excerpt from What was asked of Us best illustrates the point. 'It's funny who ends up being awarded the medals in wartime. It isn't the guy you expect it is going to be. It doesn't have to be the best leader. It doesn't have to be the guy that everbody thinks is gung ho. It doesn't have to be the guy that everybody would say is the guy who would win the Medal of Honor. You know who it is? It's the kid who basically scored just enough to get into the military. It's the kid who, when I was a drill instructor at boot camp, would stand and stare at the Pacific Ocean and start crying because it was the first time he had ever seen it in his entire life. I would get a kid that I would have to make go into the bathroom and shave, and I would have to do it for him....His hygiene was so poor because he had never been taught. It's the kids that come into the marine corps at eighteen who never had shoes on their feet, and we're putting them on the battlefield out there and saying, Defend the United States of America from enemies foreign and domestic, and these kids do everything and even more than what is ever required of them.' Isn't it strange that those whom the country cares least for are the very people who would sacrifice their life for its defence? War is certainly a terrible thing, and I am in no way advocating that the best way to serve the world is to sign up in the military. But what is important, is that we should start believing that we can make that difference, and let us all stop being cynical and uncaring.

'Gentlemen, we are at war.'

Maybe it was just me, but I could literally feel the tension in the air as we marched to the briefing room to receive the warning orders. There was just something different on that occasion, simply because we knew that was it. That was the finale; everything that we have trained for boiled down to that. Perhaps it was the curt way we marched, or the crisper than usual commands, or the brisker than usual walk, or even the gloomy weather. There was this aura about us, this silent eagerness to quickly get the job over and done with. Well, it is all over.

On the whole, I think we did ok. Surprisingly, it wasn't quite as bad as we imagined it to be. Relative to our training back home, it was actually pretty decent, thanks mostly to the weather which was fabulous over there at this time of the year (the hot and humid weather of Singapore really drains you like nothing else does). Sleep deprivation was similar to back at home, but by now we were all used to getting 2 hours of sleep per day, so that wasn't really much of an issue (for me at least). I was expecting worst actually, like 0 hours of sleep for a couple of days. Thank goodness we didn't had to do that. And so, we are now all back at home, and I guess I should be thankful that we all made it back safely. Not all who went there came back alive. The new training shed behind our barracks was a testament to that.

Live firing was an awesome display of firepower, and a grim if otherwise silent reminder of the heavy responsibility that lie upon our shoulders as commanders of armoured forces. I couldn't help but reflect upon this as I looked around myself while doing marshalling duties for the vehicles enroute to the range. It was the first glimpse I had of the civillian world since going over there, and in a way, it was refreshing after spending all the time there in a military base with its dull grey buildings. The spot I was doing duty at was somewhat picturesque. It was situated on the slope going up to a plateau, with beatuiful houses lining the side of the street. Below me lay the rest of the city spreading away in the slight mist of the morning from the plateau. It was a cool morning, and there I was at the intersection, in almost full combat gear minus the weapon, (we later stripped down to just plain green fatigues because we would look so alien to be there in combat gear. Goodness knows who made the silly call to go out there with everything) overwatching the intersection and trying to make sure that no accident occurred. Young children were playing outside the houses, and mothers were bringing their kids out to the nearby parks or to schools. The playful voices of the children filled the air as they went about in their own trouble free world, oblivious to our ominous presence. Ominous, because while it is our duty to preserve and protect, ultimately, we are still agents of death and destruction. And we were there to perfect the art of bringing destruction. I could hardly imagine a starker contrast. Yet, without us, that is exactly what would happen. The irony of it all indeed, that it is only by the threat of destruction on both ourselves and others that destruction is held at bay.

Nevertheless, the sight of the children running about carefreely served as a wonderful reminder on the importance of our current jobs. Sure, those weren't our citizens, and in a way, we are not obliged to protect them since we were never sworn to do so. But I cannot imagine us withholding back should any of them be in a life-threatening situation. Freedom is sadly, not free of charge. But it has to be bought, and so bought at a high price. It is easy to forget what one is fighting for in the heat of a battle. To those who have fought in real wars, the agony and torture that remains after must be terrible, for in the heat of battle, all such ideals of preserving and protecting flees from the mind only to be consumed with hatred, vengeance and savagery, more so when one's friends start falling under a hail of bullets. Terrible acts are committed in the heat of the moment, and while the ultimate intention may be to preserve and protect, it certainly wasn't at that moment. The line between the both is so thin that it is so easy to simply slip into a mind which hungers for blood. And in so fighting our enemy, we have became the very enemy which we swore to defend against. Perhaps that is one of the hardest thing to accomplish in warfare, especially in this new war of terror. To not become who we are defending against, that of the mindless, blood hungry creatures. For it we become like them, then we would have lost the war wholly to them.

Well, before I end off, I would once again like to give my thanks and respect to those who have traded their peace of mind by serving in the various theatres of war in the hope of bringing peace and security to the rest of the world. In many ways, they have paid the ultimate price, for the peace of mind is priceless. Yet, they have so paid it, in the belief that they will make a positive difference. That much deserves our sincere thanks and gratitude.

Here are some pics which we took over there. Due to security reasons however, a large number of them would be inapproriate to publish.

A breathtaking view of our training area with a city extending out below us into the plains.

The land falling away to a coastal plain with the sea on its left.

Sunset

Sunset with vehicles in the background

Oh, just an interesting sidenote, I'm now going off to try out a new spaghetti recipe that I retrieved while picking up rubbish (we were doing area cleaning) at the vehicle park over at the base there. Lol.