We have mandatory military conscription here. Every Singaporean son must serve the army/Air Force/navy for two years.

The first three months is an induction to army life, and every soldier is expected to pass the Standard Obstacle Course (SOC). He has to wear his army uniform and boots, carry his SBO and rifle, and navigate 11 obstacles. Here is how it looks like.

To add to the fun, you have to complete the course within a certain timing. When I initially enrolled into the army, I was quite scrawny. I excelled in running, but all these things wore me down, and I am not the physically strongest person to start with.

So, what happens when you fail the SOC? Oh the fun times continue. Basically, the officers would force us to retake the test repeatedly until we passed. I eventually scraped through it.

I dreaded the rest of my army days. Because we had to take SOC every year and I wondered how I was going to pass it as the requirement became more stringent, like a noose tied around my neck.

After my Basic Military Training, I was posted out to an Armour Infantry unit. Aside from my wife (NC16 rifle), I acquired a concubine. Here’s what I had to carry during outfield exercises:

Presenting to you my trusty law tube!

Back then, army training was rigorous. We had 4D3N or 3D2N outfield exercises like nobody’s business. We slept intermittently on our armoured vehicle and never changed our underwear. Oops TMI. I quite disliked this period of my life. Why did I have to sacrifice my sleep and walk aimlessly in some godforsaken forest in the wee hours of the morning, carrying both my wife and concubine?

Most times, I even had to run as my platoon mates flanked to attack the enemy.

However, the unexpected side benefit of all this chiong sua-ing (Hokkien for charging up a hill) was that I got really fit.

So fit that I passed my SOC the first time during my second year with no sweat even though the passing timing was harder. I weighed about the same as I did when I first entered the army. The difference was that by carrying that darned law tube every other day, my physical capacity had expanded beyond my wildest dreams.

So, that’s my limiting belief shattered for you. How about you?