I was really apprehensive when i reached the camp. You know from SAF Bands, then now you go to some combat unit and need to 'chiong sua'. And you don't know why they don't let you defer even with valid reasons. So yeah, i arrived camp with that mentality that it's going to be a sucky 6 day 5 night schedule.
After going through all the admin stuff, we found out what we'll be carrying for the next 10 years of ICT. Freaking hell 84MM.
That weapon weighs 16 freaking kilos!!!! I totally felt like a terrorist when i was carrying it.
To cut things short, from monday - wed, the whole section of 84mm gunners (newbies and veterans) went through a refresher course on how to strip / assemble the weapon, how to zero the weapon, how to load / unload the weapon, and finally how to do the IA drill.
And after all that, they expect US (the newbies) to be able to fire LIVE rounds during the live firing on Friday. Isn't it abit too rush?!?!
Live Firing
So friday came like in a flash. We took our vehicle and took off to some hill side area, within another camp. The view was spectacular. But the walk up the STEEP slope with all that equipment was a killer.
We were given a final briefing and the live firing commenced. It started with the commanders giving a demonstration... while the rest observe.
Imagine a concrete bay surrounding that guy and thats our position for firing.
The shock wave travelled all the way to us.. and before we have time to settle our nerves, the 2nd round went off. Bloody hell. Literally your balls can shrink and melt. The round flew all the way to the target board on the hill, 500m infront and exploded. So imagine doing that the whole day.
The impact was so great and it was SUPER loud. You can imagine the cannons you hear during NDP. I can already visualize myself standing just next to the weapon and firing it. Honestly, i thought i would die firing it. We were only trained for 4 days (IN THEORY ONLY) and now we're expected to fire something so powerful.
So when my turn came, i was in a trance mode. I didn't know what was going on... and i just followed the drill as we were taught. The weapon requires 2 person to operate. 1 firer and 1 person to load/unload the round. The plan was to have 2 people taking turns to shoot and load / unload. We had 2 rounds each.
I was assigned to do the loading for the first 2 rounds. So when my partner shot his weapon, i felt the shockwave slapped my arm and all the way from the feet up. It was fucking scary. Fucking as an adjective is appropriate in this context. There was the shockwave from the front, and also the backblast.
So when it was my turn to shoot, it felt A LITTLE better because you don't have to anticipate the shot. And for the record, i did not hit any targets. lol.
In total, the newbies shot 6 rounds each. 2 in the day and 4 in the night. At night we used this "Nighthawk" that allows you to see in the dark. Damn cool to see everything so clearly, but it's all in green. And then we tried another position to fire the weapon. SITTING position. The shockwave travelled from the bottom of my feet all the way to the groin plus sand flying all over from the shockwave. Madness.
After the 6 days, the experience just reassured me how the army "forces" you to come out of your comfort zone. And thats precisely why guys "grow up" after their national service. The army forces you to wake up early, forces you to eat yucky food, forces you to fire a weapon with minimum preparation, and the list goes on...
It also reassured me how the army is so inefficient. Until the last day, we were down waiting to book out and it took them 2hours to process everything before releasing us. Whole day long just rush to wait and wait to rush. *shakes head*
On the good side, I also made new friends who are much older than myself. My new section mates are a happy-go-lucky bunch of people. They do what they're supposed to do, and not doing anything extra.
I'm happy i survived this ICT.
So yes, i'm now officially converted to a 84mm operator. No longer service unit. now it's COMBAT unit.
p.s. not to mention, cookhouse food is still as sucky as it always does.
A quote from a section mate - 东西煮好吃一点很像会死这样!
p.p.s Being nsmen doing reservist is similar to BMT, but it's also different when it comes to the rules. Basically, there are no rules. I shan't mention anything illegal here.
p.p.p.s An advice to other people going for their first ICT. Go with an open mind. Do not compare, because it will only make you feel sad.
