Thank you for having me, Mr. YG. I enjoyed our conversation and learning from you. I believe that in life, everyone is a subject matter expert in something, and that we can always learn from one another. If it has not been made clear in the interview or from my social media, I cannot stress it enough that the power of will and hard work always beats talent when talent does not work hard enough. I proudly share that I was the last ranking cadet in my SAF OCS batch 6 years ago. I didn't know why I was kept in OCS, despite my poor peer reviews and evaluated performances, but I believed my stay in OCS to be a sign that there was something that the higher ups saw in me, which I may not. I was sick and tired of allowing failure to define me. I was tired of allowing negativity to be the guide in my life. Quitting is the suicide of all potential. So after OCS, I made the conscious decision to improve on myself, to strengthen my heart, my mind, and learn to cast all the negativity and convert it all into positive fuel. I chose to sign the Marines as an enlisted, because I wanted to start from the very bottom and earn my way up. I wanted to know, feel, and experience what it is like from the bottom up, to build an understanding of the enlisted side, because these brave men and women make up the majority of any military, and serves as the backbone of the military, not officers. Being an officer to me is a responsibility and mindset that does not make one better than others, or more privileged, but rather it is a position of leadership and example, to serve, help, and guide an organization to challenge itself to be better, and that all starts by being the change that you want to see. It does not matter where we start, but where we end. We are all in this life together. Whether in the military or civilian world, I respect and thank you all for your time in watching this video. I hope that you all achieve happiness in all that you set yourselves to. Stay Solid! - Raynor
When you have an intrinsic fear among NSFs of getting "stomped" in uniform doing something small or inconsequential, instead of pride wearing the uniform, then you know there is something deeply wrong with the system here and how servicemen are treated.
@Eminem Jr Exactly, couldn’t agree with you more. Even simple things like seating on a MRT seat when you’re tired. If you are in uniform, you’ll get disapproving looks from the general public. Those so called “born and bred Singaporeans” has no real respect for soldiers’ sacrifices of time and effort for the their comfort and safety. Psst, I even had a mother from an ex-gf of mine whom openly showed her disgust of me dating her daughter simply because I was an NSF then earning peanuts… Unbelievable! 🙄
@@Callsign-Blade_RunnerSG u know why Singaporean disrespect soldiers? Becos Singaporean mentality like "so what. I served too." So who's fault? Are our own arrogance attitude fault. I was a regular and after my service I treated a NSF drink at a coffeeshop who was sharing the same table with me and told him thank you for your service before I left.
That's literally the point dude...the whole point of tekan is to induce emotional stress just like war times....u keep saying small or inconsequential, it is literally the small details that matter during war. U talk a lot here, that's because you and ur friends are still alive, do u know how "small" mistakes caused sentries to get their heads beheaded during deployment? Is the system wrong, or is the issue with adherence to the system? Lets take a look at ALL accidents in the past decade. Literally due to lack of ADHERENCE to safety protocols, not due to LACK of protocols themselves. I myself was being backstabbed by my OC, yet i am not blinded by rage to simply blame it on the "system" and instead know it is acts of individuals in different unite that lead to ppl hating NS.
@@johnwig285 First of all, let's define tekan, specifically in Malay. It means Bully/Torture/Put under pressure. As an ex-regular as an infantry combat specialist, diploma graduate in nursing, plus someone who is NCAP theory and FISAF fitness instructor certified, I can assure everyone here that how tekan is applied generally in SAF is just to bully and torture. Simply because tekan doesn't require learning and careful thought. It's something even a child can do. And trust me, SAF's leadership and management hate learning and thinking carefully. They just want the easy way.
Dude is speaking the truth not about Singapore army but our society as a whole. So myopic and so much unnecessary competition. Even the toxicity he mentioned in SAF in the beginning is a textbook example of our Singapore culture.
Navy is a bit more flexible, air force I'm not sure. Army depends on how lucky you are. I got one friend who had a good time in his regiment but a few in other regiments who got the toxic treatment mr raynor talked abt
@@tfox1919 actually air force too, I was from the RSAF air defence and actually the work culture is somewhat more relaxed here compared to the army cos the regulars NCOs and officers here are quite chill with us but still there are alot of office politics around among the different flights
@@noproblematallmate You missed the point. While having SOP helps to standardised processes, Too much SOP causes more harm than good when situations calls for adaptability and flexibility.
Raynor, totally agree with what you have said so eloquently. Your positive outlook are lacking in many Singaporeans not only in the SAF. Mistakes are frowned upon. We do not look at mistakes as opportunities to learn and get better. So sad. All the best to you.
Raynor is an ex-sporean who fullfil his NS duties as an artillery officer. We respect you for that, Raynor. First & Foremost, we Sporean men would like to say a big Thank you for your service. Raynor, You have a strong vision and guts of steel. All the best for your career in Aviation in the Marine Corps.. Unlike some PR kids who escape and ditch citizenship just to escape National service. There are plenty of them.
@@AliBaba-vw7mo It depends on the age when that Msian got his SG PR, after certain age, he wont be required to serve NS and still able to get citizenship. That being said, if he is married and have male kids, his male child will have to serve NS to keep their citizenship. I know of Msian who got SG PR and then got SG citizenship without serving NS as well. If you know the law well, you will be able to find/know the loopholes.
First half into the video. Rayner has already commanded my respect. He has not only shared with us how was his NS journey like but also the truth about our defense that we as a nation should be aware of. Dude rayner, you arent alone when you said you faced such experiences back in command school. Proud of whatever you have gone through man
This is great and spot on. The insight received is eye opening, as someone who is currently serving the saf and experienced first hand the I’ll treatment by fellow cadets in command school. I understand exactly how it feels, and the fact that he managed to acknowledge that he just had to shift his mindset and just do it and carry on is truly motivating. I’m glad I saw this. I hope that this guy does well in his future endeavors.
An honest down to earth evaluation of the self.Glad the SAF environment did eventually got him on his feet. We all wish you all the best in your career with the US Marine.Good luck soldier👌👋🙂
Hope the SAF can learn from this honest conversation and review through all their training process. I am surprised to know that tekan culture is still rampant and sure is affecting the training level.
The problem with the tekan culture is from being unable to accept ill-performance. Men coming together to work as a team can seriously fuck up sometimes. If that happens, instead of tekan, tell them where they fucked up. Then do it again and fuck up less. Note that I said fuck up less because the military is full of fuck ups and you actually win by fucking up less than the enemy. Look at the current Russia-Ukraine conflict for a good example. All exercises and maneuvers are drills and you just keep doing it over and over again to get better. Tekan is a waste of time that can be dedicated to performing better training.
@@jinngeechia9715 Yes we need to train more thinking and confident soldiers and not one that learn based on tekan and hard punishment. SAF needs to shake off this outdated culture
I enlisted in 1983 for my NS and here's my experience from so many years ago: How you're treated in OCS (and in general schools) really depends on who your mentor (or instructor) is. Some instructors are known to be abusive and are really a-holes who, during a real war, would probably be shot by "friendly" fire. Unfortunately once you get "marked" in school, which I think Raynor, unfortunately was, whatever mistakes that you make (which all of us know will be many) is amplified by being "marked". I was pretty lucky that I was not "marked" and didn't get any special punishment. Although, unfortunately, there was a marked person in another company who had a really bad time -- and all of us knew that it was unreasonable and extra-curricular from this particular PC (who had a reputation for being an a-hole). But once I was posted to my SIR, my entire experience changed. My unit has its own protocols and culture. Men are not treated like cadets or trainees in school after their BMT period. This is because the officers and NCOs will have the same men for the next 2 years and so tekanning them all the time is unwise. Anyway, I just wanted to point out that school and unit life is different, so hopefully, Raynor had a better time in his arty unit.
@@ThePlanetgoodies RSMs have been in the army for a lot longer than the 2LTs and deserve a lot of respect and fear :) When I see my RSM, I try to walk the other way :)
I got a good friend who was in the SOF but resigned after 9.5yrs in a 10yr contract. 6 more months to go and yet he said those wise words..”Right Job but Wrong Army” then I realised what he meant and it flashed back to what I felt too when I was serving in 2SIR, I had to motivation and heart to fight/combat but coz of the way SAF operates and thinks like a “textbook army”, I couldn’t accept. As what Raynor said, things can change at the snap of the fingers and we need to adapt to the situations. But not the SAF, we must follow what’s written in the training manual. Sad but true. By the way, my friend left for the US and joined a Executive Protection company and has been earning big bucks in that field of work. And it’s a job that he’s good at. The only take away now that I’m 46yrs old, is that my batch mates since NS, are still in constant contact. And it’s the memories that we treasure.
Well that can be many things. Maybe wrong army because he is sick of serving an army who does humanitarian work but no combat. U must think from a SOF pov. Some of these guys hoped for deployment into combat opportunities like its their dream. To you it is abt "textbook". To them it is abt experiencing combat. Not every unhappy serviceman have the same reason. I was backstabbed by my OC, not because i was unhappy because we train by the book.
I served NS in Singapore in 2009 and I agree with you . During my bmt the sergeant ask everyone to sit fast I was just 2 sec slow and the sergeant just yell at me why am I slow and took away my weekend just because of that . I feel that they just aim at me because I was softer compare to my bunk mate and they needed someone to stay back during weekend so the sergeant just pick at me .
Very true. People in the SAF like to pull rank. They demand the respect without realising that respect is to be earned, not given. Such culture also happens in some GLCs such as ST engineering, SIA, Keppel etc. In addition, regulars usually SAF are taking top-down view against the NS boys, don't know why this happened but I personally experienced it when I was in 3 SADA.
ST Engineering is simply a retirement village for ex SAF personnels. Parachuted Too many of them in there to the point where it’s like a second class military to SAF.
Wow respect, imagine serving 3 to 4 months of hell at Basic Military Training, and 9 more months of utter hell at OCS, making it as an Officer, ORDing and then gg back to the states and starting this whole process all over with USMC Basic Training (which is way tougher cos the DIs scream at u the second you step off the bus unlike in Tekong where you're given about a few days to ease in). Seriously man, respect🔥
I'm glad to be enlightened with the Americans even before I enlisted for my 2 year NS in the RSAF. Used the M16 (less than 5 years ago), met a USAF LT on attachment at AFTC, and also had a Regular Squadronmate attend U.S. Army NCO Course. In many ways, I agree with Raynor and I feel more connected to the U.S. military even through my NS.
he's in the right job but wrong army in Singapore. I'm glad he followed his calling and is now a US Marine. He will gain real world experience, experience needed to defend your country. While in sg, lets follow motion and doing for the sake of it and generals get promoted to be CEOs if during their duty, no major incidents happened. Most to most, all of them are white horses and been fast tracked to the top based on where they go to school and who they voted for.
Does he know that he is looked up to by so many current NSFs rn? Dude is like a beacon of hope for conscripts, Singaporean military enthusiasts and even Singaporeans aspiring to enlist into the US or any other foreign military.
@@pounc3r782 Dude, of course it’s not a glory show but you’ll at least get well earned RESPECT in the US from their citizens than you’ll ever get here!
I totally understand bro. I got a good friend who was in the SOF but resigned after 9.5yrs in a 10yr contract. 6 more months to go and yet he said those wise words..”Right Job but Wrong Army” then I realised what he meant and it flashed back to what I felt too when I was serving in 2SIR, I had to motivation and heart to fight/combat but coz of the way SAF operates and thinks like a “textbook army”, I couldn’t accept. As what Raynor said, things can change at the snap of the fingers and we need to adapt to the situations. But not the SAF, we must follow what’s written in the training manual. Sad but true. The only take away now that I’m 46yrs old, is that my batch mates since NS, are still in constant contact. And it’s the memories that we treasure.
Really insightful from someone that is able to compare 2 forces. You are right to point out a lot of what SAF do is for "show", and doesn't apply to real world combat. None of these school instructors or trainees seen real combat. But I do not think SAF is all out to prepare for real combat. SAF is for Deterrence, and to do that, it must put up a show, a very good "Show".
"But I do not think SAF is all out to prepare for real combat." You are completely wrong in your understanding of the continual existence of the SAF. The Singapore Government does not invest precious billions every year, since 1967, just for the primary purpose of deterrence. Deterrence is the premium handsome dividend that we have been deriving thus far over the decades. It is imperative that the SAF must continue to instil, inculcate and ingrain a perception that we must be prepared and ever ready for real combat one day. Only by doing so, will we continue to enjoy the handsome dividend of deterrence. True, we do not have the realism of actual combat environment in our training. Who wants it? We do not invite anyone to be tested! But we must be ever ready when put to the test. Trace back Kuwait in 1991. See Ukraine in 2022 today. The message for us Singaporeans is crystal clear. We must be ever ready for the day we dearly hope never comes.
I agree with Raynor, in SAF if your rank is one up the other guy, u think u have the power to pull rank. Believing the higher rank you are, the superior u are. Our SAF training is too clunky and does not simulate realism.
@inamoto84 If it’s all just for “show” which I agree that it is, than it’s simply a waste of Taxpayers hard earned money. Not to mention the wasted 2 years of our young Men in their prime when they could better make use of their time making something of themselves.
SAF is more towards deterrence and defence, not offensive. Nobody want to participate war unless you are truly asshole who wants to terrorise other people home.
This was an interesting video concept! I think you could turn this into a series interviewing servicemen from different militaries worldwide, great work!
Great interview and perspective. Interesting that the culture of the SAF in so many ways has not changed much since my NS days (late 70's). Way to go toughing it out and hanging in there. An interesting experience from my NS time in OCS was the mid point evaluation interview where I was rated mid-company inspite of consistently scoring top 5% in physical tests, skills tests and theoretical tests. When I asked why my ranking did not reflect objective test results I was told it was because I did not follow instructions to the letter. I asked the interviewer if in war he would rather have someone who could figure out how to best get the job done or one who would follow instructions. His reply was he would rather have a soldier follow instructions. Oh well. By the way I felt that the career soldiers (SAF regulars) were different in that respect from the NS type instructors - much more practical in orientation.
I feel you brother. As a former regular, it doesn't matter if I was best trainee, did my daily job with excellence .etc. They rather have obedient soldiers than capable soldiers.
Dude is sharing a very honest and valuable experience which I believe many of us can relate to or have had similar experiences before. Enjoyed this sharing, thanks for the video.
Sad to hear your bad experiences, I was ex-military instructor as SAF regular 33 years ago. It's not wrong to react to throw smoke grenades upon contacted especially by snipers to cover ourselves. I am glad u can turn all the negatives with a positive approach. People can look down on us, thumb u down, failed us. But we must never give up doing our best, never fail ourselves. When the tough gets going, the going get tougher. It makes u stronger. A good leader also listen to their men, feel them, be with them and they will stand by u and with u. Stay safe, be strong and God bless.
I think the reason is to mold young men into obedient citizens. It’s more important to follow instructions and follow the leaders than to think independently. Singaporean army will not do well in actual combat if that’s the case but Singaporean men do make outstanding citizens
@Bao J Hoang Exactly, than White Horses whom are wealthy and relatives of influential people are fast tracked into positions of power. Meritocracy therefore, is just a slogan or a punchline by the powers that be.
Mold young men into obedient citizens? What a joke statement sia. I've seen some of my older friends who have just finish 2 years of Ns and yet their behavior is still like shit. Like to smoke, talk cock and sit one corner and be lazy like a pig.
Exact same experience I had during my 2 years in NS, to the point of having constant anxiety attacks and having to seek professional help with my lingering depression which I still suffer from everyday. If there is something I had learnt, joining the Singapore Army gave me a much needed wake up call for me to know where I stand. Unfortunately, it also scarred me to the point where I had to seek professional help from constant ostracism and criticism even after I had MR’ed a couple of months back.
Maybe because it’s the fact he’s a American, with him being a foreigner somewhat. That could cause him to get picked on even more. Plus, you know how singaporeans or more so, most singaporeans like to put each other down a lot
Very enlightening for him to share his insights. The Singapore system is just a bunch of dinosaurs held on to their 19th century beliefs. Thanks Raynor for coming back to serve, unlike people whom escape NS altogether.
Absolutely agree with what he describe in the Singapore arm forces. The mindset and culture in there are definitely not healthy. And i believe part of the the reason is also due the majority serving their national service and are just going through the motion. Just imagine having officers who serve NS and holds the higher authority to command his troops whom are also serving with the same purpose. And yes, there are many out there on the ground soldiers who can definitely perform just as well and if not, even better then those officers just because they are well educated.
Sniper contact drill: Done correctly, extraction of down personal must be done rapidly, before the sniper can reacquire another target. Instructor was mistaken, if it was a theoretical paper play, if no smoke to be used, it must be made known.
Would love to see more interviews from him & his progress of becoming a f-35b pilot. He probably has a good chance of coming back o the pacific theatre in future too. thanks for this short but interesting video. hear from from you & raynor soon
This is also what i feel abt SAF.. we demoralize our men more than motivate them, entitled people with good education becomes officers and those with lesser background become grunts of the infantry..
Agreed and it is actually pretty upsetting. I was in a Leadership batch in BMT until the adjacent Leadership batch came in and they were all from RJC. POP came and 80% of them went to Command School, which is roughly about 150 of them in a company of 180, whereas other companies only have a small handful of 10-15 going into OCS and 30-40 going into SCS. I was lucky enough to get into OCS and that was where I realized not every cadets have leadership qualities. Most of them are just stuck up smart boys, I have seen Specs and other soldiers with more leadership qualities than them but were just lacking that piece of paper to qualify them as an officer. That's why we have ex-Colonels/Generals in GLC and political sector making a mess of things. How does someone who have been in the military for 20 odd years retire and be in charge of handling Education or Transport sector with 0 experience.
@@melvinvelia8827 dont even get started on the many Military Branches where there are no malays allowed.. its ironic and embarassing to make malays serve, and then treat them as such and scrutinize our malay citizens subliminally. They were the founders and natives here and we have the cheek to do this. Im just very ashamed.
Awesome! That is such a great opportunity to serve two different armed forces. Singaporean should be proud to have one of the most modern military in the world. The US Marines have a long distinction of having fought through all the world wars. Hope you have a long and successful career in the USMC, Raynor. 👍
Very interesting and inspiring story. I, too, didn’t have the best time in NS during my active days. I had a hard time in BMT as, well, I made mistakes. And, yes, I also felt people aren’t so forgiving. It is true that you get marked for the mistakes. I felt my getting marked cost me an opportunity to go to leadership school, be it specialist cadet school or OCS. That said, I chose to tell myself, during my Reservist, I will work hard and do well. Eventually I got promoted to Corporal First Class. Probably the proudest moment in my life. Thanks Raynor for sharing your story!
Quite agree with him, SG has quite a bad NS culture that needs improvement (or maybe in general). I served in the NS too. Every time you do your best, they always say “waiyang” or acting in English. And when you do too little, it’s “Chao Geng” or slack off. And when you follow people, they call you “teacher’s pet”. There is always negativity in everything that you do and they talk about it. But, the positives is rarely or barely touched on.
When I was doing my NS, many a times, I felt that the training was unrealistic and rigid. In my mind, I felt that in a real battle, we have to be flexible but we are not trained to be flexible. We are trained to follow a procedure even if that procedure does not make sense. Case in point was fire and movement. I felt that the way we taught to move in a battlefield is not going to work in a real battle. I have always felt also that the punishments being dished out often times are unjustified and served to generate a poor image of those in-charge. I never develop any respect for my army instructors. That was in the early 80's. I hope things have changed for the better.
Not sure about today, but I had the same experience enlisting in the mid-2000s. A few years ago during ICT, I was issued an M-16S1 rifle in terrible condition. Just walking around with the rifle, you could feel and hear the upper receiver rattling. I jokingly asked the NSF armskote if he was joking. He was not!
Oh boy do I have the stories. But yeah in general I agree with 100% of the things Raynor mentioned in this video especially with the training doctrines and culture. How I wish this video came out during my active days so I could show it to my commanders and trainers. Thank you Raynor for literally speaking what’s been pent up inside me all these while. Anyways, once armour always armour
Raynor, thank you for sharing your experience and point of view. I have 36 years of experience with Singapore Armed Forces and I have learned a lot from your sharing.
I respect and fully agree with your hard truth. As a former RSAF regular for 25 years, I can fully understand your past experiences and challenges u have been through ... Ultimately till myself today , I would like to offer you this Morale boosting Saying from my brothers standing on your side ; RANK IS WHAT YOU WEAR , RESPECT IS WHAT YOU EARNED. Last but not least ; TO LEAD TO OVERCOME TO EXCEL .
Tq Raynor for yr insightful comments. Been a NS veteran 30 years ago n what u described puzzles me. Thought the way training is done would have changed by now. Still the same bullshit as what I had gone thru years ago. With warfare nowadays it is important to adapt n survive. U cannot follow text books scenarios. Also everyone works as a team esp in OCS. I was lucky n happy during my guards trg. We work together well n no one put down the other. Very importantly being an officers is u lead by example n not tcss. How to win like that?? Have enjoyed the chat. Best of luck in yr future endeavours.
Spot on …..thanks for being frank about comical SAF “ trainer “ on throwing sample grenade. SAF is famous for producing paper General that are incompetence.
@Nicholas Tan Absolutely agree on the incompetence paper generals. Ultimately, these people are a product of our rigid educational systems which segregates people from a young age based on grades. It doesn’t build people up but punished those from poorer family background of limited financial resources.
This is true and i got discharged from army 3 months before ORD because of social anxiety in the army and people were not being understanding after i caved myself in and stopped interacting as much with everybody.
Raynor is very enlightened. I think what he has to say especially towards the end takes a lot of maturity, which does not come just with age but a well developed conscience. Arriving at that conclusion of not holding resentment speaks volumes. P.S that musical clip could be left out at the end, he had something important to say.
Hi, thank you for your comment. I respect your opinion, but ultimately, this video was edited by me and vetted by Raynor. I hope you respect that as well.
@@YGfromSG thanks for replying, great work overall. Keep it up. I wrote the comment from the perspective that I was quite intently listening toward the end and that clip threw the vibe off for me. But yes thats just my opinion. I enjoyed the whole video. Thanks and much respect!
This rlly sounded like a sign-on advertisement that's rlly good for the US marines. Ngl I once used a torchlight as a flashbang in a simulated urban op
@@PrograError no. Cuz I'm a Man. They just had a good laugh. They're not the assholes from OCS cuz the trainers were asked to treat the cadets as the lowest life forms so they would take care of their men when they get deployed in units.
Raynor sorry that you had to go through what you went through during OCS. I can see that most of your issues were during OCS training, like you said, the Singapore culture is more reserved and you being from the US is foreign to us and taken as wayang, most of the guys were like you, young boys fresh from school and not very experience with cultures outside SG. Most of the instructors in OCS are NSF like yourself, in fact they are just a batch before you and not much older than you. Only the Platoon Sergeants, CSM, PC and OC are regulars. I am sure your experience in the Operational Unit were different from that of OCS. I am proud to say that my batch boys, instructors, Enciks, PCs and OCs are still very much in touch with each other. We had our 25th Anniversary meet up but missed the 30th due to COVID. It also depends very much on your commander and their style of management, my OC and PC very much left us during admin time but demand performance during exercise. Yes there bound to be some NSF instructors who like to pull-rank. Totally agreed that we need to change some mindset, we are a conscript Army and in some ways, we are lucky that we do not have real operational combat experience meaning our policy of deterence works. Also, as a mainly conscript army, we have to be so extremely careful with safety. Not that the US Army are not as particular, we just have to go an extra mile to ensure our boys are safe. Some of the practices might seem very unnecessary but in peace time training we have to do so to minimise the risk. Especially during OCS, the right mindset with the emphasis of safety have to be instilled. When you turned operational, it will be another story. Take care and all the best for your next phase of your career. From an old brother-in-arms. 4/91 Bravo OCS.
Have to agree with a lot of points he made. Due to my PES status, I was posted to a support vocation. The amount of "wayang-ness" I've witness even at some of the highest level in the SAF is kind of a joke. And when you sincerely only wish to do your best and see what you can achieve in the 2 years of service, people start to call you "wayang", "Chiong sua", "extra", "spoil market", "siao on" and others. Yes. I was a chiong sua store man. I could never agree nor understand that mentality and just stayed in my own lane and continued doing my best. Thank god I had platoon mates who were "crazy" like me to want to push for excellence. Problem is, the SAF rewards such diligence and hard work with "punishment" and instead reward the ones who simply slack off. Punishment in the sense of getting extra work simply because you have made yourself available and capable. Even the tiniest, brainless duties are being handled to you. Whereas the slackers are in the bunk sleeping away or hiding somewhere. That to me, is the real main failure of the SAF. We have already lost the war mentally before it even happened.
@Samuel C Absolutely agree with your views. It’s a vicious cycle as well when people witness brown nosers towards superiors getting promotions and recognition more often than those who actually deserves it. End result would be to simply follow the flow and not be too outstanding in case you’re marked for being different.
Great to hear this chat. There will always be a difference between a pro and conscript armed forces. I think we need to wake up our idea. Sometimes I think we forget, we are supposed to be a fighting force first. Way too much wayang imho…..
SAF: "Do you know how much does a smoke Grenade cost? If you want to pop smoke, you gotta ask for permission!" SAF in Combat: "PERMISSION TO THROW SMOKE SIR?!"
Dude I always think that serving the national service take a boy at the start and become a man when he complete the service. Have a blast in your aviation profession and hope one day you can become a mentor to RSAF pilot cadets
I was in OCS 25/96, more than 25 yrs ago. My memory in OCS was very different from yours. OCS was the most encouraging time during my NS. True, we made lots of mistake, but nobody blame anyone. There were those who are physically weaker (I am 1 of those). Instead of the putting them down, the section always train extar with them to help them up, physically pushing them during fast March, even carrying equipment off them. There was always encouragement, not putting down. There is always a lot of cheering each other on, through fast March, being punished etc... the instructors never punish any of the cadets for vocally encouraging each others at any time. We were always using thunder flash and popping smoke grenade through field camps in all simulated conditions. Never heard of instructors asking anyone to save those items. Perhaps OCS had changed through the years, I hope not.
@@Logic807 no there's no difference. The difference is whether u choose to believe the ppl feeding u this bs. During my time BMT there were so many scholars etc. Dude, we alight from the jetty straight away kena hammered for hours even continue when we reach coy line at Rocky Hill.
Well said on old SAF and I hope there is a fundamental change in term of training mentality. My time in OCS a few decades ago, it’s the same just physical and mental “punishment” . I believe there is some positive change in SAF and mature to a real learning organisation. It will take times as the old school people might not want to change…
Really true to the core. The NS culture in Singapore the frequently use word is, " don't sabo hor " And " Tekan" culture among fellow NS men could be rampant also. Mr Goh raise a invaluable point. All you men or women in the NS uniform are summon in duty to train for a possible offensive whether external or from within. You are all in same uniform to train in mutual common morale and proficiency to protect Singapore. And not using this 2 years period to demoralise each other or even character assassination. That is not National service that is Servicing Singapore a disservice..
This is just tip of the iceberg, I'm gonna say something controversial.. Now imagine that all your blood, sweat, tears and physical injuries sustained (carried for life) until your death only to realise that the country's institutions you swore to protect are profiting foreign workers (white collar ones) at the expense of you born and bred one, made worse by the fact that even other sections of born and bred locals feel it's their birthright to look down upon you especially if you're a grunt!
You know the only thing i would disagree with Raynor here, is about the sergeants, batch mates or instructors. Honestly, screw them, some are nice but unfortunately most of the people i met are just horrible people. I hope they all go to hell.
@@friktogurg9242 That's the thing, whatever good people you meet in a s*ithole gets covered in s*it and stench such that whatever good being done has been overshadowed it. NS is not called Nasty S*ithole for nothing
I served the rsaf during my national service days. My vocation is engineering related. I believes rank doesn't give you the power to control people who are lower than you. Knowledge is more important than rank because you are duelling with advanced technology from USA and Europe. My instructors told us to study harder to be an efficient technician so that you can perform well during maintenance. In rsaf, majority of servicemen doesn't care about rank and doesn't play rank. they just want to complete their work and prepare to go home. RSAF is more career minded than hierarchy unlike Army and Navy who have the same mentality. Both services believe that their elite soldiers are the best. RSAF Fighter Jets -> F16C/D/D+, F15SG, F35B RSAF Tanker -> A330 MRTT To be honest, SAF enlistees and specialist regulars do not earn a lot (less than $4000) but their jobs are very stable.
Bro you are right thank you for speaking the truth about the Singapore military service ,need to improve in many aspect as close as to the real situation of military life for all army personal especially for those trainers
He doing well in US military after Singapore NS. I wish I had an opportunity to serve US army after my NS in my youth. I believe I would have been better off financially and socially.
@Temasek SDQ Same here. Have you seen how Americans whom are strangers walk up to ordinary Men in military uniforms and personally thank them for their service to the country. In Singapore, you’ll never get that kind of respect and recognition unless you are a rich White Horse, General or “elites”.
I feel the reason he say sg army n us army have different mindset is bcos sg army never go to war as such we r taught the same thing for generations. Our experience r limited.
I totally get him for the smoke grenade or thunder flash part... I was like even when i bring it out to the field I'm not supposed to throw it??? This is why i don't like the SAF style of training also it is so limited to their book and bias...and you got punish for "thinking out of the box" because of this it has mind fxxk all of us to just follow what they say...so we just SAF serve and fxxk off... i hope our troops does not like a blockhead when it comes to actual combat...and everyone think and use appropriate actions according to the scenario... SAF needs stop the one way traffic system and starting listening more...
The smoke grenade is meant for use during hornet attack irrc and not for sniper drills. But I do agree to a certain extent that some SOPs are followed to the letter and thus creating a culture of rigidity. I think it stemmed from having to account to NSF parents and thus having to have a super safe training environment which adds to the rigidity.
I was scolded for not carrying my M16 ‘properly’ just bcos I refused to have that awkward designed rifle sling around my neck, which prevented my quick actions to engage. The obedient ones just followed without questioning.
Once u r older and wiser, u know that making mistakes is normal, or even good, because its when making mistakes where u grow and we are all human, noone is perfect and everyone makes mistakes. I agree that in the military in Singapore is about rank. In the business, the boss is the one that is the "worst", because u hire everyone better than you. If they aren't better then you, why would u hire them? Same as being an officer deploying man. if that guy ain't better than you, why is he in ur team? Don't look down on anyone, everyone is a leader and team player!
At least 50% of the officers cannot make it. Even more today. I'm a NCO commando from the early 90s and I had no qualm of cursing a major on their face if they couldn't perform.
Well said about sg army, more like "rank" is an command and order, if higher rank don't like you they can "tekan" or " bully" you, or even ask you to clean their rifle and clean their boots...I am serving my country but seem more like servicing the rank, that was during my time. That's why I don't like uniform groups is more about "ranks" and will not let my kids join any uniform groups.
It’s nice to hear the positives about the Singapore military culture as a whole but it is also equally important to state the negatives about it. Seems that there are too many sugary positive videos on RUclips to pander to the Singaporean Nationalists who are unable to accept negative feedbacks. Would like to hear more of those. Just brutal frank honesty. 👍🏻
Dude! Simply put, its the 'entitlement mindset' that is in Singapore Culture, from SAF rank and file, coporate world manager vs men, owning a car on the road, riding a bicycle... that is our poison and there is no cure!
This is so sad. In fact it's really embarrassing that our OCS training is so rigid like this. What happened to realistic training? Not allowed to kick down a door during urban ops? Wth... definitely there's a lot of room for improvement here.
I guess things are different today versus 30years ago, when we did our 2.5yrs of NS. FIBUA, we also kick the doors open. However, one thing to learn is when you kick those filmsy doors open too hard, they rebound and close on you. Wahahahahahahah.
I have spent time and had drinks with retired military personnel from other parts of the world and these included a US Army Ranger who jumped Grenada & Panama and a member of the French Foreign Legion...I can assure you one thing, ALL militaries, the US included have that wayang thing going on...only in the depths of the special operations units that you find least of it..chaps who experienced firefights often brushed aside any talks about it most dont even stay long in the military..Problem with the SAF its the system of fast tracking scholars to generals over grooming of "farmers"..this creates an academic vs a hands on approach to things.(P.S interestingly I was told of a SGrean who was part the Foreign Legion as a sergeant + The green is always greener on the other side : P )
@@Callsign-Blade_RunnerSG I think he meant training up leaders from local schools (farmers) instead of training leaders who went to overseas universities on scholarships(scholars).
@@Melcor2304 nah by farmers he meant those who join without much prior education hence they have more experience as they begin from the very bottom of ranks and only promote from performance rather than scholars whom join and are able to obtain high ranks quickly due to their degree rather than from actual performance in the army
Also, i think the system need to change whereby ppl earn their rank only after evaluation by both their men and trainers. So for instance, if an OCT doesnt make the cut after evaluation by his men, he will be "downgraded" to pass out as just a 3SG. Same goes for specialist cadets. If the men think they are not fit, they will be downgraded to pass out as corporals.
Thank you for having me, Mr. YG. I enjoyed our conversation and learning from you. I believe that in life, everyone is a subject matter expert in something, and that we can always learn from one another. If it has not been made clear in the interview or from my social media, I cannot stress it enough that the power of will and hard work always beats talent when talent does not work hard enough.
I proudly share that I was the last ranking cadet in my SAF OCS batch 6 years ago. I didn't know why I was kept in OCS, despite my poor peer reviews and evaluated performances, but I believed my stay in OCS to be a sign that there was something that the higher ups saw in me, which I may not. I was sick and tired of allowing failure to define me. I was tired of allowing negativity to be the guide in my life. Quitting is the suicide of all potential. So after OCS, I made the conscious decision to improve on myself, to strengthen my heart, my mind, and learn to cast all the negativity and convert it all into positive fuel.
I chose to sign the Marines as an enlisted, because I wanted to start from the very bottom and earn my way up. I wanted to know, feel, and experience what it is like from the bottom up, to build an understanding of the enlisted side, because these brave men and women make up the majority of any military, and serves as the backbone of the military, not officers. Being an officer to me is a responsibility and mindset that does not make one better than others, or more privileged, but rather it is a position of leadership and example, to serve, help, and guide an organization to challenge itself to be better, and that all starts by being the change that you want to see.
It does not matter where we start, but where we end. We are all in this life together. Whether in the military or civilian world, I respect and thank you all for your time in watching this video. I hope that you all achieve happiness in all that you set yourselves to.
Stay Solid!
- Raynor
Respects
A-game ma man...salute and all the best.
You are so inspiring.
May I know if you still possess your ceremonial sword from the SAF?
fucking solid
SAF culture is too toxic, Raynor speaks the truth! You go man!
When you have an intrinsic fear among NSFs of getting "stomped" in uniform doing something small or inconsequential, instead of pride wearing the uniform, then you know there is something deeply wrong with the system here and how servicemen are treated.
@Eminem Jr
Exactly, couldn’t agree with you more. Even simple things like seating on a MRT seat when you’re tired. If you are in uniform, you’ll get disapproving looks from the general public. Those so called “born and bred Singaporeans” has no real respect for soldiers’ sacrifices of time and effort for the their comfort and safety. Psst, I even had a mother from an ex-gf of mine whom openly showed her disgust of me dating her daughter simply because I was an NSF then earning peanuts… Unbelievable! 🙄
@@Callsign-Blade_RunnerSG sinkie pawn sinkie mah
@@Callsign-Blade_RunnerSG u know why Singaporean disrespect soldiers? Becos Singaporean mentality like "so what. I served too." So who's fault? Are our own arrogance attitude fault.
I was a regular and after my service I treated a NSF drink at a coffeeshop who was sharing the same table with me and told him thank you for your service before I left.
That's literally the point dude...the whole point of tekan is to induce emotional stress just like war times....u keep saying small or inconsequential, it is literally the small details that matter during war. U talk a lot here, that's because you and ur friends are still alive, do u know how "small" mistakes caused sentries to get their heads beheaded during deployment? Is the system wrong, or is the issue with adherence to the system? Lets take a look at ALL accidents in the past decade. Literally due to lack of ADHERENCE to safety protocols, not due to LACK of protocols themselves. I myself was being backstabbed by my OC, yet i am not blinded by rage to simply blame it on the "system" and instead know it is acts of individuals in different unite that lead to ppl hating NS.
@@johnwig285 First of all, let's define tekan, specifically in Malay. It means Bully/Torture/Put under pressure.
As an ex-regular as an infantry combat specialist, diploma graduate in nursing, plus someone who is NCAP theory and FISAF fitness instructor certified, I can assure everyone here that how tekan is applied generally in SAF is just to bully and torture. Simply because tekan doesn't require learning and careful thought. It's something even a child can do. And trust me, SAF's leadership and management hate learning and thinking carefully. They just want the easy way.
Dude is speaking the truth not about Singapore army but our society as a whole. So myopic and so much unnecessary competition. Even the toxicity he mentioned in SAF in the beginning is a textbook example of our Singapore culture.
Navy is a bit more flexible, air force I'm not sure. Army depends on how lucky you are. I got one friend who had a good time in his regiment but a few in other regiments who got the toxic treatment mr raynor talked abt
Wow, a female sign-on saying that, huh?
@@tfox1919 actually air force too, I was from the RSAF air defence and actually the work culture is somewhat more relaxed here compared to the army cos the regulars NCOs and officers here are quite chill with us but still there are alot of office politics around among the different flights
Let’s be candid, the toxic culture is NOT unique or limited to singapore. It’s happening all over the world !
@@wf645 whataboutism
I salute u bro. For doing your NS duties. U spoke so true about sg army life. Happy for u to be a raptor pilot. Yoohooo
F-35 is the Lightning, not the Raptor
Well said as u nailed it , we need to understand level of perspective
when i grow up i want to be an Osprey pilot!
Very true, what he said. Very rigid, situation is fluid. Too much SOP will destroy the defence force. Like the war will go according to SOP.
Every kind of methods of training have their pros and cons. SOP is a double-edge sword, no SOP is also a double-edge sword.
No plan survives first contact with the enemy.
@@noproblematallmate
You missed the point. While having SOP helps to standardised processes, Too much SOP causes more harm than good when situations calls for adaptability and flexibility.
@@jinngeechia9715 unless ur SOP involves surrendering instantly
Then you may stand a chance
Raynor, totally agree with what you have said so eloquently. Your positive outlook are lacking in many Singaporeans not only in the SAF. Mistakes are frowned upon. We do not look at mistakes as opportunities to learn and get better. So sad. All the best to you.
We hv truly lost a real soldier and a good Singapore citizen.. all the best to your future endeavours Raynor.
Raynor is an ex-sporean who fullfil his NS duties as an artillery officer. We respect you for that, Raynor. First & Foremost, we Sporean men would like to say a big Thank you for your service. Raynor, You have a strong vision and guts of steel. All the best for your career in Aviation in the Marine Corps.. Unlike some PR kids who escape and ditch citizenship just to escape National service. There are plenty of them.
Lmao rudy u funni
yes agree. he only spent 4 years here & he came back to serve, respect. the us marines is lucky to have him.
Well, I know plenty of people(Malaysians) who have a Singaporean PR, and serve NS. I was not aware of this so called “PR loophole”
@@AliBaba-vw7mo It depends on the age when that Msian got his SG PR, after certain age, he wont be required to serve NS and still able to get citizenship. That being said, if he is married and have male kids, his male child will have to serve NS to keep their citizenship.
I know of Msian who got SG PR and then got SG citizenship without serving NS as well. If you know the law well, you will be able to find/know the loopholes.
Some pussy PR are coming in without NS
First half into the video. Rayner has already commanded my respect. He has not only shared with us how was his NS journey like but also the truth about our defense that we as a nation should be aware of.
Dude rayner, you arent alone when you said you faced such experiences back in command school. Proud of whatever you have gone through man
This video needs to be seen by MINDEF. It shows just how much the SAF is in the limelight and being noticed by other army's too.
confirm they know but since this video puts them in bad light,they'll ignore but also keep one eye on it
This is great and spot on. The insight received is eye opening, as someone who is currently serving the saf and experienced first hand the I’ll treatment by fellow cadets in command school. I understand exactly how it feels, and the fact that he managed to acknowledge that he just had to shift his mindset and just do it and carry on is truly motivating. I’m glad I saw this. I hope that this guy does well in his future endeavors.
Hope SAF will take note. Raynor Goh Thanks for sharing
An honest down to earth evaluation of the self.Glad the SAF environment did eventually got him on his feet. We all wish you all the best in your career with the US Marine.Good luck soldier👌👋🙂
Hope the SAF can learn from this honest conversation and review through all their training process. I am surprised to know that tekan culture is still rampant and sure is affecting the training level.
The problem with the tekan culture is from being unable to accept ill-performance. Men coming together to work as a team can seriously fuck up sometimes. If that happens, instead of tekan, tell them where they fucked up. Then do it again and fuck up less. Note that I said fuck up less because the military is full of fuck ups and you actually win by fucking up less than the enemy. Look at the current Russia-Ukraine conflict for a good example. All exercises and maneuvers are drills and you just keep doing it over and over again to get better. Tekan is a waste of time that can be dedicated to performing better training.
@@jinngeechia9715 Yes we need to train more thinking and confident soldiers and not one that learn based on tekan and hard punishment. SAF needs to shake off this outdated culture
NSF are like the punching bag for regular haha
I enlisted in 1983 for my NS and here's my experience from so many years ago: How you're treated in OCS (and in general schools) really depends on who your mentor (or instructor) is. Some instructors are known to be abusive and are really a-holes who, during a real war, would probably be shot by "friendly" fire. Unfortunately once you get "marked" in school, which I think Raynor, unfortunately was, whatever mistakes that you make (which all of us know will be many) is amplified by being "marked". I was pretty lucky that I was not "marked" and didn't get any special punishment. Although, unfortunately, there was a marked person in another company who had a really bad time -- and all of us knew that it was unreasonable and extra-curricular from this particular PC (who had a reputation for being an a-hole).
But once I was posted to my SIR, my entire experience changed. My unit has its own protocols and culture. Men are not treated like cadets or trainees in school after their BMT period. This is because the officers and NCOs will have the same men for the next 2 years and so tekanning them all the time is unwise.
Anyway, I just wanted to point out that school and unit life is different, so hopefully, Raynor had a better time in his arty unit.
He’s just an OCT at OCS. As a 2LT in his unit, even the CSM RSM need to call him Sir.
during my reservist days, I've seen RSM F 2LT which they F***up. Junior officers also have to show respect to RSM
@@ThePlanetgoodies RSMs have been in the army for a lot longer than the 2LTs and deserve a lot of respect and fear :) When I see my RSM, I try to walk the other way :)
I got a good friend who was in the SOF but resigned after 9.5yrs in a 10yr contract. 6 more months to go and yet he said those wise words..”Right Job but Wrong Army” then I realised what he meant and it flashed back to what I felt too when I was serving in 2SIR, I had to motivation and heart to fight/combat but coz of the way SAF operates and thinks like a “textbook army”, I couldn’t accept. As what Raynor said, things can change at the snap of the fingers and we need to adapt to the situations. But not the SAF, we must follow what’s written in the training manual. Sad but true. By the way, my friend left for the US and joined a Executive Protection company and has been earning big bucks in that field of work. And it’s a job that he’s good at.
The only take away now that I’m 46yrs old, is that my batch mates since NS, are still in constant contact. And it’s the memories that we treasure.
Sinclair?
Well that can be many things. Maybe wrong army because he is sick of serving an army who does humanitarian work but no combat. U must think from a SOF pov. Some of these guys hoped for deployment into combat opportunities like its their dream. To you it is abt "textbook". To them it is abt experiencing combat. Not every unhappy serviceman have the same reason. I was backstabbed by my OC, not because i was unhappy because we train by the book.
One very important question: Can all the textbook training simulations survive first contact and be sustainable during real armed conflict???
@@yong9613no because textbook idea is all in a controlled environment with many assumptions made on the situation
@@tjahjadi659 And applies readily for the whole SAF
I served NS in Singapore in 2009 and I agree with you . During my bmt the sergeant ask everyone to sit fast I was just 2 sec slow and the sergeant just yell at me why am I slow and took away my weekend just because of that . I feel that they just aim at me because I was softer compare to my bunk mate and they needed someone to stay back during weekend so the sergeant just pick at me .
Very true. People in the SAF like to pull rank. They demand the respect without realising that respect is to be earned, not given. Such culture also happens in some GLCs such as ST engineering, SIA, Keppel etc.
In addition, regulars usually SAF are taking top-down view against the NS boys, don't know why this happened but I personally experienced it when I was in 3 SADA.
ST Engineering is simply a retirement village for ex SAF personnels. Parachuted Too many of them in there to the point where it’s like a second class military to SAF.
Wow respect, imagine serving 3 to 4 months of hell at Basic Military Training, and 9 more months of utter hell at OCS, making it as an Officer, ORDing and then gg back to the states and starting this whole process all over with USMC Basic Training (which is way tougher cos the DIs scream at u the second you step off the bus unlike in Tekong where you're given about a few days to ease in). Seriously man, respect🔥
I'm glad to be enlightened with the Americans even before I enlisted for my 2 year NS in the RSAF. Used the M16 (less than 5 years ago), met a USAF LT on attachment at AFTC, and also had a Regular Squadronmate attend U.S. Army NCO Course. In many ways, I agree with Raynor and I feel more connected to the U.S. military even through my NS.
he's in the right job but wrong army in Singapore. I'm glad he followed his calling and is now a US Marine. He will gain real world experience, experience needed to defend your country. While in sg, lets follow motion and doing for the sake of it and generals get promoted to be CEOs if during their duty, no major incidents happened. Most to most, all of them are white horses and been fast tracked to the top based on where they go to school and who they voted for.
“White Horses”.. Elitism at it’s “finest”.
Does he know that he is looked up to by so many current NSFs rn? Dude is like a beacon of hope for conscripts, Singaporean military enthusiasts and even Singaporeans aspiring to enlist into the US or any other foreign military.
why do u want to enlist into a foreign military? it's not COD or the movies bro the military is not a glory show or boy scout club
@@pounc3r782 Not me. Others. I've served my time in the military enough to know it's a letdown.
@@pounc3r782
Dude, of course it’s not a glory show but you’ll at least get well earned RESPECT in the US from their citizens than you’ll ever get here!
@@pounc3r782 Foreign military actually get deployed overseas to fight. Some people want action in their lives. Not everybody wants conventional 9-5.
I totally understand bro. I got a good friend who was in the SOF but resigned after 9.5yrs in a 10yr contract. 6 more months to go and yet he said those wise words..”Right Job but Wrong Army” then I realised what he meant and it flashed back to what I felt too when I was serving in 2SIR, I had to motivation and heart to fight/combat but coz of the way SAF operates and thinks like a “textbook army”, I couldn’t accept. As what Raynor said, things can change at the snap of the fingers and we need to adapt to the situations. But not the SAF, we must follow what’s written in the training manual. Sad but true. The only take away now that I’m 46yrs old, is that my batch mates since NS, are still in constant contact. And it’s the memories that we treasure.
Really insightful from someone that is able to compare 2 forces. You are right to point out a lot of what SAF do is for "show", and doesn't apply to real world combat. None of these school instructors or trainees seen real combat.
But I do not think SAF is all out to prepare for real combat. SAF is for Deterrence, and to do that, it must put up a show, a very good "Show".
I served as NSman in 2 PDF. We have a moniker for PDF and it means Please Don't Fight. 😏
"But I do not think SAF is all
out to prepare for real combat."
You are completely wrong in your understanding of the continual existence of the SAF.
The Singapore Government does not invest precious billions every year, since 1967, just for the primary purpose of deterrence. Deterrence is the premium handsome dividend that we have been deriving thus far over the decades.
It is imperative that the SAF must continue to instil, inculcate and ingrain a perception that we must be prepared and ever ready for real combat one day. Only by doing so, will we continue to enjoy the handsome dividend of deterrence. True, we do not have the realism of actual combat environment in our training. Who wants it? We do not invite anyone to be tested! But we must be ever ready when put to the test. Trace back Kuwait in 1991. See Ukraine in 2022 today. The message for us Singaporeans is crystal clear. We must be ever ready for the day we dearly hope never comes.
I agree with Raynor, in SAF if your rank is one up the other guy, u think u have the power to pull rank. Believing the higher rank you are, the superior u are.
Our SAF training is too clunky and does not simulate realism.
@inamoto84
If it’s all just for “show” which I agree that it is, than it’s simply a waste of Taxpayers hard earned money. Not to mention the wasted 2 years of our young Men in their prime when they could better make use of their time making something of themselves.
SAF is more towards deterrence and defence, not offensive. Nobody want to participate war unless you are truly asshole who wants to terrorise other people home.
I really respect Raynor's candidness, truly this is what I felt as well. Great Interview!
This was an interesting video concept! I think you could turn this into a series interviewing servicemen from different militaries worldwide, great work!
I served my NS 30 yrs ago. When I watched this, I chuckled and agreed on many point he said about the shortcoming of SAF.
Great interview and perspective. Interesting that the culture of the SAF in so many ways has not changed much since my NS days (late 70's). Way to go toughing it out and hanging in there. An interesting experience from my NS time in OCS was the mid point evaluation interview where I was rated mid-company inspite of consistently scoring top 5% in physical tests, skills tests and theoretical tests. When I asked why my ranking did not reflect objective test results I was told it was because I did not follow instructions to the letter. I asked the interviewer if in war he would rather have someone who could figure out how to best get the job done or one who would follow instructions. His reply was he would rather have a soldier follow instructions. Oh well. By the way I felt that the career soldiers (SAF regulars) were different in that respect from the NS type instructors - much more practical in orientation.
I feel you brother. As a former regular, it doesn't matter if I was best trainee, did my daily job with excellence .etc. They rather have obedient soldiers than capable soldiers.
Dude is sharing a very honest and valuable experience which I believe many of us can relate to or have had similar experiences before. Enjoyed this sharing, thanks for the video.
Sad to hear your bad experiences, I was ex-military instructor as SAF regular 33 years ago. It's not wrong to react to throw smoke grenades upon contacted especially by snipers to cover ourselves. I am glad u can turn all the negatives with a positive approach. People can look down on us, thumb u down, failed us. But we must never give up doing our best, never fail ourselves. When the tough gets going, the going get tougher. It makes u stronger. A good leader also listen to their men, feel them, be with them and they will stand by u and with u. Stay safe, be strong and God bless.
I think the reason is to mold young men into obedient citizens. It’s more important to follow instructions and follow the leaders than to think independently. Singaporean army will not do well in actual combat if that’s the case but Singaporean men do make outstanding citizens
I agree
@Bao J Hoang
Exactly, than White Horses whom are wealthy and relatives of influential people are fast tracked into positions of power.
Meritocracy therefore, is just a slogan or a punchline by the powers that be.
Mold young men into obedient citizens? What a joke statement sia. I've seen some of my older friends who have just finish 2 years of Ns and yet their behavior is still like shit. Like to smoke, talk cock and sit one corner and be lazy like a pig.
Exact same experience I had during my 2 years in NS, to the point of having constant anxiety attacks and having to seek professional help with my lingering depression which I still suffer from everyday.
If there is something I had learnt, joining the Singapore Army gave me a much needed wake up call for me to know where I stand.
Unfortunately, it also scarred me to the point where I had to seek professional help from constant ostracism and criticism even after I had MR’ed a couple of months back.
Raynor is right. Leadership is an action, not a position. The motivation to be a leader is to help others and bring them to a higher level.
I would love to watch the unedited version of this, as is feels like Singapore in a nut shell... Decent interview YG and decent Chat Marine.
Haha, the unedited is a few hours long! Plus, I had to cut out certain parts due to reasons like security/sensitivity .etc 😅
Thank you for sharing Rayner! Insightful and genuine sharing. All the best for your time in USMC and aviation route subsequently! 💪
As someone who also went through OCS and did not live in Singapore till I'm 18, I can relate fully with Raynor, similar things happened to me.
Maybe because it’s the fact he’s a American, with him being a foreigner somewhat. That could cause him to get picked on even more.
Plus, you know how singaporeans or more so, most singaporeans like to put each other down a lot
SINKIE PWN SINKIE THEN CAN SLEEP WELL
sinkie pwn sinkie
@@yeepmeeep1735 it's a national pass time
Very enlightening for him to share his insights. The Singapore system is just a bunch of dinosaurs held on to their 19th century beliefs. Thanks Raynor for coming back to serve, unlike people whom escape NS altogether.
If their parents are ministers, yeah.
Absolutely agree with what he describe in the Singapore arm forces. The mindset and culture in there are definitely not healthy. And i believe part of the the reason is also due the majority serving their national service and are just going through the motion. Just imagine having officers who serve NS and holds the higher authority to command his troops whom are also serving with the same purpose. And yes, there are many out there on the ground soldiers who can definitely perform just as well and if not, even better then those officers just because they are well educated.
Sniper contact drill: Done correctly, extraction of down personal must be done rapidly, before the sniper can reacquire another target.
Instructor was mistaken, if it was a theoretical paper play, if no smoke to be used, it must be made known.
We need more Raynor
Ok im enlisting in the Cuban army after watching this..
23:10 seriously you just had to do that.
but kudos to this lad and you to make this vid happen. all the best man.
Glad you enjoyed the video!
Raynor, you have full filled your obligation. Well done
Would love to see more interviews from him & his progress of becoming a f-35b pilot. He probably has a good chance of coming back o the pacific theatre in future too. thanks for this short but interesting video. hear from from you & raynor soon
Totally agreed. Good content
First time commenting a video on RUclips
Thanks for the comment!
This is also what i feel abt SAF.. we demoralize our men more than motivate them, entitled people with good education becomes officers and those with lesser background become grunts of the infantry..
Agreed and it is actually pretty upsetting. I was in a Leadership batch in BMT until the adjacent Leadership batch came in and they were all from RJC. POP came and 80% of them went to Command School, which is roughly about 150 of them in a company of 180, whereas other companies only have a small handful of 10-15 going into OCS and 30-40 going into SCS.
I was lucky enough to get into OCS and that was where I realized not every cadets have leadership qualities. Most of them are just stuck up smart boys, I have seen Specs and other soldiers with more leadership qualities than them but were just lacking that piece of paper to qualify them as an officer.
That's why we have ex-Colonels/Generals in GLC and political sector making a mess of things. How does someone who have been in the military for 20 odd years retire and be in charge of handling Education or Transport sector with 0 experience.
@@melvinvelia8827 dont even get started on the many Military Branches where there are no malays allowed.. its ironic and embarassing to make malays serve, and then treat them as such and scrutinize our malay citizens subliminally. They were the founders and natives here and we have the cheek to do this. Im just very ashamed.
This man is speaking facts, MINDEF needs to learn from him
Awesome! That is such a great opportunity to serve two different armed forces. Singaporean should be proud to have one of the most modern military in the world. The US Marines have a long distinction of having fought through all the world wars. Hope you have a long and successful career in the USMC, Raynor. 👍
Very interesting and inspiring story.
I, too, didn’t have the best time in NS during my active days. I had a hard time in BMT as, well, I made mistakes. And, yes, I also felt people aren’t so forgiving. It is true that you get marked for the mistakes.
I felt my getting marked cost me an opportunity to go to leadership school, be it specialist cadet school or OCS.
That said, I chose to tell myself, during my Reservist, I will work hard and do well. Eventually I got promoted to Corporal First Class. Probably the proudest moment in my life.
Thanks Raynor for sharing your story!
Quite agree with him, SG has quite a bad NS culture that needs improvement (or maybe in general). I served in the NS too. Every time you do your best, they always say “waiyang” or acting in English. And when you do too little, it’s “Chao Geng” or slack off. And when you follow people, they call you “teacher’s pet”. There is always negativity in everything that you do and they talk about it. But, the positives is rarely or barely touched on.
Treat it as a challenge in positive manner..
When I was doing my NS, many a times, I felt that the training was unrealistic and rigid. In my mind, I felt that in a real battle, we have to be flexible but we are not trained to be flexible. We are trained to follow a procedure even if that procedure does not make sense. Case in point was fire and movement. I felt that the way we taught to move in a battlefield is not going to work in a real battle. I have always felt also that the punishments being dished out often times are unjustified and served to generate a poor image of those in-charge. I never develop any respect for my army instructors. That was in the early 80's. I hope things have changed for the better.
Likely worse. It is not about perfecting the craft. It is about going through the motion and be done with it. Early 2010s for me
Not sure about today, but I had the same experience enlisting in the mid-2000s.
A few years ago during ICT, I was issued an M-16S1 rifle in terrible condition. Just walking around with the rifle, you could feel and hear the upper receiver rattling. I jokingly asked the NSF armskote if he was joking. He was not!
Oh boy do I have the stories. But yeah in general I agree with 100% of the things Raynor mentioned in this video especially with the training doctrines and culture. How I wish this video came out during my active days so I could show it to my commanders and trainers. Thank you Raynor for literally speaking what’s been pent up inside me all these while. Anyways, once armour always armour
Raynor, thank you for sharing your experience and point of view. I have 36 years of experience with Singapore Armed Forces and I have learned a lot from your sharing.
Good insights and comparisons bro. Outstanding
I respect and fully agree with your hard truth. As a former RSAF regular for 25 years, I can fully understand your past experiences and challenges u have been through ... Ultimately till myself today , I would like to offer you this Morale boosting Saying from my brothers standing on your side ; RANK IS WHAT YOU WEAR , RESPECT IS WHAT YOU EARNED. Last but not least ; TO LEAD TO OVERCOME TO EXCEL .
give him 10kg of sai to jiaks
Tq Raynor for yr insightful comments. Been a NS veteran 30 years ago n what u described puzzles me. Thought the way training is done would have changed by now. Still the same bullshit as what I had gone thru years ago. With warfare nowadays it is important to adapt n survive. U cannot follow text books scenarios. Also everyone works as a team esp in OCS. I was lucky n happy during my guards trg. We work together well n no one put down the other. Very importantly being an officers is u lead by example n not tcss. How to win like that??
Have enjoyed the chat. Best of luck in yr future endeavours.
best NS insights ever...call out the 1206s and the drama :D
Spot on …..thanks for being frank about comical SAF “ trainer “ on throwing sample grenade. SAF is famous for producing paper General that are incompetence.
@Nicholas Tan
Absolutely agree on the incompetence paper generals. Ultimately, these people are a product of our rigid educational systems which segregates people from a young age based on grades. It doesn’t build people up but punished those from poorer family background of limited financial resources.
Truth!
This is true and i got discharged from army 3 months before ORD because of social anxiety in the army and people were not being understanding after i caved myself in and stopped interacting as much with everybody.
Happy that you are now doing well at SGAG
@@premieretwelve4856 lol you really thought he's the one in SGAG
Thank you for being a good squad leader and friend in boot camp
Raynor is very enlightened. I think what he has to say especially towards the end takes a lot of maturity, which does not come just with age but a well developed conscience. Arriving at that conclusion of not holding resentment speaks volumes.
P.S that musical clip could be left out at the end, he had something important to say.
Hi, thank you for your comment. I respect your opinion, but ultimately, this video was edited by me and vetted by Raynor. I hope you respect that as well.
@@YGfromSG thanks for replying, great work overall. Keep it up. I wrote the comment from the perspective that I was quite intently listening toward the end and that clip threw the vibe off for me. But yes thats just my opinion. I enjoyed the whole video.
Thanks and much respect!
This rlly sounded like a sign-on advertisement that's rlly good for the US marines. Ngl
I once used a torchlight as a flashbang in a simulated urban op
And did ya get shit on?
@@PrograError no. Cuz I'm a Man. They just had a good laugh. They're not the assholes from OCS cuz the trainers were asked to treat the cadets as the lowest life forms so they would take care of their men when they get deployed in units.
Good man. Appreciate you serving Singapore. Good ex-Singaporean.
YG oughta start a podcast and invite him back once he makes it thru the pipeline. Maybe you can be SG Jocko, should be interesting.
Well done Rayner...you will go far as you can take hard knocks, crticisms and no short cuts.
Raynor sorry that you had to go through what you went through during OCS. I can see that most of your issues were during OCS training, like you said, the Singapore culture is more reserved and you being from the US is foreign to us and taken as wayang, most of the guys were like you, young boys fresh from school and not very experience with cultures outside SG. Most of the instructors in OCS are NSF like yourself, in fact they are just a batch before you and not much older than you. Only the Platoon Sergeants, CSM, PC and OC are regulars. I am sure your experience in the Operational Unit were different from that of OCS. I am proud to say that my batch boys, instructors, Enciks, PCs and OCs are still very much in touch with each other. We had our 25th Anniversary meet up but missed the 30th due to COVID. It also depends very much on your commander and their style of management, my OC and PC very much left us during admin time but demand performance during exercise. Yes there bound to be some NSF instructors who like to pull-rank.
Totally agreed that we need to change some mindset, we are a conscript Army and in some ways, we are lucky that we do not have real operational combat experience meaning our policy of deterence works. Also, as a mainly conscript army, we have to be so extremely careful with safety. Not that the US Army are not as particular, we just have to go an extra mile to ensure our boys are safe. Some of the practices might seem very unnecessary but in peace time training we have to do so to minimise the risk. Especially during OCS, the right mindset with the emphasis of safety have to be instilled. When you turned operational, it will be another story.
Take care and all the best for your next phase of your career.
From an old brother-in-arms. 4/91 Bravo OCS.
Have to agree with a lot of points he made.
Due to my PES status, I was posted to a support vocation. The amount of "wayang-ness" I've witness even at some of the highest level in the SAF is kind of a joke.
And when you sincerely only wish to do your best and see what you can achieve in the 2 years of service, people start to call you "wayang", "Chiong sua", "extra", "spoil market", "siao on" and others.
Yes. I was a chiong sua store man.
I could never agree nor understand that mentality and just stayed in my own lane and continued doing my best. Thank god I had platoon mates who were "crazy" like me to want to push for excellence. Problem is, the SAF rewards such diligence and hard work with "punishment" and instead reward the ones who simply slack off. Punishment in the sense of getting extra work simply because you have made yourself available and capable. Even the tiniest, brainless duties are being handled to you. Whereas the slackers are in the bunk sleeping away or hiding somewhere.
That to me, is the real main failure of the SAF. We have already lost the war mentally before it even happened.
@Samuel C
Absolutely agree with your views. It’s a vicious cycle as well when people witness brown nosers towards superiors getting promotions and recognition more often than those who actually deserves it.
End result would be to simply follow the flow and not be too outstanding in case you’re marked for being different.
This comment is absolutely spot on! I hated my camp and workplace for this... Its really terrible.
That's one of the reasons why I hated my NS days.
Same bruh I also storeman. Nearly 1/3 or more people r sleeping inside admin room. And we r stay out unit.
Now understand this! Only institutionalised individual would put this sort of experience in their CVs
Great to hear this chat. There will always be a difference between a pro and conscript armed forces. I think we need to wake up our idea. Sometimes I think we forget, we are supposed to be a fighting force first. Way too much wayang imho…..
Wayang culture too strong.
Lmao
USMC has way better benefits and culture compared to SAF
SAF: "Do you know how much does a smoke Grenade cost? If you want to pop smoke, you gotta ask for permission!"
SAF in Combat: "PERMISSION TO THROW SMOKE SIR?!"
Dude I always think that serving the national service take a boy at the start and become a man when he complete the service.
Have a blast in your aviation profession and hope one day you can become a mentor to RSAF pilot cadets
I was in OCS 25/96, more than 25 yrs ago.
My memory in OCS was very different from yours.
OCS was the most encouraging time during my NS. True, we made lots of mistake, but nobody blame anyone. There were those who are physically weaker (I am 1 of those). Instead of the putting them down, the section always train extar with them to help them up, physically pushing them during fast March, even carrying equipment off them. There was always encouragement, not putting down.
There is always a lot of cheering each other on, through fast March, being punished etc... the instructors never punish any of the cadets for vocally encouraging each others at any time.
We were always using thunder flash and popping smoke grenade through field camps in all simulated conditions. Never heard of instructors asking anyone to save those items.
Perhaps OCS had changed through the years, I hope not.
scholar batch or the other batch? minister son inside? those kind of things makes the difference.
@@Logic807 No white horse or any scholars that I knew of.
Was in Tango company.
@@Logic807 no there's no difference. The difference is whether u choose to believe the ppl feeding u this bs. During my time BMT there were so many scholars etc. Dude, we alight from the jetty straight away kena hammered for hours even continue when we reach coy line at Rocky Hill.
Well said on old SAF and I hope there is a fundamental change in term of training mentality. My time in OCS a few decades ago, it’s the same just physical and mental “punishment” . I believe there is some positive change in SAF and mature to a real learning organisation. It will take times as the old school people might not want to change…
In his "last" life has was SG NS, then reborn again as US Marines. Nirvana man!
Really true to the core. The NS culture in Singapore the frequently use word is, " don't sabo hor " And " Tekan" culture among fellow NS men could be rampant also. Mr Goh raise a invaluable point. All you men or women in the NS uniform are summon in duty to train for a possible offensive whether external or from within. You are all in same uniform to train in mutual common morale and proficiency to protect Singapore. And not using this 2 years period to demoralise each other or even character assassination. That is not National service that is Servicing Singapore a disservice..
This is just tip of the iceberg, I'm gonna say something controversial..
Now imagine that all your blood, sweat, tears and physical injuries sustained (carried for life) until your death only to realise that the country's institutions you swore to protect are profiting foreign workers (white collar ones) at the expense of you born and bred one, made worse by the fact that even other sections of born and bred locals feel it's their birthright to look down upon you especially if you're a grunt!
You know the only thing i would disagree with Raynor here, is about the sergeants, batch mates or instructors. Honestly, screw them, some are nice but unfortunately most of the people i met are just horrible people. I hope they all go to hell.
@@friktogurg9242 That's the thing, whatever good people you meet in a s*ithole gets covered in s*it and stench such that whatever good being done has been overshadowed it.
NS is not called Nasty S*ithole for nothing
@@yong9613 Fuck NS. I used up 2 years of my life for that crap.
Awesome, thanks for sharing :)
I served the rsaf during my national service days. My vocation is engineering related. I believes rank doesn't give you the power to control people who are lower than you. Knowledge is more important than rank because you are duelling with advanced technology from USA and Europe. My instructors told us to study harder to be an efficient technician so that you can perform well during maintenance. In rsaf, majority of servicemen doesn't care about rank and doesn't play rank. they just want to complete their work and prepare to go home. RSAF is more career minded than hierarchy unlike Army and Navy who have the same mentality. Both services believe that their elite soldiers are the best.
RSAF Fighter Jets -> F16C/D/D+, F15SG, F35B
RSAF Tanker -> A330 MRTT
To be honest, SAF enlistees and specialist regulars do not earn a lot (less than $4000) but their jobs are very stable.
Interesting perspective. Glad to see what we can expect.
Bro you are right thank you for speaking the truth about the Singapore military service ,need to improve in many aspect as close as to the real situation of military life for all army personal especially for those trainers
So true, totally agree with what he is saying. All this starts from primary school.
He doing well in US military after Singapore NS. I wish I had an opportunity to serve US army after my NS in my youth. I believe I would have been better off financially and socially.
@Temasek SDQ
Same here. Have you seen how Americans whom are strangers walk up to ordinary Men in military uniforms and personally thank them for their service to the country.
In Singapore, you’ll never get that kind of respect and recognition unless you are a rich White Horse, General or “elites”.
my cat loves u too!
I feel the reason he say sg army n us army have different mindset is bcos sg army never go to war as such we r taught the same thing for generations. Our experience r limited.
I totally get him for the smoke grenade or thunder flash part... I was like even when i bring it out to the field I'm not supposed to throw it??? This is why i don't like the SAF style of training also it is so limited to their book and bias...and you got punish for "thinking out of the box" because of this it has mind fxxk all of us to just follow what they say...so we just SAF serve and fxxk off... i hope our troops does not like a blockhead when it comes to actual combat...and everyone think and use appropriate actions according to the scenario... SAF needs stop the one way traffic system and starting listening more...
if use the grenade have to write several statements
The smoke grenade is meant for use during hornet attack irrc and not for sniper drills.
But I do agree to a certain extent that some SOPs are followed to the letter and thus creating a culture of rigidity. I think it stemmed from having to account to NSF parents and thus having to have a super safe training environment which adds to the rigidity.
please remember the pin when u throw the smoke.. they are much more concern about the pin than anything else ermmmmm
I had no such problems using my smokes or whatever else i had on me.
Semper Fi! Raynor.
Fresh point of view... nice
Love you goh, RAH
I was scolded for not carrying my M16 ‘properly’ just bcos I refused to have that awkward designed rifle sling around my neck, which prevented my quick actions to engage. The obedient ones just followed without questioning.
I remember that. Hanging the rifle around the neck in front. Made no sense. But it was in the training manual……sigh 7/92 AST
Once u r older and wiser, u know that making mistakes is normal, or even good, because its when making mistakes where u grow and we are all human, noone is perfect and everyone makes mistakes.
I agree that in the military in Singapore is about rank. In the business, the boss is the one that is the "worst", because u hire everyone better than you. If they aren't better then you, why would u hire them? Same as being an officer deploying man. if that guy ain't better than you, why is he in ur team? Don't look down on anyone, everyone is a leader and team player!
At least 50% of the officers cannot make it. Even more today. I'm a NCO commando from the early 90s and I had no qualm of cursing a major on their face if they couldn't perform.
Thank you Rayner
Well said about sg army, more like "rank" is an command and order, if higher rank don't like you they can "tekan" or " bully" you, or even ask you to clean their rifle and clean their boots...I am serving my country but seem more like servicing the rank, that was during my time. That's why I don't like uniform groups is more about "ranks" and will not let my kids join any uniform groups.
It’s nice to hear the positives about the Singapore military culture as a whole but it is also equally important to state the negatives about it.
Seems that there are too many sugary positive videos on RUclips to pander to the Singaporean Nationalists who are unable to accept negative feedbacks. Would like to hear more of those. Just brutal frank honesty. 👍🏻
Spot on Raynor.
In America you have people thanking you for your service. In Singapore, you tell people you serve they ask you diam diam
Dude! Simply put, its the 'entitlement mindset' that is in Singapore Culture, from SAF rank and file, coporate world manager vs men, owning a car on the road, riding a bicycle... that is our poison and there is no cure!
This is so sad. In fact it's really embarrassing that our OCS training is so rigid like this. What happened to realistic training? Not allowed to kick down a door during urban ops? Wth... definitely there's a lot of room for improvement here.
I guess things are different today versus 30years ago, when we did our 2.5yrs of NS. FIBUA, we also kick the doors open. However, one thing to learn is when you kick those filmsy doors open too hard, they rebound and close on you. Wahahahahahahah.
@@DonYang73 You want combat experience, you got it! The very door you kicked hard at, returns you the favour in your face. Unforgettable.
@@ivangim1
Simple solution, get your wingman to prepare a stopper before you kick the doors…
yeahh boi raynor!!!
I have spent time and had drinks with retired military personnel from other parts of the world and these included a US Army Ranger who jumped Grenada & Panama and a member of the French Foreign Legion...I can assure you one thing, ALL militaries, the US included have that wayang thing going on...only in the depths of the special operations units that you find least of it..chaps who experienced firefights often brushed aside any talks about it most dont even stay long in the military..Problem with the SAF its the system of fast tracking scholars to generals over grooming of "farmers"..this creates an academic vs a hands on approach to things.(P.S interestingly I was told of a SGrean who was part the Foreign Legion as a sergeant + The green is always greener on the other side : P )
“Over grooming of farmers”? Apologies but I don’t get that part.
@@Callsign-Blade_RunnerSG I think he meant training up leaders from local schools (farmers) instead of training leaders who went to overseas universities on scholarships(scholars).
@@Melcor2304 nah by farmers he meant those who join without much prior education hence they have more experience as they begin from the very bottom of ranks and only promote from performance rather than scholars whom join and are able to obtain high ranks quickly due to their degree rather than from actual performance in the army
@@shrekswamp1358 ahh I see, thanks!
Exactly this. Men serving NS is just a KPI for these scholars to advanced their careers and defence is just a side thought.
Also, i think the system need to change whereby ppl earn their rank only after evaluation by both their men and trainers. So for instance, if an OCT doesnt make the cut after evaluation by his men, he will be "downgraded" to pass out as just a 3SG. Same goes for specialist cadets. If the men think they are not fit, they will be downgraded to pass out as corporals.
We have heard and seen it so much. A lot of the ocs officers really think they are better than the rest