let's do a little self reflection here, with regard to my NCC career which has drawn to a closure with the submittion of my Gold Cert Application recently. it is a grand total of 7 fruitful years that i have served the corps. 4 as a cadet. 3 as a CLT. and i am definitely proud to be in St Gab's Air Unit. winning the Best Air Unit 3 times out of my 4 years there really stiffen our backbone and instill us with a overwhelming sense of pride for our unit.

i started off as a fresh cadet in Part A in St Gabriel's NCC (AIR) Unit in the year 2000. The year in which our unit officially became a school unit. and i belonged to the 1st batch of school cadets. we numbered 50 Part A cadets initally and as the years went by, our numbers dwindled and at the end at our ROD in sec4, we numbered 30 cadets in our part. not that i am racist or wat. but our part of totally devoid of muslim cadets. not a single one remain after we hit part B.

Part A and Part B was probably the most fun years of my life as Air Cadet.

brotherhood and unity truly existed amongst us. there was no power struggles, no politics playing, no backstabbing. all was well, and all was fun. we suffered together, we had fun together. this is something that money cant buy. even to this very day, we still bear scars of "suffering" that we endure and to a certain extent enjoyed during our cadets day. my callous palms, whose skin had harden due to the many pumpings that we did on the turmac road under the hot sun. i was lucky to participate as part of the Guard of Honour Contigent for my school's speech day when i was in Part A. and that was probably a proud moment for me as a new cadet. that, besides my promotion to LCP was a defining moment for me.

come the following year, i was in Part B. and i would admit that i did got bored of NCC after a while due to the same old stuffs that we do, week in, week out. but quitting was not on my mind due to the many friends that i have made there. i am also proud to announce that half my part came from my class, 2E2. :)) and ya. it was a rather uneventful year with me gettin my CPL rank after attending Silver Wing.

Part C: a defining year for all of us as this year would be the year that we are judged and appointed accordingly to our abilities as leaders of the unit. this was when all the wayanging and all the backstabbing starting appearing. cracks started to appear in our otherwise united part. but 1 thing, that all of us have to admit was that when we are out of school and in HQ NCC or anywhere whereby we are representives of the unit, our unit was unbrokable, unshakable. but despite these negative points, when it comes to handling tasks, we would put aside our differences and work with professionalism in completing it with efficency. it was during this year that i went for my 1st overseas trip to Gunung Ledang and many of the ppl that were there with me were also my platoon mates in CLT Course.

towards the latter half of the year, we were finally appointed with appointments in the Unit. i was appointed the RSM (Regimental Sergent Major) of St Gabriel's NCC (AIR) Unit and that was probably the proudest moment in my career as a cadet at secondary school level. but with power comes responsibility. and that was my first real task as a leader. working closely with the USM and 2 ASMs to run the unit. each of us have our own different tasks and responsibilities. it also gave experiences with working with my peers and it taught me ppl management which would help greatly later on as a CLT.

Part D: we were in the twilight of our cadet years, and each of us, i must admit were not looking forward to stepping down as it would mean the drawing of the curtain our cadet years. i felt the same way too as i know that this unit that gave me 4 meaningful years would leave me yearning for the unit and i would really miss it. finally, all good things must come to an end, and it was with great sadness that we stepped down. i could still remember the tears that whelm up in the eyes of some of my peers. and i could still remember the speech that Leonard, our USM gave which was done in a tone of sadness and pride. such memories are priceless.

despite the many politic playing and power struggles that existed in Part D. i still throughly enjoyed myself. the ego clashes, the fun times, such things are hard to forget.

i decided to sign on for the 46th Intake of CLTs to come back to my unit as a CLT and to bring them to greater heights. i was not the only one that had this thinking. Alvin and Wei Liang too shared the same thinking as me. and it was with this in mind that we signed on.

CLT Course really opened my mind to many things. it was the toughest course that i had ever went through. 3 weeks of pure hell. and the only time that we get to book out is Saturdays, and i could still remember us counting down to the days that we book out and pass out. CLT Course challenged me physically and mentally. and our CLT Course was not like how it is now. it was the last course that can actually be considered as a course that tekan you mentally and physically. the intakes that comes after us were trained in the different way with much more emphasis being placed on welfare rather than discipline.

which 46th CLT could ever forget the Lieutanants that took us? the tekan that we went through. the highlights of the Course was the Hell nights that we received nightly without fail. and the climax of it was probably the shifting of bunks. where the entire course was given 12 mins to evacuate frm both BLK 245 and 246 with all our barang barang, pillow case, blankets and bedsheets. the marching from point to point and the shoutings and scoldings that we get whenever we fail to perform up to our instructors' very high expectations. it was an honour for me to be selected in the 1st Welcome Guards. and the Guest of Honour was the Chief of Army, MG Desmond Kwek.

Syndicate 5 which was the syndicate that i belong in was happening man. haha. all the cheers that we did. the pain that we endured. the many tears that we shed for one another. and the encouragement that we gave some of our platoon mates who wanted to quit coz the course was too tough. it really bonded us. how many of us could actually forget the Rain Incident. the turning point for us. the talk cock session that we had after that which resulted in us ending up in tears as we repented from our mistakes and wrongdoings.

and it was after 3 weeks of hardship, fun and suffering that we passed out officially as CLTs of the 46th Intake. this was when the journey truly begin for us as newly appointed leaders.

my CLT life though was fun was also filled with sadness and heavy responsibilities. everything come at a price. i belonged to the pioneer batch of Supernumeries that HQ NCC had set up.

i thought that i could return to St Gab's as a CLT but i was wrong. we had too many CLTs and my new CO suggested that we stay at another unit to gain experience and to learn. i felt betrayed, i must admit. and this was the 1 motivating factor that spur me on as a CLT. i want to be the best that i can ever be. to prove to my new CO that it was a mistake to let us go and not take us in. thus, we went to Changkat Changi NCC (AIR) Unit. we went there reluctantly initally, but as time went by, we felt a sense of belonging and a sense of duty towards the unit.

i have no regrets being at Changkat. in fact, i am happy to be there as i really learn much more as a leader, as a person, as a CLT over there then i ever would at St Gab's. this was what that really mould me and transformed me. even though, deep down in my heart i still yearn to be back at St Gab's. i chose to remain there. because of a promise that i made to my Part to see them through to Part D and i would honour my promise as it is my duty to them as a leader.

the 1st year there was not easy. NPCC was the pre dominant CCA there. and our team tried to break the monopoly that they created. it was not easy and it landed us in hot soup sometimes for our actions for the good of the unit. we felt that it was worth it. it was with much effort and it took us a year to finally break the stranglehold that they have. and i am proud to announce that NCC is the dominant CCA there. and it was not only our team's effort. the cadets had just an important role to play too in it. it was through all these that i learned man management, writing of proposals, being a big brother to them etc.

2005 marks the opening of our female unit. and now the CLTs have to multi task. but kudos and all thanks to Yue Yun for training the gals. i guess i never got around to telling you how appreciative we were of it. but well, things would never be the same again. and ya, dun think you be hearing this from me. Thank You & I'm Sorry.

the highlight of my CLT career would probably being appointed as Air 2IC before moving on to being Air OIC. with such a title came huge responsibilities and i had to bear the burn of the actions of some of my clts at times and served as a mediator at other times. i've improved much more a leader and a person at this point, i feel. and of course, the exchange programs that i went which seriously improved my communication skills and people relations. it was truly a great learning experience.

well, in the end i was awarded with an Outstanding CLT Award in recongnition of my contributions and achievements. but i would say this dwarf my other achievements. My Greatest Achievement would be to have put Changkat on the map of NCC and to have laid the foundations for the makings of a rising Unit. this is my greatest achievement as a CLT.

i have never regretted being a CLT even though there were a few incidents that left a sour feeling in me. being a CLT taught me skills and gave me experiences that cadet life would never have given me. it taught me much and such skills would be put to use in the real world next time. as i leave NCC for the real this time, i know i would miss the organisation and the times that i had there. these are truly and really memories that can never be forgotten or replaced.

Thank You! NCC, for the 7 years of experiences and self exploration that was given to me.