Category: Places

Small talk over lousy coffee and sweet cakes at Samuel Hill Camp, Shoalwater Bay Training Area. “Eh, what’s that superhero called ah?” “Which one?” “Neh, that one?” “Which one?” “That one lah, cannot see him one?” “Which one?” “That one lah! Transparent Guy!” “Transparent Guy?” “Yah! Transparent Guy!” Technorati Tags: army, ExWallaby2005, nationalservice, Singapore

Hero shot: It’s all in the gear Non-hero shot: Queueing in the canteen “Eh, take picture of me and mms my girlfriend, can?” “OK, how come your phone cannot?” “Dunno lah. Take for me can?” “OK…” “Wait, wait. Dowan already. Take in canteen not hero shot, must wear all the gear then can”. Hero and…

Exercise Wallaby is an annual event in Shoalwater Bay, Central Queensland, that the Singapore Armed Forces conducts, and my unit (433rd Battalion, Singapore Armoured Regiment) had long been slated to participate in as part of its ATEC (Army Training Evaluation Centre) assessment of its battle-readiness. Four times the size of Singapore, the training area provides…

Miracle: International roaming out in the bush makes for a happy armoured trooper. 3SG (NS) Gerard Tan (right) points troopers to the GSM signal. It’s been a different three weeks, a difficult three weeks. No internet, only intermittent mobile signals and long queues to the landline phones that allowed us to call home using discount…

Rockhampton’s CBD I’m back, and in case some people still haven’t realised, mrbrown has been very kindly guest blogging here, which means that the number of visitors has actually gone up in my absence. I have a nice tan to show for 3 weeks of Queensland sun too, except that I still look like I’m…