‘No fear’ as women, young and old, lap up first-ever army experience
Mdm Patsy Chong (standing), 61, and Athi Ramesh Athirah, 13, the oldest and youngest participants respectively, learning how to operate a SAR 21 rifle with blanks on day two of the Women’s Boot Camp at Maju Camp on Sept 2, 2018.
SINGAPORE — Madam Patsy Chong, 61, has three sons who served National Service (NS), but they have never shared their experiences with her, which she said was a "sad thing".
But a two-day stint at the first-ever women's NS boot camp has now given Mdm Chong an experience to better understand and relate to her sons, said the freelance science enrichment teacher.
While Mdm Chong said she has a good relationship with her sons, she recounted that the trio — who are 34, 32, and 22 — were too occupied with their stint in Officer Cadet School to share their stories and experiences in NS with her.
"They were (officers) and it was like they were married to the OCS (then)," said Mdm Chong, who was one of the oldest participants in the camp.
"I think we'll have more topics to chat about now."
Despite being in her 60s, Mdm Chong had "no fear" when she signed up for the boot camp as she considers herself "an outdoors person", and she has always lived an active lifestyle.
Mdm Chong was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010 and is on medication for the next three years to manage her condition. Despite her illness, Mdm Chong said she "remains optimistic", and even works out with a dragon boat team every Saturday.
Mdm Chong's life experiences and never-say-die attitude inspired 13-year-old Athi Ramesh Athirah, who was the youngest boot camp participant.
The Raffles Girls' School (Secondary) student said she had an "eye-opening experience" making friends with people from all walks of life, as well as getting a glimpse of NS training.
"Patsy shared with me about her two sons, and she said was concerned about training safety," said Athi.
For the duo, handling the SAR21 rifle was the most memorable activity of boot camp, as they have never held a weapon in their lives.
Mdm Chong said: "(The rifle) doesn't look heavy, (it looks) like a toy gun, but when you pick it up, it is very heavy. It's not easy to hold it up, accuracy is needed (to hit the target), and your standing posture (is important)."
Athi said she also found inspiration in the stories of other working women in her group of 10. "One of them is a zookeeper and another is a photographer, and it's so interesting learning about what they do. Even though we're from all walks of life we've come together through this camp," she added.
While the teenager had reservations before joining the boot camp as she was afraid of the "trainers' shouting". But with her father's encouragement, she decided to give it a shot as the camp coincided with her school holidays.
The experience turned out to be the "most interesting" school holiday activity that she has experienced so far.
"Next time I'll definitely make my friends (from school) join too."
