The Eclectic

I’m drenched. The tropical shower was much welcomed after days of unbearable heat. They say in the forest, you get fooled by the shade; sure you’re in the shade but the heat is still there. The thick vegetation around me rustled and I gave a silent hush. Well, more like: “Shut UP! Stop moving! They’ll notice us”. The collective grunt of 5 restless men, proning for about an hour since we arrived reassured me – at least they’re not sleeping.

We were in visible but not hearing distance of tentages. We could clearly see the armed personnel hiding from the rain. “I didn’t know it was CAT 1,” Dahnial said earlier, Shaun Poh, Daniel Low, Ruz, Fahmi and Helmi sniggered in agreement. Thanks HQ for giving me the perfect section. Now can you please give me the signal so I can kick some Malaysian ASS? I shifted the weight on my right arm… my M1 Garand is heavier… hold on a second.. why am I issued an M1? Oh wells…

A moment later, i felt a vibration on my watch… That’s the signal.. I motioned for the men to ready their weapons. I looked at the targets smiling… Thank you CAT1.

Suddenly, I caught a movement in the bushes opposite us, followed by an object in projectile motion, sailing in the air and landing nicely in the middle of the tentages. “@#$% Grenade! Take cover!” I crawled quickly into a natural trench and counted to 5. Who The Hell Threw That Grenade? I need my points to get shipped back home! I need to kick some ass! DAMMIT! When will I ever get to fire the weapon!

I swear the blast shifted some of my inner organs. The fragments ripped through the tree line cutting some branches. The people in the tents were done for. I peeked from behind cover and slowly took a glance at the scene… and I saw the mess.. CAT1 screwed you!

There was another rustle and I expected friendly faces. To my surprise… I saw soldiers in blue camouflage. “They’re not ours.. probably Viet or Thai.. What the hell are they doing here?” said Daniel.

… SHIT so it’s a competition now? Who gets to conquer M’sia first? This is my chance – Purple Heart here I come…

“Viet, Thai.. whatever. I wanna kick some ass” whispered Shaun.

“Ziq, we’ve got Comms, its HQ…”

Dahnial leopard-crawled to me. He passed me the Comms. “<buzzing> Pull out, the Viets outnumber you. There’s a whole friggin’ company. Get the hell out of there! <buzzing>” I looked at my men… they were eager… HQ made us trek all the way here and we haven’t fired a single bullet.  “<buzzing> Haziq! HAziq!”

“NO.. NO we stay HERE”

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The above dream does not imply any political or ideological stand.

And I DID my morning prayers, although not at 0545, and with a little bit more encouragement.

1.Sunday Bloody Sunday (U2) – Paramore
2.Gimme Shelter – Rolling Stones
3.Family Reunion  – Kid Sister
4.Veronica’s Veil  – Fan Death
5. Sacred Trickster  – Sonic Youth

Thanks Anna!

I just don’t understand how people can NOT go for all the wrong reasons. Faking a trip to Malaysia, faking fever… C’mon, it just confirms the idea that once we go to our unit we’ll go our seperate ways. It’s not just about the food or the people. I bet a hundred bucks and my LBV + Helmet, no one could organize an event the next time where the whole platoon will be available. AH, I won’t bother. Kudos to those who went eventually. It was tiring but worth it.

Anyways, during the event there was a fight caused by a staring incident. 3 innocent guys riding a bike got stopped by a small group of teens who think they are gangsters and started beating them; their friends joined in the fray and it became like 12 on 1. The 3 guys got pwned. Luckily we were there to scare the shit out of the 12 guys away. C’mon ah, a platoon of Eagle company men… which 12-16 year old brainless wannabe gangster would test their strength lols or rather bravery. COWARDS! I was so preparing myself for some peacekeeping-skinhead action! EARGH, an opportunity to beat the shit of these half-fuck gangsters are always rare.. usually cos they run away.

But let’s look at this in a time frame. 3 guys on respective bikes going at approximately 10-15km/h approach the area where the small-boys were. At that speed, and with the purpose of cycling, it is possible for one of them to glance ahead.. you’re supposed to look where you’re going, whaaat. The possible starting point would be at most 10 meters away since it is only possible to properly discern a ’stare’ at that distance. 10km/h = 2m/s approx. That means the longest stare possible would have been 5 secs….. THAT’s NOT A STARE YOU DUMBASSES. THAT’S A GLANCE TO MAKE SURE THEIR BIKES DON’T HIT YOU SKINNY NINCOMPOOPS WEARING PINK SHIRTS AND WALKING ON A BIKE PATH.

On an even stupidier note, these pink small-boys fought like sissies. It’s a wonder how one of the victims even got a bloody nose.. maybe from falling and hitting the floor. Not a single one of the skinnies could have delivered a brute force to kill an ant.

Webster defines Man as an adult male servant
But with all due respect to Webster, there’s Man
and then there’s Army Man
He has the physical strength
the emotional strength
the mental strength
He has the Character
He has the Purpose
To do good Today
and to do Well Tomorrow
He has the strength to Obey
and not just Command
He has the strength to Build
and Tear Down
He has the strength to get himself over
and to get over himself
There is nothing on this green earth
that is stronger than the Army
Because there is nothing on this green earth
that is stronger than an Army Soldier

There are people who fight as a leader
But I’d rather lead as a fighter
Maybe I am a punk rocker

Or just maybe I feel like personally kicking butt
not from way behind the frontline