Reflections on Ex. Lancer

21 days in the jungles of Temburong- this will remain as one of the most vivid experiences I have experienced in my life so far. Nothing I have ever done had prepared me for this. I walked out of there a changed person.

Infantry training is an integral part of our overseas training, and Lancer was no different. I was Ex PC for Ex Betayan, and it honed my skill as an infantry PC. I daresay that the practice did me good, although there was no small share of mistakes. For Ex Chindit, I was the CSM’s runner, and observed how a company works in battle. It was enlightening, since I had the signal set, and overheard all the problems the OC had during the exercise. Infantry training went off quite well, with little problems occurring.

We then transited over to the main portion of the Lancer package- the JCC. The JCC instructors were strict, almost to a fault. Well, it was their course, so it was not my place to complain. There were several administrative matters that could have made our life there smoother and not so rushed, but they were overlooked. All these and more have already been highlighted in the debrief. We spent a lot of time rushing around unnecessarily.

For my group’s Ex Nomad, we finally found our individual niches and tasks in the group. Our group dynamics finally worked itself out, and we managed to emerge as one of the better groups. Imagine our consternation when we found out that we were all disbanded and regrouped for Chillbone. I really missed working with my group.

For Delta, we transited first to Ex. Chillbone. New group, new dynamics and interactions. What did I do? I grabbed the signal set. If they thought that my navigation was not too good (or at least it was ravine attracting) I would let them navigate first. Eventually, I cleared my name of the ravine stigma, as everyone took their turns to navigate our way around some of the most varied terrain I had ever come across. Walking in streams up to waist deep, climbing up nearly vertical rocks, skirting the Temburong river, climbing up Biang at night… These are some of the vivid memories that I had brought back with me. We had to walk two nights to get to the endpoint on time. Thank God we did, for if we didn’t, we would surely not get the badge.

Chillhermit- The most revealing and meaningful part of the JCC. It was not the tasks that were important. I felt that it was the will to survive and live was the single most important takeaway that I got from Chillhermit. It was depressing to see people just give up and step out because they could not take their foot rot. It was worse to see people use their injuries as a reason to expect unreciprocated help. I felt that Chillhermit was supposed to be an individual exercise- to do it as buddies was already a bonus. If you are not willing to put in your two cents worth, why bother?

I learnt a lot from the JCC. I feel that the future batches who miss the JCC will miss out a lot.

(A reflection i have to do for my PC when i book in tonight. Shown for your reading pleasure.)