Sergeant Daniel

15 May 2006 is the day..

Daniel will don his greeny uniform with his boots, beret and carry his haversack bag to a place called HQ 9th Division. Oh man..

This afternoon, I received the notification letter from MINDEF, approving my application for the resumption of my National Service (NS).

103 days to 25 August 2006 - Operation Ready Day (ORD)

ORD - A day I am looking forward to... after 3 long years.. finally I could complete my NS. How tough and how sian my remaining NS life could be, I don't know but I know that I am going to get it over and done with.. by His Grace.

This time round, I go in with two different identities: 1) A child of God. 2) HR person.

I feel that the Lord has two tasks for me in Army.

1) To share the Gospel of God's Kingdom to the lost

2) To share with my men and NS officers what is life like in unit and prepare them mentally for the new lives ahead.

My Past

I recalled that some of my enciks i.e. Warrant Officers and Senior Specialists not able to comprehend GOMs, Directives, Circulars and always need to rely on A Level SGT and CPL to help them.

Having the ability to comprehend and help interprete these GOMs, Directives and Circulars really gave us great advantage and having close connections with key people in units were important haha.. because before enciks wanted to "tekan" (bully) me, they had to think twice because my close relationships with Officer Commanding (OC), PA to the Camp Commandant, captains and own Platoon Commander and Platoon 2IC (my direct superior). These really put me at great advantage.. hahaha.. those were in the past.

"Sergeant Gary" was once a brand name in Tekong Motor Transport Company... but those were in the past.. I was manipulative and I was always in people's good books. As a 3SG, you can't imagine how I wielded power in my Company. Even my own Platoon Commander (an Officer) told me that I'm more suitable to be in his position than himself. Well.. I was fortunate to be under the mentorship of Ma'am Chandrika, my very very beloved supervisor who took very very good care of me.

With her around, no one "dares to touch" me and of course, I was well-trained by her and hence been very "valuable". I could cover her duty when she was away on leave and the platoon could still function. I was made the unofficial acting Platoon 2IC, enjoyed great favour.. but I didnt know God then.. And got involved with "extra-curriculum activities".. haiz.. BUT those were in the past... now I am a new creation in Christ Jesus! Praise God.

Into the near future

This time round, I just wish to be known as Sergeant Daniel - God's full-time servant in my new unit to share the good news and be an encouragement to my colleagues in the new unit, to make friends, to win souls for Christ as the Lord leads, to enjoy three months break, to complete reading the bible, to catch up on my long overdue readings (many friends blessed me with many Christian books), to spend more time with family, etc..

I don't wish to get involved in unit politics, just want to be a minister of God and share Christ, touch lives and win souls for God.

I pray and commit my new NS life unto the Hands of God the Father through faith in Christ Jesus that whatever He has planned for me is good and perfect.

This is my prayer request, in Jesus Name, Amen.