Technical Assistant Training Wing

Every year had been eventful for the Technical Assistant Training Wing (TAW) in which TA and NCO Courses were conducted back to back.

In 1972, the OC TAW was Lta Quek Meng Chua, and the other instructors were 2Lt Fong Kok Wai (NSF), Ssg Ayub bin Abu Bakar (Wing SM), Sgt Ng Chee Gee (NSF), Sgt Yue Kam Weng (Regular), Cpl Wong Chit Chong (NSF), Lcp Ling Meng Choy (NSF), Cpl Tan Kow Meng (NSF), Lcp Choo Kong Kin (NSF).

I was Cpl for 13 months, and I got promoted to Sgt on 1 February 1972.

Sergeant and above were considered Senior NCOs (SNCOs). Officers and SNCOs were given the privilege of being served at the dining hall for meals, i.e. they did not have to queue up for food but sat down at the designated dining tables for cooks to bring the food to them, and when they finished their meals, the cooks cleared the table.

Once, OC and I went up to Hill 265, off Jalan Ulu Sembawang, with a batch of trainees for observation lessons - 'Identification and indication of Targets and the Panorama’. It was lunchtime, and to gain time, we remained on the hilltop and continued lessons with some trainees. Trainees took turns going downhill for their lunch, and the trainee IC (in-charge person) was asked to bring food up the hill for us. And guess what we get for lunch? We had chicken butts.

Lta Quek said, 'We must have been too nice to the trainees. They ate chicken drumsticks, and we only got chicken asses.'

I responded, 'Sir, the BQ did not take chicken drumsticks for ration out. The drumsticks were served for officers and SNCOs to dine in the cookhouse.'

Late Quek Meng Chua passed away on 15 Jun 2007 while exercising on the Treadmill at 60.

There were seven courses conducted in TAW as follows (in chronological order):

1. TA NCO Course 3/72.

2. TA Course 10/72.

3. Surveyors’ Course 7/72.

4. TA Course 11/72.

5. TA Course 12/72.

6. Surveyors’ Course 8/72.

7. TA NCO Course 4/72.

Amid a tight training schedule, I initiated a rest and recreation (R and R) outing event for instructors and trainees. For the first time on 10/9/1972, it was a beautiful Sunday, we went to Kota Tinggi waterfall in Johor.

We also R and R to West Malaysia for a short tour and sightseeing for 3 nights 2 days, to Cameron Highlands or Genting Highlands. We departed on Friday evening and returned on Sunday night during the scheduled long weekend.

On 15 June 2007. Quek Meng Chua passed out while exercising on the Treadmill. (The photo taken with Quek Meng Chua on 31 Oct 1998 in Rockhampton, Australia.)

 37 years served in The Singapore Artillery

Chapter 19 My failure - lessons for my future career as an Instructor (cont…)

School of Artillery had 9 lesson formats, they were: Arty Board, Director, Displacement Calculator, Observation, Position, Battle Technique, Survey, Ranging, Air photo, etc., These were the painstaking efforts of the 1st BAOC officers to make them available for Singapore Artillery.

Initially, Instructors had no formal training on how to conduct their lessons, they based on these formats to conduct a lesson. 

I experienced a total failure in my first lesson as an instructor. I was tasked to teach ‘Director’ -  ‘Introduction of L1A1’, because of my language problem, I did the lesson badly, worse of all was I should not have said, ‘I am Chinese educated and I cannot speak good English.’ It was something inappropriate as an instructor. This had been permanently imprinted in my memory. And this was a bad impression of me to my trainees. I had lost respect for many of them.

I did not give up, with the experience of failure, I worked harder to prepare my lessons. I tried to memorize everything written in the lesson format when I prepared a lesson and knew what to say when delivering the lessons. The lesson formats were a useful guide for me for conducting lessons, they also improved the vocabulary in the English language.

 Chapter 19 My failure

37 years served in The Singapore Artillery

Chapter 19 My failure - lessons for my future career as an instructor

In 1967/68, I was unsure of the exact date and how many trainees were in the 1st TA and Svy Course. There were four national servicemen Cpls Low Lip Kian, Lee Bak Hong Tan Kok Tai and Moi Weng Kam and three regulars Sgts Robert Yap, Ayub Bin Abu Bakar and Ali.

The 4 Cpls were my instructors during the 2nd Batch TA and Svy Course.

In 1968/69, from 14/10/1968 to 15/01/1969, I attended the 2nd TA and Svy Course, there were a total of 27 trainees. We were all national servicemen. I decided to sign on for 3 years after my NS stint and later I was offered to join pensionable service.

I retired on 11/06/2005. From 02/05/1968 to 11/06/2005, a total of 37 years I had served in the Singapore Artillery.

In 1969, when I was in 20 SAB busy doing bn ex and live firing in Southern Islands, the 3rd TA and Svy Course had finished their course and posted to 20 SAB. I was unsure of the exact date and how many of them, nevertheless, the 2nd and 3rd batches had been together in the FDC and Svy group. A Lcp Lim Ching Geok (3rd Batch TASA) was the FDC Sgt who served as an IC for the TASA.

In 1970, from 25/05/1970 to 15/08/1970, after being absorbed as a regular, I was appointed instructor for the 4th TA and Svy Course. It was a pity that we had not taken a course photograph, I could not confirm the number of trainees, I remember about 30 of them and all national servicemen.

From 05/10/1970 to 14/11/1970, a duration of 6 weeks, Sch of Arty had a sufficient number of candidates to conduct the 1st Technical Assistants’ NCO Course (TANCO), a total of 14 trainees were selected to attend, they were:

Sgt Robert Yap and Ssg Ayub Bin Abu Bakar: from the 1st TA and Svy Course.

Cpl Lau Beng Huat and Lcp Yue Kam Weng: from the 2nd TA and Svy Course.

Cpl Seow Hai Chew, Lcp Ng Kaw Hin, Lcp Tham Sui Kwang, Lcp Lee Chwee Hock and Lcp Goh Tee Tee: from the 3rd TA and Svy Course.

Cpl Seow Hai Chew was my secondary school classmate, we were from Yock Eng High School, Tanjong Katong Road.

Pte Yeo Thiam Hock, Pte Chang Hock Meng, Pte Lam Tse Chau, Pte Ong Seow Pheng and Pte Loo Wing Ee were from the 4th TA and Svy Course.

The Pte X Y Z (not to disclose his identity), was among the five private soldiers from the 4th TA and Svy.

On 05/10/1970, it was a beautiful Monday, when 14 trainees were reporting for the TANCO Course, Pte X Y Z saw me and he realized that I was one of the trainees like him, but not an instructor, he started to irritate me by saying, “You fxxking private soldier, see an Lcp you’d better pay respect” and “tan jia bing”. He was speaking to himself but loud enough for me to hear him.

Trainees were reprimanded by me for not paying a compliment to me (instructor) during the 4th TA and Svy Course. Anyway, I should not have used “You fxxking private soldier …….”. For that, many trainees always irritate me by saying, “You fxxking private soldier, see an Lcp you’d better pay respect”.

Pte X Y Z was deliberately to provoke me. I kept my cool. Certainly, I was unhappy, but I could understand how Pte X Y Z hated me because I had not won his respect during his course when I was an instructor.

The TANCO Course Duty IC was responsible for conducting 5BX every morning. One morning, Pte X Y Z was the Duty IC, after conducting 5BX, he gave a command, “Course Sedia.” Everybody in the rank and file came to attention. My right ear was stung by a mosquito at that moment. Spontaneously I raised my hand to hit it.

Pte X Y Z shouted at me, “Lcp Yue Kam Weng, stop moving, I want you to double round the block, go!”.

Pte X Y Z was the Course IC and I had committed the mistake of moving in the file. I replied loudly, “Yes, IC!” I executed his order double one round block 80.

Completed doubling one round block 80, I stood attention before Pte X Y Z, and said, “Permission to join in, IC.” Pte X Y Z answered softly, “Thank you, Lcp Yue, join in.”

In my failure experience from the 4th TA and Svy Course, I encountered many trainees such as Pte X Y Z’s negative attitude toward me, I learned some lessons for my future career as an instructor.