This week's Thursday was the hell day of the week..... Why? Cos everyone is going thru the 1st training phase of the Combat Endurance Test(CET) which is the final test that every single trainees have to pass in order to deserve the harzard pay and the prestigious unit badge... The CET sounds quite easy to me: Wearing MOPP4 (a type of protective posture which consists of the mask with canister and, the green camouflage thick cotton suit with gloves) and go for a route march of 3.7km, den come back to take a 30min simple aptitude test, followed by a mask run of 2 km. The running part is just wif the mask on and PT attire.. Hmmm... i tot 3.7km is quite a short dist marching route to me cos i had marched 24km in BMT..But i was wrong.. TOTALLY WRONG!!!!!!! So wrong that it could have cost me my life...

The weather that day was quite hot and humid... Quite a bad weather for me to wear that suit.. But oh well, 3.7km is quite a short dist, should be able to take the heat built up within, i tot to myself....

Then a long siren sounded... I and my fellow company mates quickly masked on and went on to put on the hood and gloves... At that point of time, i could feel the heat building up very fast, like an oven... I told myself not to think too much and started marching off... It was only abt a minute when i just stepped out of the gate, i felt like taking off the mask and give up the training... But i told myself, WHAT? GIVE UP AFTER WALKING A FEW STEPS??? ARE U THAT WEAK??!!! Hence i went on..

The sun became hotter, shining unrelentingly on the whole company.... The temp within me kept on going up.,.. I felt like dying,.... The caister which is a new one seemed to clogged up, making my breathing very difficult.. The mask strap felt like tightening against my head, giving me frustrating headaches and dizziness.. I fought very hard to keep in pace with my platoon... I told myself: GO ON!!!!!!!!!!!

As i marched, i started to sweat profusely. The sweat kept dripping out from the outlet of my mask as if a water tap went malfunctioned... Sweat started to fill up my rubber gloves until they became so heavy for me to even lift my arm... I COULDNT STAND IT!!!!!!!!!! I felt like ripping off my mask!!!!! I clenched my fist and ground my teeth to endure this suffering... Suddenly i felt that my both hands are like on fire or have been badly scalded by boiling water ... Cos the hot sweat and heat dissipated from the clenching of my fist could not escape, instead it builts up more on the heat which is almost killing me!!!!!!!!

Now i am at the turning point of the marching route and heading back to camp... My Platoon Commander shouted:"We are now on the way back!!!! ENDURE!!"

Now at this moment, the sun's rays are more scorching and enervating.... I felt like i am in the burning fires of HELL....Every step i take brings me so much agony, pain, misery and suffering... It is such a chore for me to keep pushing myself to complete the training.... It is so pressurising that my hair could just turn white on the spot.. it is even more painful and discouraging to see that 3 of my platoon mates could not take it and fell out of it finally.. I could hear a voice in my mind whispering: "Why endure? Give up!!! take off the mask!!! Ur friends have given up, so why continue?" I badly wanted to... Den suddenly flashes of the badge, the 300 dollar hazard pay( i will be getting that pay if i pass this test), the tough training and the nonsensical punishment given by my commanders went across my mind... I asked myself:"WHY GIVE UP??!!! I HAVE ENDURED SO MUCH HARDSHIPS, TOLERATED SO MUCH NONSENSE FROM MY COMMANDERS, PERSERVERED THRU NUMEROUS RIGOROUS TRAINING FOR 3 MONTHS PLUS & NOW I WANT TO GIVE UP WHEN MY TRAINING WILL BE ENDING IN 3 WEEKS TIME!??? WHAT ABT THE BADGE AND THE MONEY THAT I HAVE BEEN FIGHTING FOR??! I STAYED ON IN THIS UNIT FOR THESE 2 THINGS... IF NOT, I WOULD HAVE REQUESTED FOR A TRANSFER.. GIVE UP? NO!!!!! NEVER!!!!!! "

Now i am on the last part of the route march... I am reaching the camp soon... good... all will be over soon... I walked, walked, walked, forcing my exhausted legs to carry me on.. I forced myself awake and sober for i can feel the lack of oxygen in my brain, making me very giddy, making me walking zig zag like some drunkard.

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!! Why am i still not reaching the camp? This road that i am walking on is the normal short running route i took during my running exercises.. Now yet it look so interminable to me... sapping my mental strength away...

FINALLY, i reached the camp.. The commanders announced the end of the training... PHEW!!!!!!! I quickly took off the mask and took in a deep breathe... HA!!!!! Never did i knew that fresh air smells so good.. Den i slumbed onto the ground, totally tired and 'crumpled'.. I closed my eyes to rest... the commotion around me became an instant oblivious.. I tot to myself: i have totally underestimated this toughness of the training.... Now is just the beginning of the training and yet i almost couldnt take it, how am i going to pass the test and earned what i truly deserved? I dunno, i just really dunno.... I stared blankly at my friends wearing a shagged out face.... Just too tired to think....