LOST

When I was just posted to 1st Singapore Infantry Regiment (1 SIR), I was very combat-unfit. I remembered the 1st military exercise I went with my platoon. If I was not wrong, it was Exercise Leopard. I carried a stretcher and a medical orderly pouch on top of the standard items of a rifleman. It weighed 10kg more! In the middle of an advance, my skeletal battle order (SBO), or better known as webbing, gave way and I had to use extra energy to hold it together. In the unfamiliar, difficult and dark terrain, I could not take it anymore and slumped to the ground.

No one bothered to help me as I was a new medic and no one really knew who i was. In the end, the entire battalion left me behind in the middle of a jungle. I tried to find my way out later but did not dare to risk losing my way in the dark.

It was in the middle of an exercise and I had not eaten for a day. I was too exhausted at that time to actually worry about being lost. Mastering my remaining strength, I set up my stretcher, fired a few blank ammunitions, said a prayer for my safety and went to sleep. At about 7am, I woke up refreshed but began to be a little bit worried. I fired more blanks from my M16 rifle. I heard a distant call. I walked towards it and soon met up with the "Bravo" company recce team. They gave me some food and we managed to find our way out to rejoin the battalion which had already captured the objective.

The sergeant of the recce team told me that they were lost in the jungle that night too. However early in the morning, when they wanted to continue their journey, they just felt that they shouldn't. So they waited till I found them. It was a miracle because without them, my chances of survival might be diminished! Earlier, my company sergeant major (CSM) had gone to find me but to no avail. I thank God for one of the greatest miracle in my military life.