MINDEF SCHOLARS TRIUMPH OVER TEMBURONG STINT

Misty-eyed and blissfully unaware of what lay ahead, the recipients of the 2005 and 2006 Mindef scholarship meandered their way to the heart of Temburong in the early morn of Saturday 30th July to undergo a week-long course with Outward Bound Brunei Darussalam (OBBD) lasting till Saturday 5th August. The lull of the morning soothed the minds of this group of pampered soft-foots.  The initial unease at severing ties with family and civilisation was appeased by the tranquility of river.  What was in fact a mere ripple of change would result in waves that would distort the gentle, smooth-flowing streams of our daily lives.  It was finally time for us to worm our way out of our dusty old mindsets and put everything into perspective.

Imagine part of your everyday work was to fly in Black Hawk choppers, ride in Scorpions, sail on navy ships, and handle state-of-the-art weaponry. Working can be dreary, but certainly not in the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF). We know this for a fact because we are this year's recipients of the Supreme Commander and RBAF scholarships, and these are our experiences based on our on-going working attachment at MINDEF and RBAF (from May to August 2006).

Within just one month, we have visited all the 10 directorates of MINDEF including the Directorate of Intelligence and the Directorate of Operations. We have also gained plenty of first-hand working experience through individual attachments at specific MINDEF directorates relevant to our respective degree courses.

Scholars visit Pusat Bahagia and Pusat Ehsan to give a helping hand

Sometimes human beings live life feeling very discontented or rather, unsatisfied. We tend to lament at times of how easier life would be if we could have more. But in truth, we all know that the world just does not work that way. Recently we, the scholars of the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), visited Pusat Bahagia and Pusat Ehsan for our community work project. These centres, located at Kampong Pulaie and Kampong Bengkurong respectively cater to people with disabilities and special needs. We chose to be attached to these institutions with the intention to do goodwill, and are fortunate enough in the end to have gained more in return. On our first day, we went to Pusat Bahagia. Most of us were excited to be able to experience spending the whole day with the special individuals. Upon our arrival, we were welcomed, and given a short briefing by the representatives from the centre and then were brought to the workshop and classrooms.

Scholars step into the boots of a soldier for a week

0600hrs and already, all have assembled at the Military Special Reserve Unit, Rimba – ready and waiting for further instruction.  That’s military punctuality for you… not surprising considering the Regimental Sergeant Major had instilled the fear of day into the frail hearts of this ragtag band of mishaps the day prior to the programme. The military orientation program for recipients of MINDEF (The Ministry of Defence) Scholarships of 2005 and 2006 kicked off on Tuesday 18 July, extending to Saturday 22 July.

The first day of the program was riddled with a healthy dose of physical exercise and marching.  It did not take long for bright-eyed, bushy-tailed innocents to be transformed into dull-eyed zombies.  Despite the regular breaks and lenient treatment (since the Unit was instructed to administer only carefully controlled doses of army life instead of the full course), many found themselves questioning their sanity.