ORD LOH!!!

I, 3rd Sergeant Zulhikam, graduant of the 43rd Advanced Section Leader Course (43rd ASLC), has now officially, earned the rightful prefix of MISTER (MR.) to his name. Henceforth, I shall no longer be known as 3SG Zulhikam, but rather 3SG(NS)/Mr./Abang Zulhikam. In other words...

I'M AN EFFING CIVILIAN!!!

Oh the JOY. The Day I've been waiting for, this last 22 months, is FINALLY HERE! When I enlisted on 11 January 2007, little idea did I have of what was to come in the coming months. NS has made me new friends, brothers-in-arms with whom we've trained and suffered together, pushed my mental and physical boundaries beyond my imagination, afforded me an experience unlike any other which is definitely unattainable anywhere else, taught me weapons systems and fighting, people management, especially with the responsibility of leading the men under you and earning their trust and respect and yet meeting the expectations of your superiors, sent me overseas to Taiwan for training which was a priceless experience, and much, much more.

Yet, NS also has its share of bad experiences for me. The drifting apart of a relationship early in my NS career, the loneliness, the unhappy experience in Delta, the suffocating lack of freedom, political bickering amongst your peers and superiors, the extra duties given, the weekends burnt, the joyous family occasions missed (Sis and cousin's wedding comes to mind), the backstabbings, the jealousy of knowing your friends have much better vocations, the sadness of watching people ORD, and of course, the slipped disc injury I attained during these last few months that had caused to downgrade my PES status.

Anyway, I'm a free man now, and let it be known to the whole world that having completed the CIVILIAN CONVERSION COURSE (CCC) and successfully acquired his PINK IC, 3SG ZULHIKAM will henceforth be known as 3SG(NS)/MR./ABANG ZULHIKAM. ORD LOH!!! =) =p =D

A Tout Le Monde
A Tout Mes Amis
Je Vous Aime
Je Dois Partir

These are the last words
I'll ever speak
And they'll set me free...

*PS: I actually walked out of Pulau Tekong in this exact manner, in my smartest uniform, and Pink IC tucked inside my beret on my forehead, just like I had planned to all this while. As expected, it drew quite a few envious looks and jealous sighs from those who have yet to ORD, plus a few surprise ORD LOHS! from completely unknown people happy to see me being freed. Well, what can I say. When you're a CIVILIAN, you have to be proud of it. ORD LOH!!!