The SAF has been getting a bad rep in recent years. The deaths from training, the lapses in safety during exercises all add up. While public perception of the army isn’t great, at least they’re still not viewed in a negative light.
That perception’s rapidly skewing there though…especially with an image like this.
Recruits at the SAF BMTC doing exercises with a mat protecting their dainty hands.
Well, lah-dee-dah!
Goodness, we wouldn’t want them to have to endure some scrapes or bruises do we? I mean it’s not like they’re training for anything vital right? /sarcasm
There’s looking out for the welfare of the recruits and there’s going over the top and pampering them. This is a case of the latter. What next? Cancelling route marches just because it’s too sunny? No field exercises because the mosquitoes are biting?
Makes you wonder doesn’t it? What other ways are the SAF recruits being pampered in without the majority of us knowing?
I bet you that other countries’ armies are looking at this picture and laughing their asses off. Watch this very image come up again whenever Malaysia or Indonesia mocks the SAF for something.
That brings up a very important point.
Whoever is in charge of PR at the SAF’s BMTC should be fired. What the hell were they even thinking letting something like this be released on social media? It’s not a leak, the image (and more like it) were posted on the official Facebook page for the BMTC.
That meant that somebody took that picture and their boss gave the thumbs up for it to be posted.
Did they not think of how this would paint our SAF guys in a negative light? It’s a PR disaster!
Remember the SAF guy who had a maid carry his backpack?
This is this decade’s version of that.
I’ve spoken to a couple of my friends (all former NSmen) to see what they thought and every single one of them laughed and derided the images. You might think it’s a lighthearted look at training, but it’s a disgrace to those of us who’ve served NS to see the pampering recruits nowadays are spoiled with.
Morale is a key factor in winning the hearts and minds of Singaporeans…but with images like this, how the hell does anybody believe in our SAF when they look like nothing but pampered ladyboys?