Link graphic for a KJB version Bible Verse that will be automatically updated when we update it from time to time
">


7th Rangers: 10th Engineers Training Regiment, Kluang - Basic Combat Engineers Class 3 - 1973
 
Fighting Seventh
The Fighting Rangers
On War, Politics
and Burning Issues
Profile
Miscellaneous

American Thinker
American
Newspapers Online

Arab News
Asia News
Asia Times
Assyrian News
BBC News
Breitbart News
British and
International
Newspapers Online

CAMERA
CBS News
City Journal
CNN
Christian Solidarity
International

Daily Caller
Daily Mail
DAP Malaysia
Dawn
Drudge Report
Dutch News
Faith Freedom
Ali Sina

Foreign Affairs
Forward
Fox News
Google News
Ground News
Guardian
Haaretz
Harakah Daily
English

Herald Malaysia
Hurriyet Turkey
History of Jihad
Independent
Indian Newspapers
Online

Inspire Magazine
IPOH Echo
International
Herald Tribune

Jerusalem Newswire
Jihad Watch
Local-
French News
In English)

London Times
Malaysiakini

Malaysian Insider
Malaysia
Centre for Policy
Initiatives

Free Malaysia Today
Malaysia Chronicle
Malaysia
-Sarawak Report

MEMRI TV
Middle East
Forum

Mission Network
News

MSNBC News
National Review
NEWSMAX
New York Post
New York Times
Nut Graph
Opinion Journal
Right Wing News
Spiegel
Star Online
Straits Times
Sun Malaysia
Sydney
Morning Herald

Telegraph
The Malay Mail
The Rebel Media
The Sun (UK)
Time
Times of India
Town Hall
US News
World Report

USA Today
VBS TV
Washington Post
Washington Times
World Net Daily
World
Watch Monitor

Yahoo News
Ynet News



No Atheists
In A Foxhole

Rudyard Kipling

" “When you're left wounded on
Afganistan's plains and

the women come out to cut up what remains,
Just roll to your rifle

and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldier”
General Douglas MacArthur

" “We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”

“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.”
“Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace,
for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .”
“The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.

“Nobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died.
Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."

Proud To Have
Served With Warriors

Glorious
Malaysian Food
Foreign Bloggers + 1 Sarawakian
&
Other Stuff
Gaming

Major D Swami
WITH Lt Col Ivan Lee
Click Here

Lt Col Ivan Lee
you want him with
you in a firefight!!!!

Dying Warrior
xxxxxx
Condors-Infantry
Fighting Vehicles
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Camp
Bujang Senang
Click Here
xxxxxxxx
The A Team
Click Here
xxxxxxxx
Major General
Toh Choon Siang
Click here
Lieutenant General
Stephen Mundaw
Click Here
With His
Dying Breath
Killed in Battle
In Death
Last Thoughts
Before Battle
Whilst There Is
Life, There Is Fight

Not Done In Yet!!

Iban Trackers
XXXXXXXX
Facts On RoP
Hutang Negara
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
10th Engineers Training Regiment, Kluang - Basic Combat Engineers Class 3 - 1973
Saturday, August 10, 2024
Kluang Airfield - The Training Regiment Overlooking The Airfield

The Commanding Officer was replaced, two unforgettable characters who came into the scene, one was the Regimental Sergeant Major who was formerly the Sergeant Major of the 1st Engineers Squadron whose rank was Warrant Officer 1, named Hajji Ekhmad and the other was Captain Poraisamy, who was the Adjutant. Their’s was a reign of terror. They grew on to become legends as uncompromising disciplinarians.

The Regimental Sergeant Major was stickler for rules and procedures. One of the funny things with 10th Regiment was a legacy left by the British. They have two metal gates, and brick walls at the front of the camp. The brick walls run for a short distance and that is it. We used to guard the gates, I guess the British expected their enemies to attack from the front, as there was no perimeter around the camp. It was soon rectified; they laid barbed wire around the whole camp.

The reign of “terror’ by the RSM and the Adjutant had repercussions. One of the trainee or trainees busted up the Adjutant’s junk of a Volkswagen. They smashed the windscreen and the rear screen. Not only that, they pooped in the car. All of us paid a price, we were sent on a forced march at 1200 hrs that day. All of us were cursing whoever did that, in our hearts we felt a little glee.

The guys who attended courses were subjected to very short haircuts, enforced light outs, very strict on it. No wandering in the camp after lights out. More fatigue duty. Frequent barrack and toilet inspections. You can say that the cleanest toilets in the Malaysian Armed Forces could be found in the 10th Regiment Engineers Training Centre.

There was a bonus though, the food at the cook house improved. Especially for the Indians, they were entitled to chapattis and mouth watering mutton gravy. That only happened on Fridays. For better morale, they came up with a innovative idea for one day’s ration to be divided into half. Which meant you get fish and meat and two varieties of vegetables for lunch and dinner. Instead of eating one variety at each meal, they dished out two varieties.

The drug problem was there too. Marijuana, those days in Malaysia, was normal, the village folks used to smoke them. When I first joined the unit in Taiping they passed a reefer to us young soldiers in the open. It was not an issue until later. In Kluang we went to one of the Chinese New Villages, checked out their opium dens.

Whilst smoking opium you had to lay your head on a wooden pillow. The opium is inserted into a pipe, the old man there lights it up. You are supposed to drag on the pipe. While dragging on the pipe if the correct sound does not emanate, the old guy will abuse you, saying that you are wasting money and time. Opium make you want to sleep the whole day.

There were guys who were addicted to morphine and heroin, there was an Engineer Troop on standby at the Engineers Training Center. There was an addict in that troop. We used to watch him take his shots with a needle. He was known as “doctor”. We were fascinated by “doctor”. He slowly draws out his blood mixing it with the morphine or whatever ‘shit’ it was and pumping it back into his veins. I am surprised and amazed how he got away with that, everyone knew about his addiction.

The 10th Regiment Training was the Engineers Training School, located in a small sleepy town called Kluang in the state of Johore. It was a small town, you could walk there. The Engineers camp was large, overlooking a military airfield. It was an old British Army Camp of the Royal Engineers. In the camp was a pond which they called a “dam”, it was used for waterman ship, training with assault boats and outboard motors. Beyond the dam were other training grounds for bridging, demolitions and for all the stuff that combat engineers do.

We were trained at waterman ship, demolitions, booby traps, (improvised explosive devices), improvised bridging, bridging, construction of landing points, laying of minefields, clearing minefields, water supply and anything and everything to do with the field engineers.

Whilst on this course I realized that I would never be able to live a normal life and raise a family. One of my friends invited me for lunch at his house on a weekend. I dressed up and started walking; the area where he lived was a squatter area. He had two kids, he and I earned the same amount, I always wondered how on earth he could maintain his wife and kids. That was the cheapest housing he could afford.

It was a wooden “shed” made out of planks, rejected by the sawmills. It was basic, wooden walls and a zinc roof. The flooring was tamped earth, clean though. The hall too acted as the bedroom. No furniture, he had laid out mats for us to sit and dine on. I bought some fruits and candies for the kids and handed over to one of them.

There was rice, prawn paste (belacan), raw vegetables gathered blanched in hot water, soybean cakes (tempeh) and one big fat pomfret fish (bawal) in green coconut gravy. I asked my friend whether the kids had eaten. He told me that they would eat later. Whilst I was eating the kids were peering from a partition separating the kitchen. They were all smiles and staring at the food.

Deep in my heart, I knew that it was a mistake to accept that lunch invitation. They had barely enough for themselves, here I made myself a burden to them. I ate as little as politely possible. The food was delicious though. I thanked his wife, who complained that I ate very little, I complimented her on the food and told her that I was bloated and that had stuffed myself. Soon I took my leave, before I left, I gave each kid $2, that was in 1973. As I was walking back, I made up my mind never to get married, so that I will not force someone’s daughter in a hovel!!

After passing that course we had the right to be known as sappers, it meant instead of being addressed as privates we were called Sapper so and so. The course made us proficient in improvised bridging, mine warfare and demolitions, water supply and the most important subject, booby traps and improvised explosive devices.

Construction too was taught. The basics of many subjects were taught. I did very well in that course and we returned to our unit.
posted by Major D Swami (Retired) @ 3:31 PM  
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home
 
ARCHIVES


Previous Post
Indian Soldiers
World War 1
Links To Rangers
Military Related Links


End of a Saracen
East Malaysian
Warriors
Blow Pipe
xxxx
xxxx
Lieutenant Colonel
Zulkapli Abdul Rahman
Click Here
Lieutenant Colonel
Harbhajan Singh
Click Here
Heads from the Land
of the Head Hunters
Heads
20 Harrowing Images
Vietnam War

Creme De La Creme-Click here

Killing Time
Before Deployment

Lt Col Idris Hassan
Royal Malay
Regiment
Click Here

Also Known as
General Half Track

Warriors
Dayak Warrior
Iban Tracker with
British Soldier

Showing the
British Trooper
what a jackfruit is!!

Iban Tracker

A British Trooper training
an Iban Tracker

Iban Tracker

Tracker explaining
to the British Soldier who
knows little about tracking

Iban Tracker
Explaining to the
British Trooper the meaning
of the marks on the leaf

Iban Tracker
Aussie admiring
Tracker's Tattoos

Lest We Forget Major Sabdin Ghani
Click Here
Captain Mohana Chandran
al Velayuthan (200402) SP
Ranger Bajau
ak Ladi PGB
Cpl Osman PGB

Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
Photobucket
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Powered by

Free Blogger Templates

BLOGGER

google.com, pub-8423681730090065, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 <bgsound src="">