its the prelims but hey, life still continues. i believe this is so much more meaningful than the commitments in academics. and by looking at the time lag since the last time i blogged, seems like school had really been giving me the crunch, esp this here commitment as a csm. well, let me dedicate this blog entry to that one hell of experience i really had in this final year of sji.

i wrote this into the csm diary, finally i penned it down and i decided to put it onto this blog so that not only the csms sees it but people who do care too.. its not just about ncc, its about sji. i cant possibly penned down everything because it just goes on but that's it, a single letter to the students after me. here goes: a tribute to the 4 years i spent in school, in this school : St. Joseph's Institution.


To: the chosen one.
To: the Josephian who is willing to make the difference.
To: a mere adolescent of 16
To: my fellow Company Sergeant Major.

I stepped onto that seemingly insignificant piece of concrete slab, dull grey and in the heart of our Alma Mater. The special place we called the parade square. Our very own HQ laid stagnant, door closed in the vicinity. What’s so special about a mass of 100 over students, congregating every other afternoon, to command as best they could, to march as nicely as they could, to be forced. Just for the requirement of SJI’s curriculum? Unlikely.

The day you wore the sash, the day you had that pacestick rested neatly on your left forearm, the pacestick that our predecessor have had an equal share on, that day had effectively changed your life forever. From the excellent cadet to the responsible CSM, you are given the commitment to take care of the 100+ boys, to be the face of SJI and to be given the trust of everyone related directly and indirectly to the company, the cadets, the friends, the parents, yourself.

You are given this status because some people in this gigantic world have faith in you, who cared to value you and give you this opportunity, because people know you are able to reach for greater heights for the betterment of the people who had invested in their time in this CCA. It is not about your seemingly “perfect” qualities that landed you this top notch. Its because of your attitude and the confidence you have for yourself. And the most important thing: because you will learn most from this very post. As a mission school, SJI wants us to be that difference after four years, a tat special than the rest and this is how everything ties in. The CSM post is like a practicum for you to understand yourself better: Your strengths, your weaknesses and the ability to adapt to both ends. I became the CSM, yes, because of my attitude and genuine motive to strive for the best in life yet my weakness was one of the CSM’s worst. The inability to control emotions and the inability to be perfectly comfortable voicing out to a large crowd was something that not many people, including me could do, especially at this age. I could only write, and express my feelings through the words that are penned down. A CSM who is supposed to address the masses was directly opposing all those constraints. I curbed all that during the terms as a CSM, with great difficulties and frequent dismissal of my own loved ones, tried all the time by the problems that arise incredibly. It’s not about being famous and being recognized, it’s about the ability to change for the better and the ability to disallow succumbing to pressure that really touches others in your life, especially your loved ones, and yourself. This is no wonder why ex-CSMs from previous decades and even before I was born was still proud of being the CSM of their time. This post is not easily attainable and you must know that it is your efforts and maturity that had brought you so far. It is up to you now to bring yourself further and subsequently carrying your cadets with you. I told my incoming CSM, that in a week, you are working everyday except for the training day. The training day is merely the result of how much work you have put in.

As you flipped the pages, you will see how almost all the CSMs stresses on the fact that our unit is not merely NCC(Land), it’s the SJI NCC (Land). Always remember that though our unit is military-based, we must always remember SJI’s forte, to induce character development. It’s not about the exciting military-based activities; it’s the simple bonding of the cadets as they suffer together in the same old parade square every training.

I looked at this torn and uninteresting diary presented to me by my ex-CSM, the diary shared by all CSMs. I was holding on to a piece of history, a proof that there were people who had went through this before me, that I am not alone in this discovery of life. I was overwhelmed at first and did not feel I was capable of being in the same league as these great people. But here I am, affirmed by the people who really do care. Now I dare to write and write as much as I could and I hope all of you future CSMs will put that priceless experience safely into the vault of this diary, before a piece of history is lost. My piece of history marks the end of 2006, the end of the 1st centennial of this unit and the beginning of the next century. Our unit will continue to strive and she will depend on you, that mere 16years with a little something in him.

As I passed this on, I just want the successors, the Josephians who is given this one in a lifetime chance to cherish every moment of their terms as a CSM. The term is short, but the result is eternal. A CSM will always be a CSM, the Company Sergeant Major that had gone through a phase of personal recognition and interpersonal understanding. It is not the power you have achieved, it is the power that you are about to give to the 120odd juniors to enable them to be men of integrity and maturity and to fulfill SJI’s mission. It is only this school that brings out the importance of tradition and the importance of servant leadership, helping someone else to help yourself finally. You never force the cadets to do things; they do it because they want to show you they can do it. You matter to them.

Enjoy yourself, as you dawn the sash and hold the pacestick with pride, show your cadets that you care for them every single one of them. Without the cadet, there will be no CSM.

In the end of the day, when the cadets smile, you know that it all matters

And you will smile too, the smile that surpassed all smiles you ever had, as you passed down your sash and your pacestick to that next person, that person who will have the one experience unlike others.

As I looked into the sky, the immense sunlight forced me to look back into the parade square. Four years of my life was spent here in this very “sacred” ground. It is that warmth, the bonds that keeps the flames burning to ensure that the passion is forever being passed down that entices the cadets to keep coming despite the pain. This is no dull ground; this is a ground that produces people, people called Josephians.

SJI's Company Sergeant Major 2006
MSG Mok Kai Chuen