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Some time back, I wrote about how I was asked to take part in Eldershield. That blog post generated many good comments, putting forth arguments for and against me taking up Eldershield.
In the end, I decided to take up Eldershield because of an appeal by LP, the blog master of "Bully the Bear". He said "... I wish to appeal to your sense of public charity - help contribute to the pool of money so that those poor elders can insure against this risk at lower premiums." That more or less made up my mind for me.
Today, as I was going through my mail, I came across one that had the words "ON GOVERNMENT SERVICE" together with our national crest on the envelope. I experienced palpitations.
A traffic offence? I flipped the envelope and saw the return address: "NSSC, 1, Depot Road, Singapore 109681." Wah! Being called up for reservist? Or did I forget to inform MINDEF that I would be going overseas before my last trip?
I opened the envelope and this was what I saw:
Paragraph 2 is of the greatest interest to me:
"In recognition of your contribution to National Service... you are entitled to an annual deduction of $1,500 from your taxable income... "
Of course, the letter also reminded me that I am ageing.
Related post:
Tea with AK71: Eldershield.
Bloggy Award
28 comments:
Hi Ak71,
Congrats! MR loh!!!
Well, I just ORD...... with nearly 2 decades more to MR..... :( :(
Hi INVS 2.0,
Wah! MR loh!!!
I remember that during my time, it was not ORD. It was ROD. ;p
What does MR stand for?
Hi Ak71,
ORD is the replacement for ROD. But nowadays, 3G NSFs refer ROD as the completion of reservist or MR.
MR = Mindef Reserves (no more ICT but can be mobilised during a war).
ORD = Operationally Ready Date
ROD = Ready Operational Date??
Hi INVS 2.0,
ROD was "Run Out Date", iirc. All of us were waiting to run out of the camp. ;p
Wah, I might still be mobilised during wars? I think I would be more of a liability than help. ;p
Hi Ak71,
No wonder those regulars in their 40s and 50s often mentioned ROD instead of ORD... Hmm...
Hope I can MR without completing my 10 cycles. Haha. :)
Welcome to "senior" citizens club and now need protection from NS men. LOL!
Hi INVS 2.0,
Yes, ROD. When I re-enlisted after I completed my tertiary education 4 years later, it had changed to ORD.
MINDEF tried calling me back for reservist before but botched things up. Since that first attempt, they never call me again. ;p
Hi CW,
Indeed! ;)
Hi Ak71,
You are very lucky. I am relying on Mindef's screwups to escape from ICT. Hope it works for me. :)
So how many years of reservice did you go?
Hi INVS 2.0,
Good luck! ;)
Hi Hyruga,
Not a single one. They botched things up the first time and didn't call me again. :)
Hi Ak71,
Btw, your uniform is the 1G plain green type or the 2G's camo? 1G reservists with plain green uniform no longer exist in my NSF days. The last 1G batch to MR, think should be somewhere in early 2000s. :)
Welcome to the club AK.
Got mine some period last year and a tear rolled down my cheek. Bloody waste of time and bias that zha bor still dun have to do a thing (and they are not making babies either).
ICT ? Only 3 times. Each time I ran out of money playing the cheap arcade games and liming kopi with the liao jiao.
After 40 years old, MINDEF officially have no hold over you.
It's in their policy, I've read it before :)
So war or peace, from 40 years old onwards, you can say goodbye to the number 4. Speaking of which, I just received letter from my unit to exchange my current number 4 for the new / idiotic looking ones. :(
Hi INVS 2.0,
I had camo No. 4 but towards the end of my NSF days, I was in No. 3. So light. So cool. ;p
Hi SnOOpy168,
Seems like you have spent most of your working life away from Singapore and escaped most of your ICTs. So clever. ;)
Hi Ray,
Thanks for the good news! So, I would not even be mobilised in times of war? Well, it makes sense since I would probably be more of a liability if they were to call me up even now! ;p
The pixelated uniform looks cute! It reminds me of "Space Invaders", a game which SnOOpy168 and people our age would remember. Yah, it was a pixelated arcade game on a green monochrome screen. Haha..
Hi Ak71,
I was issued the pixelised No.4. It may look too light for users of camo No.4 but it is washing machine-friendly. Meaning, it is extremely lightweight even soaked with water, good for your back when hanging it out to dry. The airflow is also good and your sweat can dry up fast under the hot sun. :)
...continued
Err, Ak71, I think you are now Ex-NS instead of MR. MR is for those who have completed their 10 cycles but not yet 40. Those 40 and older are known as Ex-NS.
http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/mindef_websites/topics/nsmen/benefits/The_Jargon.html
being overseas is only the 4 yrs before the letter. the secret lies in getting all the keng stuff paperwork done before you change to pink IC.
anyway... like my ex-girlfriends, they are all history and a scar in my life.
Hi INVS 2.0,
The new No. 4 sounds really comfortable! You new soldiers are soooo lucky! :)
I am ex-NS? Not MR? I am soooo confused. Never mind. As long as they leave me alone, I am quite happy. ;p
Hi SnOOpy168,
Well, you are still clever as you managed to do all the keng stuff before getting your pink IC. Haha.. ;p
Scars might be a good thing. They serve as reminders of what is bad and we want to stay far away from bad things. ;)
Hi Ak71,
Nope, no free lunch yet. Our fieldpack is much bigger and heavier than the old ones as a result. Uniquely NS. :(
According to the Mindef link, you are now an Ex-NSmen which has no more NS liability. :)
Hi INVS 2.0,
Now, at least, I feel that there is some justice in this world! ;p
Ex-NS. No more NS liabilities. Yeah! I would be able to book the first flight out of the country in times of war...
Gees, I thought you are reaching 40's like me. I should have guessed since you feel your are not so "techie". Hahaha. Anyway, congrats.
Hi left_ray,
40 has come and gone for me. ;)
I hope those who say life starts at 40 know what they are talking about. ;p
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