It is not the uniform that makes a hero, but the person who wears it.
In National Service, it is odd to be proactive and to do more than what you have to.
Common refrains include:
Eh bro, you also not Officer, so siao on for what. Chill la.
Bro, these two years just suck thumb and tahan through, don’t need to find extra work for yourself.
Most National Servicemen, and I myself admittedly, at times view National Service as merely a burden and the responsibilities that come with it as a chore. After taking off the uniform, we immediately forget that we are soldiers and go back to being a pampered Singaporean son.
That, however, is not true for PTE Nur Aqil Bin Ismail.
Trial By Fire
A fire started in Tampines Hub Hawker Centre on 7 December, Saturday, at about 5.10am.
Luckily, PTE Aqil was walking past the establishment, when he saw the heavy smoke billowing from the stall that caught fire. The stall owner was desperately trying to put out the flames.
In such a situation, one had to act fast. Although most people would have panicked and just be frantically absorbed into the situation, that did not happen to PTE Aqil.
He kept his wits about him and remembered the training he received at SCDF, albeit it being brief.
After seeing the flames, the 19-year-old SCDF cadet sprinted to the closest fire extinguisher cabinet and smashed the break-glass panel using his bare hands to retrieve the key for the fire extinguisher.
He quickly retrieved the key, unlocked the cabinet that held the fire extinguisher and removed it from its holster.
With extinguisher in hand and training in mind, he promptly put out the fire.
PTE Aqil was so engrossed with the task on hand that he did not even realise that he had cut his hand while attempting to put out the fire. He was eventually treated by SCDF paramedics.
The SCDF commended PTE Aqil and is very proud of his heroic actions in a time of need.
A fire that broke out at a hawker centre could have gotten out of control, if not for the quick-thinking actions of an…
Posted by Singapore Civil Defence Force on Thursday, 12 December 2019
In And Out Of Uniform
PTE Aqil could have chosen to not act in that way, risking personal injury to save the stall and preventing the fire from spreading.
He could even be one of those Millenials who instead of stopping incidents take Instastories of them.
However, PTE Aqil, whether he was in or out of uniform, was a proud member of the SCDF family. When interviewed, he said, “Our instructor told us that once we’re enlisted, it doesn’t matter if we’re on duty or not, we are always on standby every day to respond to such emergencies. I felt it was my duty to help.”
Thank you, PTE Aqil for your quick thinking and heroism. We salute you.
Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:
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