Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Motivate me
There has been a great question lingering over the mind the past year that never ceases to make known it's presence. "What am I here for?"
It is one of those what do you call it... Yes, a quarterlife crisis I believe. Yet, again, it is not so much a quarterlife crisis, but rather a transitional traffic jam. Like many other young men, we are stuck in a frustrating cold storage, known collectively as National Service, also known affectionately as the f#$%ed place/time.
There's simply no motivation in this stinking place. Concepts of motivation, efficiency, and not to forget competence are entirely foreign to the SAF. The SAF is an organization borne out of necessity and through a tradition that was taken from another civilization.
This army is not our own, not at the moment. At present it is a pseudo-military force, more closely resembling boy's scouts with guns.
Seriously speaking, this army is still green, and what ever system it has in place at the current moment is a combination of the remenants of the colonial years(British Army) and efforts of the "old guard." At present it is but a little too young and inexperienced to support the bravado that the SAF likes to put on. To the world it appears to be a top-class fighting force, but underneath the surface, experts would know that we've merely given guns to boys.
When the SAF has never faced the ravages of war, I believe it is inappropriate to lay claim to the apparent status that this "armed force" has chosen to bestow upon itself.
While it remains true that even boys with guns(make that big guns) can be a potentially lethal force, it remains to be seen whether these boys can display the calm and poise of a seasoned warrior. As I said, boys with guns can be lethal, but not necessarily lethal to the opposing faction.
Boys with guns... Boys will be boys and boys will hate boys, even if they are boys from the same team. First of all, there has never been a real effort put into resolving the numerous differences that exists between the different personalities that one may find in any large group. There will be a trend towards cliques emerging and the results ranging from a lack of belonging to the more serious problem of internal friction.
It is often mentioned that in these 2 years, it is not worth it to spend half of it trying to bond the men together and that these efforts are more likely to be focused on the "regulars," the people who make the army their career. For one, I beg to differ, for I would rather take a team of men would can work together as one over a group of better trained men any day.
rapport amongst teammates can never be sufficiently stressed, yet is almost the one important aspect of a group dynamic that always will not neglected.
Perhaps it is easier to buy the team better equipment, and be assured of the quality of the items, then spend 2 years trying to make them work as a team and realizing that they cannot.
As you can see, it is easier to believe that the assurance afforded by any material purchase are substantial, however it does not always adhere to that law. It is a fallacy to believe that any advantage gained through better equipment can be quantified against the benefits of having a cohesive unit.
Like any car, it has to go through countless hours of rigorous testing to determine the safety of the chasis in the event of an accident, however, all those test that are carried out can only be considered to be the second best option apart from analyzing an actually test. However, it is not logical to test a million cars in ever conceivable accident scenarios would it? Imagine the tremendous resources required to carry out such a task. Also, it would be unethical to crash a car with a real human being inside it. Simply put, the phase space of all possible scenarios are simply immense, that being the case, the safety rating of the car is merely an average of a few possible outcomes.
The same can be applied to any military equipment in production. The real value cannot be easily explained, except in terms of potential. A rifle might have a potential range of 500m but that does not directly imply that it has killed an enemy at that range yet. All the values of the destructive weapons and the protective properties of armory are also just potential values. They are by no means absolute.
It like saying that you can run 3000m and you ran 3000m.
When we speak of potential, it is considered almost impossible to put a value on the potential of an intangible object, thus it it often a "wiser" choice to invest in potential values that can be expressed in numerals.
That is the choice that the SAF has made. True, it is not an unwise choice, and true that in the real world, people are more afraid of numbers than an intangible quantity, but If I was to decide, I would fear the power of the human spirit more than some figures.(Provided that there is a basic fufilment of certain numbers and figures. You cannot depend on 1000 men with out guns to defeat a bomber would you? there of course has to exist a basic equilibrium of men to equipment)
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Being in the SAF is really a test of your motivation. What are you motivated to serve for? For country? Please spare me that bout of patriotism. This society is moreso a little collection of mutilple "mes" and "selves". Trying to get them to fight for a "we" is only a futile waste of effort.
Too many people in the army lack any form of motivation. That is a rather neglected fact, and little is being done to rectify that. Too often in the SAF people are forced to do things because they "have to" not because they want to, not beacause they like to and most importantly, not because it is fun.
There is something wrong with the motivation in this weird organization. Too often, the people in command tend to segregate themselves from the men. I hear that in Officer School, they are lead to think that they are a different class of people from the men that they will be in command of. Well, if they really fell that way, at least try to hide it from your men, make them beleive that you actually treat them as equals. True it is unethical to put on such a facade, but at least, it would produce a more condusive work environment, and would at least make the men more willing to work for their bosses.
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I need motivation to pull myself through the remaining 20 months. Damn.
This place is just not where I want to be. Though I'm in an environment that is almost free of regimentation and such, it still is a big chore to live a life without any long term motivation. True, that little events here and there can sustain enthusiasm in the short term, it is just an empty feeling that replaces it when said events pass.
It's just so taxing to understand that you are merely part of a psychological warfare, that this SAF is more a mental defence than a
Maybe I need to find out what I want in life... A lifelong goal to sustain the zest for life. For the moment, the prospect of ORD would have to suffice. What beholds in the University can wait.
Gavin
pondered @ 08:59
