My Background

My military background:

I am an Infantry Combat Medic Specialist in an Infantry battalion. I was involved with four severe casualties as a frontline medic and have seen a gunshot wound to the chest. I have received a live Super Puma heli-casevac with that said gunshot wound. (He died.) I have made numerous patient runs too. I did a 2-day SGH A and E attachment and a 2-day CD ambulance attachment. I witnessed three resus deaths during these attachments.

I have served as a platoon medic, company medic and medical centre staff. I have gone on BRC and scouts medic attachment, including spending time supporting my recce team mates in the School of Military Intelligence. I held a Hendon camp pass for four weeks. I was involved in a classified Special Op as part of a 12-man CRT. (That's the most I can say.)

My teaching experience:

I am a Physics and English teacher, having taught the full spectrum and attended many content courses for both subjects. I was the runner-up in the Nov 05 Iron Science Teacher Competition in Singapore. I am thus a Wrought Iron Science Teacher. I taught in VJC from 1999 to 2003. I have been a teacher in Damai Sec since 2004.

I have done EWSS work for a year. I have also done SC and IT work. I attended the 3-day Connected Classroom Conference in 2000 in Anaheim, USA with another teacher from my school.

I have followed ODAC on a Twin Peaks Expedition (Kinabalu and Trus Madi). I was a robotics teacher and instructor, leading robotic and automation engineering projects, some of which were winning SSEF projects. I have led a short film team before -- downgraded to Special Mention in the SVA -- and have attended related workshops at the Substation, etc.

My sports experience:

I was in the volleyball team in secondary school for two years. We even had a coach from China. Hence I am familiar with what sportsgirls and sportsboys have to go through and am familiar with proper sports training. I have done some 10 km road races and two marathons in the past. I was also a recreational air rifle shooter when I was in JC -- not very good in that.

My outdoor education experience:

As a cadet scout in primary school, I was already doing ropes course without safety (1980s, you see...) and hiking in MacRitchie and Pulau Ubin. As a JC student, I took part in an 8-day camp with sea-ex, land-ex, abseiling, ropes course, etc. I went for the 21-day OBS course in 1996. I went for a Topper sailing course with the National Sailing Centre. I went to Mt Ophir twice, and have climbed Mt Trus Madi and Mt Kinabalu, the tallest mountains in Southeast Asia. I also went for the MOE expedition leader course in Australia, which involved training in dissimilar weather -- and a 44 km walk over three days in true wilderness, hours from the nearest road. I have a Kayaking 2-Star certification and have a PPCDL too. I have followed an NCC sea-ex as an NCC (Land) teacher officer.

My music experience:

I was in the String Ensemble in JC for 2 years, learning how to play the violin. I am not very good in that too, but I can play simple pieces with practice and can support as Violin 3 with rote. (Okay, Violin 3 is not normally written for most pieces - must modify from Viola part...) I was a Chinese Orchestra teacher for six months in 1999, so I am slightly familiar with running a music CCA.

Teacher who died of a CVA

Around this time in 1999, I was a new teacher in VJC. I had just returned from a stint in 3 SIR followed by a short vacation in Sydney. One day, my Bio teacher was a bit ill. She was coughing and taking a lab class, I think. After that, she went back to the staff room. Then she complained of a severe headache. She was moaning loudly. I had just returned from lunch. When I heard the awful sound, I thought a student had freaked out due to stress or what and was being seen to in the staff room. But when it became worse, I went over to check. It was my Bio teacher! Then she lost consciousness. They laid her down on the floor and called an ambulance. She was totally unresponsive, but was still breathing. Her symptoms were telling me "Neuro! Neuro!". The ambulance officer came and checked with us if she had hit her head -- they concluded neuro too. They whisked her to CGH. Then she was stabilized and sent to TTSH, where she was operated on by an ex-student. He pronounced it hopeless and closed her up. She had burst a blood vessel in her brain -- probably sub-arachnoid haemorrage. Maybe she had a weak abnormal blood vessel or an aneurysm. The coughing did her in. She was put on life support. The next day, school was suspended at 8 am and the entire staff turned out to TTSH to see her. Teachers' Day was suspended. Her parents did not want to switch her off. She lingered on a few more days before they decided to switch her off. She was buried in CCK Christian Lawn Cemetery.

Today is National Day. Singapore is a great nation. There's little doubt about that.

It was drizzling during the NDP but everyone gamely carried on. The Red Lions jumped, the Chinook and Apaches flew low, and the Black Knights showed that they were all-weather pilots on all-weather fighters.