When the army tells you that they're going to do a routine store run, don't expect something like a simple grab and run. A routine store run basically means we need something we don't have, and we go somewhere to borrow it and we return. So it can be simplified into need, go, take, return, four easy steps. You'll be surprised how these 4 easy steps can easily become like 12 steps.
I was working halfway on some exercise setup when I suddenly got arrowed for the routine store run. I didn't even have time to take cover. I had just returned from the mid-day parade and next thing I knew I'd been shot with an arrow right in the ass. I couldn't even deflect it because there wasn't anyone else to deflect it to. Note here to superiors in a certain signal battalion. We need more bloody conscripts!13 men and 5 specs does not add up to 60 no matter how you look at it. And we're not a permanent duty platoon. Just because we don't have enough people to do anything doesn't mean that we can do everything else.
Anyway, in a few moments we were ready to go for our store run. Here's how the 4 steps became 12.
Step 1: Knowing roughly what we need, we gather at the company office to wait for a driver and vehicle to take us for our store run.
Step 2: We find out that there aren't ANY drivers. The drivers who are supposed to be free are making unauthorised home runs, and all the other drivers have IPPT later. However, there is a vehicle. It is a cause for joy. We just saved 2 hours. Company orderly sarge (COS) starts calling for last resort drivers.
Step 3: We wait around for half an hour for a driver to appear out of smoke. Finally we get one. Apparently his off got voided. Happiness.
Step 4: We head for our destination, and reach it 30 minutes later. We park the vehicle, turn off the engine, and change our passes. Upon our return, we try to start the tonner and find out that the vehicle has broken down. The thing is like 30 years old man. Maybe we should consider umm... scrapping it? Buy some new tonners!
Step 5: We head off on a pilgrimage to find a mechanic who can save us out of our sorry fate. We're extremely lucky that the place is located on a hill with a 15 degree incline, and its a 20 minute walk upslope.
Step 6: We reach the MT line. The mechanic hears about our plight. Driver then calls and says that the tonner is now ok. Miracles do happen, however ridiculous. Unfortunately we're 20 minutes away from the tonner. We tell the driver to drive to our halfway point to meet up.
Step 7: Tonner reaches halfway point. Unable to clear the checkpoint as the driver has lost his pass. What the fark. Tonner goes back to the start point.
Step 8: We decide to wait for another friend to pick us up instead of walking another 10 minutes. The friend arrives 30 minutes later, but just zooms by us like we're invisible. Which was quite impressive considering that we were waving at him and wearing green against a white background.
Step 9: We walk out of camp. Apparently the friend has already made the run for us. We search the stuff in the tonner and find the missing pass. However we find out that we need to go to another camp to get more stuff. Like I said its never so simple.
Step 10: We head to new camp. On the way, some punk in a sports car cuts our lane and shouts "fuck you!" accompanied by the obligatory middle finger. Look out for a clown driving a champagne green convertible around the upper bukit timah area. Highly entertaining. Too bad he's gay and goes for NSFs. Unless you have that kind of taste. In that case stay away from me.
Step 11: We reach the second camp. We pick up our second set of stores. We leave camp.
Step 12: We get lost on our way back. We end up in some industrial area trying to enter the expressway from a dead end till the driver realises he's driven to the wrong place. We eventually reach our own camp 45 minutes later. The routine run took 5 hours when it should have taken like 2?
All this because of one stupid arrow.