Officer's Pride

"Nak jadi pegawai, moral anggota kena dijaga. Moral sendiri tak de siapa nk jaga, pandai2 naikkan moral sendiri. Officer is the smartest, fittest and strongest man in the team." 

- Lt Col Khairulhasni

The very first thing Lt Col Khairulhasni talked about when he entered our operational management class was about Eco Challenge. Friends have been telling me to forget about it and move on with my life. Let by gone be by gones. Somehow, I don't look at it that way. U are actually escaping from the truth, avoiding reality. Problems need to be solved, so face it! We've been depressed and under pressure for about 2 weeks, listening to all the negative destructive comments made things worse. Lt Col Khairulhasni told us his experience leading men racing the Army's Kembara Duga.

we row 60km upstream with the 300kg assault boat, managed to secure 2nd place behind the commandos. My men were highly motivated when I was waiting for them at the finishing line. Being their commanding officer, I know food served in cook house can never fulfil their nutrition needs, so big allocation was pumped in to keep them well refuelled. Knowing that shooting was never our strong discipline, we need to score in map reading. In the trails, the platoon leader lost 4 of his magazines causing severe penalty to the team. The men got very demoralized and angry. If during war time, the men will surely kill him! As an officer, u must be the smartest, strongest and fittest man in the team! Luckily my team got back together and managed to finish 2nd place. There's no one will motivate u, but we have to motivate our men. we officers need to keep ourselves motivated. During my time, hymns and songs aren't allowed during long run. That was to train your mental toughness and ability to withstand stress!

His 1 hour class delivered a very strong message to me. 

Also, It was Abang Alang that opened up my mind. He told me, generally the punishment must be something that will change that person to a better man, and fulfil the mission of university to produce officers and gentlemen. He always thinks big, I feel so shallow talking to him. Being a journalist, he looks at things at various perspective, then make comparison or constructive criticism. Inspired by his words, I spend time sharing motivational stories in the Eco Challenge facebook group and start motivating the downhearted team members. I'm so glad that they're gradually recovering =) I strongly believe this incident make them a much tougher officer cadets. 

This is a very inspiring video to share. 96 years of age, still running.