One final rant
So in the end, getting chased out of my old school by my old CCA, which I've just left like less than six months ago, wasn't such a bad thing. You know, it's like the old saying, "Don't bite the hand that feeds", but this time around, it's more like "Don't feed the hand that bites." Seriously. If I werent already disillusioned by the type of people I generally found in NP, if I werent already disappointed by the inner workings of the CCA, last night put the rubber stamp on the envelope. I am done.
Getting chased out, in a sarcastic manner, like a discarded, disposable tissue which has outlived it's importance, was painfully poetic. Yes, I'm about to launch into a rant again. And this time, for the first time probably, I don't give two hoots who reads this, and what opinion anyone has. For the first time, I'm gonna air dirty laundry in public, and to whom it may concern, so sue me.
For a group of people who've served their time and did their best for the unit for four years, I think it's a fair assessment that we've exceeded all expectations whatsoever, even ours. In such a materialistic, results-based CCA such as ours, if we went into the full list of acheivements and accomplishments that Batch Four accumulated, the record speaks for itself. Two Area Games Day champions. Pioneer NCO Batch for Gold Unit. Two years of ATC Best Camper, Best Improvement Cadet. High placings in Campcraft Comp. And that's just the beginning.
It doesnt matter that we didnt get the credit or the respect, even grudging respect, that these accomplishments deserve. What sucked, is the fact that we continue to get looked down upon, our credit gets stolen and well, no one really has the decency to even come up to us, even during our final parades, to congratulate us on a job well done. For a CCA that tells its cadets to respect their NCOs, where's the respect in that?
I don't think anyone can deny that we've not left the best of impressions on the unit. Especially a select few of our "seniors". I still remember being censored when I wrote that article for the unit magazine, when I said something about looking at things through rose-tinted glasses. But isn't it so? Reflecting honestly, who can deny that we've been judged unfairly, and there are double standards at times? It's like when I was entering Round Two with Alicia last year. I always thought she was an irritating pain in the ass, cos that was kinda the impression I was left with. When I took off the rose tinted glasses, I realised that you know what, I was the pain in the ass. And that's the point. The worse the impression you have about others, the more likely you are to think lowly and think that well, this buncha people are no good and have no leadership at all.
Talking about the dynamics of our squad after a long while, brought us to the issue of ranks once again. We realised that well, basically our squad didnt really care about ranks. And someone brought up this point, which really rang true to me. It was something about how no one in our squad actually had posts. Though we were assigned official posts, there was no line drawn, no proclamations that "Since I'm the Lecture Head, I can't help you with your campcraft training. That's not my post.". Maybe the fact that none of our squad went for CI course, is testament to that.
I don't think I'll ever be impressed when I hear people talking about their ranks and when or how they got their ranks. That was just the way our squad was brought up, with the notion that well, honestly in NP the cadets have two choices.
A) Respect the NCO taking you cos he/she has good leadership skills and has no airs
b) Respect the NCO taking you cos he/she has a high rank
Why is the choice so hard to make? To hit a few raw nerves, what is the point of demanding respect? Is there even such a thing? If the person has to shout "YES SIR" for two over hours every week, and after that calls you all kinds of names, what respect is there? Will you be genuinely happy? I don't get why increasingly, the majority of the CIs who graduate, tend to choose option B. We've seen our fair share in NCHS NPCC alone. Why can't it just sink in, that there's a difference, a big difference, in PRETENDING to be a nice guy, and really being one? Face it, the smile on your face, the pointed jokes at people, mean nothing, if it's just a facade. If that 2bucks piece o'cloth really means that much to you, then try to win the respect, not demand it. Am I preaching? Yes. Is it applicable? Yes. From day one, respect has never been given, it's always been earned, so who are you to change that?
I've said it before. At the end of the day, what matters most is that in four years, or however long the tenure in NP is, so long that I can walk out of the CCA with my head held high, with integrity intact, with respect earned, it is enough. And it is. And where that is concerned, I believe our squad can walk out together, hand in hand, with our heads held high and with respect earned.
We're living testimony, that it doesnt warrant a high rank, for people to respect you.
We're living testimony, that unity and the notion of one for all, all for one is not overrated.
We're living testimony, that the journey travelled together, more than makes up for the sticks and stones thrown our way.
And to mark what will probably be the last post on NP, the pledge still remains the same.
Squad 4 for life.
This is Dan, signing off.
