But, it has proven to be a unique opportunity to help cultivate many soft skills and inculcate values in us. Indeed, on the surface, doing drills seems pointless. It is not something that can be used in daily life, nor is it something that one will use (save for NS) in the future. So, why are there drills at all to begin with?

It is not often in your boring academic lives that you will ever be forced to stand under the sun for hours on end, alongside your peers. It does sound torturous, simply because it is. However, through this mentally and physically demanding process, the fruits of labour, though seemingly invisible, are invaluable to us. It is only through tough times do we really learn and are able to forge such strong bonds with our squad mates. All in all, the main values that we can gain through drills are:

Teamwork, because individual effort cannot bring about survival or victory for an individual. The individual has to learn teamwork and the values of unified and cooperative action so thoroughly that they guide his later actions instinctively. Teamwork in any uniform group can be built on the Parade Square. Here, all personnel learn that there can be no ordinary movement of men or units without precise and united effort, and that every man has to play his part.

Discipline is also founded on drills. Drills have often been used as a forerunner to great battles and during them it justified itself. When drills are taught or practiced, those in command must stress its object. It must never be used as a punishment but always as a means of raising standards within a body of one. Also, fun fact: Drills are given in Malay because it is our national language.

Through tough times, there is a nearly 100% probability of you forging unspeakable, everlasting bonds with your peers, learning a thing or two about the importance of teamwork, enhancing your own self-discipline, and even more. These values are always easy to speak about yet hard to truly possess.

All of you will benefit, in one way or another, from drills.

So, are drills still really that pointless?