Quick Rant

The SAF administration officially sucks. I just received a call-up for Jan 2008. Now this sort of thing is not supposed to happen because it's right smack in the middle of term time. From my understanding, this sort of thing never happens because the SAF plans all of their ICT trainings and what-not such that it all coincides with the major term breaks of the local universities.

So nevermind all that, I go ahead and apply for eDeferement via the NS Portal website, and there I find out that it is severely inadequate. It assumes that anyone who is applying for deferment is doing so because of IHL/industrial attachments. This is fine, but it's SUPER STUPID when you look at the electronic form, and realise that the entire thing is actually skewed towards those with industrial attachments. I mean, come on, how am I going to fill in the section that says. "Date of return from overseas attachment" when one, my attachment may be local, and two, I night not even HAVE an attachment. And this is a MANDATORY FIELD mind you...freaking stupid. %%*(&^$(&^#$#^

Anyway, I figured something out, and sent in the application anyway, and yesterday I received an SMS stating that I needed to fax in supporting documents. I was like, WTF? What supporting documents? The SAF has called me before to check up on what I am currently doing, and I've reported my status to them dutifully. Well, I called the wonderful helpline, and the extremely unhelpful (and might I add, 'dead') woman flatly told me that I got called up in Jan because I did not apply for IHL (Institute of Higher Learning). I was like, but don't you guys already know I am in NUS i.e. an IHL?

She went on to explain (after I told her that I was not aware that there was such an avenue to apply for IHL status) that this information is not given out to NSmen, and that only upon asking will such a request will attended to. This got me really riled up. Not only is there no connectivity between the universities and SAF, there is also no inter-connectivity between the admin branch which manages NSmen, and the freaking helpline. If there are so many grey areas within an organisation, it is no wonder there are so many disgruntled people out there.

I wonder if I will get slapped with anything for lambasting the SAF, but I quite honestly am very unhappy with the administration. Now I have to go and find a letter that says I am in NUS, so that I can prove my current status as a student of the university...preposterous!

ARGH!

I hate stupidity...hate it hate it hate it...