Just when you thought National Service is a rite of passage for all Singaporean males to endure and celebrate camaraderie, manliness, military prowess and the one time in life where everyone from any socio-economic status (except White Horses) get debased to the same level and you look forward to embrace the experience with gusto, life hits you with this:

just when you think your ns life couldn't get any worse pic.twitter.com/9B3VuK4VCd

— Daniel Tyler (@daniel_tyler18) December 18, 2015

As one Singaporean male found out, Combat Ration Tester is a real National Service vocation.

The unit he got posted to is SFI Manufacturing, which is part of Singapore Food Industries Ltd.

It is one of two main commercial food and beverage caterers for the Singapore Armed Forces.

Since 1997, the commercialisation of cookhouses was driven by the need to channel the SAF's limited pool of combat-fit soldiers to the fighting units as a result of manpower shortage caused by falling birth rates in Singapore.

So, we aren't exactly sure why are soldiers getting channelled back again.

Regardless, the question is: Why does SAF need Combat Ration Testers?

According to this Cyberpioneer article from 2011, besides figuring out if combat rations are edible (as compared to wanton mee and carrot cake in hawker centres perhaps 😂 😂 😂), field rations have been increasing in the variety of meals over the years, just like fresh rations.

Apparently, about five new dishes are added to the menus of the 24-hour field ration packs every three months, replacing unpopular ones.

These combat rations are those issued to soldiers in green retort pouches during outfield training and operations when the provision of fresh rations is not possible.

Each field ration pack feeds a soldier for a day with its configuration of one main pack, one accessory pack and one packet of instant noodles.

So, this probably means someone has to taste them across time to figure out how appetising they are in comparison.

However, even though we cannot be sure how difficult being a Combat Ration Tester is, every role in the SAF counts.

To the person posted to SFI Manufacturing, he should be pleased to know that he will be fighting fit in an environment that achieves hygiene and nutrition standards that are in line with the national standards set by the National Environmental Agency and the Health Promotion Board (HPB) respectively. 😂 😂 😂

But hey, for all we know, this could be photoshopped.

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