Ah, the ubiquitous NSF.

They train hard, they fight hard and sometimes, they don’t get respect from the public. After all, they’re an easy target. Because you know, when you’ve spent five days straight living in the jungle, defending yourself from negative people simply isn’t your priority – rest is.

Good thing is, these days Singaporeans have really come through for our boys in green to appreciate them for sacrificing two years of their lives to serve the nation.  

And we’ve really come a long way – It was only a few years ago when it was still acceptable to shame uniformed personnel taking a seat on public transport.

Now, try that and you will get your behind handed to you online. Don’t believe us? Here are some examples where people crossed the line and paid the price.

#1 SOLDIERS CAUSE TRAFFIC JAMS

The offender: One lady wrote in to All Singapore Stuff complaining about NSFs who get picked up from White Sands by their parents after they book out:

What she said (in a nutshell):

“Why must parents every Friday night go drive and park around White Sands area causing massive jams there just to pick their own son? Are these boys paralysed? Or need to be spoon fed?”

“So these army boys are what? VIPs?”

The backlash: Singaporeans rushed to the defense of NSFs, with this guy summing it up best with some first-rate sarcasm. Read:

#2 SOLDIERS SPILL WATER ON PEOPLE

The offender: Unfortunately for a passenger on the MRT, some water from an NSF’s bottle spilt and landed in front of her feet. Even more unfortunate: she chose to berate the soldier, calling him “stupid and useless.”

At the end he said: "A soldier is also a human. They work hard for us day and night. The least we can do is support them."

The woman became silent (probably with guilt and shame for being a seemingly unappreciative member of the public).

Read more about it here.

#3 SOLDIERS ARE SMELLY

The offender: One GrabShare passenger heading from Changi to Hougang complained about her fellow GrabShare passenger – one NSF – for “smelling bad”.

She also requested that air conditioning be turned off for the soldier in question.

The defender: It is said that for evil to triumph, good people simply have to do nothing. But the Grab driver didn’t do nothing. Instead, he told the woman to use a tissue to cover her nose and wind down the rear window, while the NSF continued to enjoy the air conditioning in the front seat.

Rekt.

Read more about it here.

#4 SOLDIERS DON’T RESPECT THE ELDERLY

The offender: A contributor of STOMP, Singapore’s premier website to view (involuntary) pictures of Singaporeans doing completely random things.

The crime: The STOMPer cropped out the empty Reserved Seat in this picture, insinuating that the NSF didn’t give up his seat for the old lady standing just right in front of him.

The backlash: Fortunately, an unedited version of the photo was also uploaded to STOMP, and the internet noticed.  This picture was a defining moment that revealed just how boliao some Singaporeans can be.

Almost overnight, the sentiment had changed, and it became unacceptable to shame uniformed personnel taking public transport.

Read more about it here. 

#5 SOLDIERS MAKE LOUSY BOYFRIENDS

The crime: Forced to chose between her NSF boyfriend and a “year 4 graduating law student” who owns a house and a car, a NUS student turned to confession page NUS Whispers with this post.

The resolution: Swayed by mob justice and the internet’s hard truths, the NUS student had a change of heart:

Conclusion:

Sure, online mob justice isn’t the prettiest thing. But if there’s one good thing that has come out of it, it is the fact that people have really come to give our boys the appreciation they deserve.

Salute.

This sponsored post is brought to you by MINDEF. Treat our NSFs with respect – they deserve it.