The National Service (NS) experience is something unique to Singaporean Sons.

Talked about less frequently is what happens to soldiers who get enlisted while inflicted with gender dysphoria, which is the condition of feeling one's emotional and psychological identity as male or female to be opposite to one's biological sex.

Until now, that is.

Transgender who served NS

One trans woman named Zheng Peng Peng has written about her NS experience on peer-sharing website Quora.

Zheng was born as a male, but identifies as a female.

No knowledge of transgenderism

Zhang served her NS from 2009 to 2010, and was assigned to The First Singapore Infantry Regiment (1 SIR) after her training in the Medical Corps Training Institute.

She served NS as a medic.

Although she identified as a female, Zheng entered NS without knowing what a transgender was.

But her femininity was obvious to those around her:

"It did not take long for everyone to realise I was ‘wife material’-- knowing what everyone’s favourite food was; taking extra long to clean myself during showers; massaging everyone’s back and extremely clumsy during battle."

"I was loved as much as I was hated"

According to Zheng, she was often bullied for behaving effeminately.

Calling 1 SIR "one of the most terrifying units" in the SAF (Singapore Armed Forces), Zheng's gender dysphoria worsened as she was "invalidated and mercilessly abused" for not conforming to the role of a male serving in the military.

Furthermore, some other recruits saw her as a burden who slowed down the team.

On the other hand, Zheng witnessed some of the boys who have been isolated from the outside world or dumped by their girlfriends crying to one another.

But that was not all.

"My femininity was the closest thing to a girl they could get in camp, some of them were really half-tempted to kiss me. CREEPY!"

At this point, Zheng saw herself as a spy who had access to the "true nature of men" -- how they presented a strong front when they were so "easily squashed" on the inside, according to her observations.

The "Gordon Ramsay" of medics

During her time as a medical student, Zheng graduated as one of the top students in her batch, according to her.

She was sent to the medical institute because she had previously saved another soldier from pneumonia.

Zheng added that her medical skills were of "Gordon Ramsay standards", although her skills as a soldier were lacklustre.

Due to her misgendered situation, however, some politics emerged in the department, questioning her loyalty to two different seniors, she claimed.

As Zheng was questioning her time in the army, her calling was answered when she helped rescue and stablilise a soldier of private rank who jumped off the fourth floor.

As medics commonly dealt with fractures and fevers, Zheng was not at all confident of her abilities.

She also found out that none of the protocols she had learnt helped in such a critical situation.

Nonetheless, Zheng made the decision to administer splinting (i.e. to support his spine with rigid material) and wrap her arms around his neck.

Several other men carried the casualty to the ambulance while Zheng maintained a firm grip on his head.

The next day, Zheng learned from the hospital that the private was alive.

"I cannot guarantee whether the other medics, especially those who did not perform well back in medical school, could have done the same thing. Maybe, the reason fate had this transgender girl serve in the toughest military unit was to save this man on that night."

Today, Zheng is a woman and one who served in the SAF as a medic.

You can read her story in full here.

Top image from The Singapore Army/Facebook

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