‘Didn’t gel in the beginning’: Russian-born man who became PR opens up about his unique NS experience

National Service (NS) is often seen as a rite of passage for Singaporean sons.

But how does a foreign-born young man, who spent a significant part of his early years outside Singapore before getting permanent residency here, adapt to a quintessentially Singaporean experience?

Born in Russia, Artem Morozov spent seven years of his teenage life in the US before coming to Singapore.

Not long after moving here, he began his NS journey in 2016, and one can only imagine how jarring the acclimatisation period must have been.

While his platoon mates’ worries may centre around handling their SAR 21 rifle, Artem’s set of issues in NS was rather distinct.

He dived into some of these challenges in an almost 13-minute-long chat with YouTuber Max Chernov.

Artem noted that it wasn’t common to have an ang moh serving the army, especially one that’s barely lived his life in the countr

“We didn’t gel in the beginning, due to cultural differences,” he shared candidly.

Miscommunication was an issue at the start as he didn’t know Singlish, and neither did locals understand him.

Despite the initial struggle to adapt, Artem said he wasn’t ostracised. He even felt that the local boys did accept him as one of their own.

“Especially in the army, we [couldn’t] care less what your background is,” Artem explained.

For him, it’s about completing an objective and that requires a team to work together.

There were also times when Artem decided he didn’t want to follow the rule book, pointing back to his own cultural background as a potential reason for doing so.

In the army, he recalled moments when he felt his method of doing things would “potentially be better” than procedure.
“That’s actually the worst kind of thinking in the army,” Artem admitted.

Toughest period in NS
When asked about the most challenging part of NS, the NSman pointed towards an exercise in Brunei just before his ORD.

With a map, pacer and compass, he and his men had to complete a navigation exercise in the jungle.

The goal was to reach main checkpoints all the way to the finish line and the entire exercise lasted a full three days and two nights.

“There’s no roads [or] ways you can assess the terrain to navigate yourself easier,” Artem said.

In spite of the hardships and difficulties he had gone through, Artem believes that NS “can benefit every single individual”.

What’s key, according to him, is entering NS with the mentality that you will not be wasting your time during this stage of your life.