Half full, drink up! Dad creates cute army training courses for his 2 kids at Pulau Ubin and Mandai forest

Generally, school holidays are associated with staying indoors or playing video games. Maybe for the lucky few, a family vacation too.

But six-year-old Jaylus Eu and his five-year-old sister Arissa had a completely different experience thanks to their dad James.

The 38-year-old ex-commando brought them both out for an exciting 'army training course' during their recent term break, sharing the adorable snaps from the experience on the Facebook group Singapore Hikers.

Immediately, one could tell that James, wasn't messing about when it came to the authenticity of the experience.

A day of hiking in the jungle near Mandai, or Junior Jungle Confidence Course (JJCC) Level 1, according to James, included army essentials such as mess tins and jerrycans present.

And the course activities would have national servicemen reminiscing of the good ol' days in the army – think jungle cooking and digging a trench.

In a separate post, decked in sleeveless commando tops and cheeks slathered with camouflage cream, the two kids were seen preparing for a water parade session.

Posted on June 25, the post has amassed over 3,300 reactions and 300 comments.

The caption read: "Water parade session and standby for hiking + ready for inspection SIR!"

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James told AsiaOne that his children loved the experience given that the course is built around fun as opposed to the typical tekan (punishing) sessions one might usually associate with an army course.

Prior to this, Jaylus and Arissa had completed a Junior Army Training at Pulau Ubin, another course specially designed by James.

This training took place during the one-week holidays in March and consisted of missions ranging from basic survival skills to durian hunting.

When asked why he created the courses, James replied that this idea was sparked when his son was around four and developed an interest in anything army-related.

Then, Covid-19 struck and James had to get creative when coming up with holiday activities.

"Planning and preparation took quite a while as it wasn't easy to get the right sizes for their outfits.

Also, heading into the jungle had to be child-safe and I had to prepare safety action plans if any emergency arises," James said.

Since then, the kids have only gotten more curious on the topic of the army and have even started asking questions about their dad's commando past.

A is for airborne, I is for in the sky.

We're guessing Jaylus and Arissa know the rest!

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amierul@asiaone.com