He Joined NCC For The Experience – Somewhere Along The Way, It Became So Much More
Joining the National Cadet Corps (NCC) as a teenager in secondary school, Major (MAJ) Brandon Lim wasn’t exactly brimming with confidence. “When I first joined, I was a bit hesitant and unsure of myself,” the 31-year-old Guards Officer recalls.
Sixteen years later, that somewhat uncertain teenager has become a Major in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), having found his calling in the Singapore Army. Also an Assistant Director (Public & Digital Comms) at Ministry of Defence Communications Organisation, he credits many of those formative experiences back to his days as an NCC cadet.
With NCC shaping the trajectory of his life, MAJ Brandon’s story offers a glimpse into how a secondary school CCA can be more than something you do once or twice a week after class — it can pave the way for something more meaningful.
MAJ Brandon (seated row, middle) during his NCC days. | IMAGES: MAJ BRANDON LIM
From handling weapons to climbing mountains
So, why NCC in the first place? For MAJ Brandon, part of the attraction was simple: it offered experiences that he couldn’t get elsewhere.
“Joining NCC allowed me to experience unique things like handling a weapon, climbing a mountain, going for military-themed courses,” he says. “I really enjoyed that.”
But it wasn’t just the activities that kept him going. After going through the training and sharing those experiences with his fellow cadets, MAJ Brandon says they developed “a strong camaraderie” that helped them get through challenges together.
And one experience in particular showed him that he could contribute to something bigger than himself.
Taking a rest at the F1 pit with NCC mates during the National Day Parade in 2010.
Marching onto the Padang to celebrate SG45 was a life-changing moment. | IMAGES: MAJ BRANDON LIM
The moment NCC became bigger than a CCA
In 2010, Brandon marched onto the Padang as part of the National Day Parade’s SG45 celebrations. It was one of the moments when he began to see himself differently.
“Contributing to NCC and Singapore in more than just a personal capacity told me that I can do so much for this country and so much for the SAF and NCC,” he says.
For a teenager who had started out unsure of himself, that was quite a leap. By the end of his upper-secondary school years, another idea had taken root: perhaps the bonds he had formed through NCC were something he wanted to keep.
Making his parents proud at the Officer Cadet Commissioning Parade in 2016. | IMAGE: MAJ BRANDON LIM
When a CCA becomes a career
“Towards the end of my upper secondary school years… the strong bonds and camaraderie that I forged with my peers was something I wanted to carry with me into the next stage of my life,” he says.
Joining the SAF therefore felt like a natural progression towards finding “a closely knit community”, one “that could tide through challenges and problems together and emerge stronger as a cohesive unit”.
“I feel proud to be part of a family like the Army,” he says.
The NCC lesson he still carries today
When asked what NCC taught him that resonates in his life now, MAJ Brandon doesn’t hesitate: grit, determination and resilience. But rather than simply treating problems as things to fear, he says he has learnt to see them as obstacles that can be faced and learnt from.
“I chose to adopt a positive mindset,” he says, recalling how he dealt with difficulties during his younger years. And he didn’t do it alone. “With the support of my peers, [we would] overcome them together,” he adds.
In fact, when questioned if there was ever a point when he wanted to give up, Brandon’s answer is considerably less philosophical: “Don’t have leh!”
With his beloved wife and child. | IMAGE: MAJ BRANDON LIM
What would teenage Brandon think of him now?
More than a decade on, MAJ Brandon looks back at the teenager he was and sees how much has changed. Asked what his 31-year-old self would be proud of about his younger NCC self, he points to the ability to persevere through difficulties and find the silver lining in them.
But what about the reverse? What would teenage Brandon think if he could see himself now?
“I think teenage me would be very proud of how far I have come,” he says. “And teenage me would not have wanted anything differently in terms of how my career turned out.”
BTW, NCC is getting a makeover
NCC was first established as the Cadet Corps in Raffles Institution in 1901. This is a photo of the 2nd unit, which was set up in St Joseph’s Institution in 1906. | IMAGE: SINGAPORE ARMY
NCC turns 125 this year, but it's not standing still. There's a new NCC campus expected to be ready from 2032 at Bedok Camp near Sungei Bedok MRT.
And as part of its NCC2030 transformation, the programme will progressively introduce more cross-service and technology-focused experiences from 2027 to 2030. Alongside traditional military skills such as shooting, fieldcraft and navigation, cadets will get opportunities to explore areas such as robotics, drones and cybersecurity, as well as resilience activities including kayaking, rappelling and drone sports.
The cross-service approach MAJ Brandon talks about is set to go even further. Cadets can look forward to experiences ranging from RSAF flight programmes to RSN midshipman sea training, giving them a chance to explore beyond their usual service specialisation.
Cadet members reciting the NCC pledge during the anniversary event on 26 Aug 2026. | IMAGE: FACEBOOK/@DEFENCEPIONEERSG
For MAJ Brandon, NCC started as an experience. Sixteen years later, his journey is still unfolding. With new generations finding their own reasons to join NCC, what begins as a first step may take them much further than they expect — perhaps even towards something they never imagined.
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