It was seven months after the outbreak of COVID-19 in Singapore. LTC Daniel Perh, Commanding Officer (CO) of 6th Battalion Singapore Infantry Regiment (6 SIR), sat in his office in Maju Camp and scrolled through yet another new COVID-19 Ops Directive on his computer. “Physical cohesion activities will continue to be prohibited...”. He glanced at the whiteboard. Golden Jubilee Milestone Parade? Cancelled. Bowling Cohesion? Nope. Archery Tag in camp? Nope. One by one, his list of team-building ideas scribbled on the board had to be struck off - until nothing substantial remained.

He was concerned that his soldiers' sense of belonging and camaraderie would be eroded, because to him, “Traditional gatherings like makan sessions and sports are invaluable shared experiences that bond the men and women in the battalion.” It seemed that these bonding activities were no longer possible to safeguard the health of his people.