hurhur, its time for the enhanced lot to enlist soon already. some notes to ease your rite of passage, just because i want to, and that i have nothing better to do at the moment.

Preparatory Work:

chances are, you'll need to go shopping for some wares, or you may have trouble coping with adjustment week (also known as confinement week).

therefore, depending on the level of hygiene you wish to maintain inside, you might consider purchasing some of the below items from beach road, or chevrons, or the NS shop at pasir ris interchange.

if you're planning to get it from pasir ris interchange, suggest you get there slightly earlier in case there's a queue.

Stuff NS gives you (wearables):

2 pairs of white socks (for shoes)
3 pairs of green socks (for boots)
3 tins of black kiwi (for boots and sometimes rifle)
3 admin shirts (for breakfast and dinner, lunch and talks only for a short duration, sometimes for standby area)
3 pt singlets (for pt)
3 shorts (to go with your shirts and singlets)
5 sets of uniform (to wear for lunch, route marches, and to be part of the display set)

Stuff you NEED to get:

underwear (again, number of sets dependent on how often you wish to change :D 2 go into your fieldpack, so be prepared.)
gutters?garters? (need one to put in your field pack, suggest you get one for spare, so buy 2 more)
green socks (2 go into your fieldpack, so get a couple more)
lighter (to burn kiwi, to put in your fieldpack. one is enough, but two is fine too)
clothes hangers (to hang your clothes outside. trust me, you need a number. 5 is a safe bet)
clothes pegs (to ensure your clothes don't fall to the ground floor, where they are either looted or thrown away)
toothbrush and toothpaste (although they give you a set, you need one set in your fieldpack, so get an extra set to use)
prickly heat powder (if necessary. SAF gives you a small bottle, but that goes in the fieldpack. so uh, get a bottle just in case)
de-humidifier / mothballs (to erase the stench from your locker. NECESSARY.)
M-sized ziplock bags (these especially, because SAF provides 5 of S, M, L, and all 5 M are used. you could get more spares for the other sizes though. its for fieldpack)
black electrical tape (you could use a few rolls, since you'll need it to tape up loose ends here and there. it finishes fast. goes for $0.40 at pasir ris interchange)
detergent (there are washing machines downstairs that you can use)
lots of $1 coins (for drinks and washing machine)
slippers (your sandals go into your fieldpack later, save yourself the trouble. more comfortable after RO too)
bath foam, shampoo, facial wash (SAF provides bar soap, but wdv, keep it for your display set. get your own. facial wash important if you want to emerge normal, and not with acne-ridden skin.)
a good boots polishing cloth (ensure that its finely woven, and doesn't leave lint: i.e bits of thread on your boots. people claim silk is the best but -.-)

Stuff you MIGHT want to get:

not necessary for survival per se, but certainly saves alot of trouble. so i say, go for it :)

admin tees (one goes into your fieldpack, leaving you with two. after a route march in vest slacks, one is as good as gone. if you wanna save trouble, get a few more so you can stay fresh. do be aware that there are washing machines present, so you can wash when you need to)
shorts (one goes into your fieldpack, leaving with two. after some types of PT like speed training, shorts may get too soaked for comfort. could get more)
white socks (two is actually sufficient if you don't change every day =.= but if you need them, then get them)
fork and spoon (necessary for display set, eating of out rations. buy two sets, since SAF gives you one set. put one in cupboard as display set, one in LBV, one in black sling bag)
FAD (first aid dressing, you might want to buy one more. quite costly at $3, but saves you trouble. one in black sling bag, one in no. 4 pants)
blue pens (SAF provides you with two, might want to get more. maybe one or two?)
red pen (in case you screw up something and need to cancel it)
MP3 (not necessary, maybe only)
random shirt (the nights get cold, you may need one. or you could sleep in your admin / pt)
STREPSILS (highly recommended. trust me.)

Stuff to get after first bookout:

again, try to obtain for convenience's sake.

2 photocopies of 11B (which you trade-in your pink I/C for in NS, one to put in your smart 4, one to put in your black sling bag for meals. photocopy two. make sure the bar-code is scannable.)
____ colour electrical tape (by now, you'll know your platoon. yellow for platoon 1, red for 2, green for 3, blue for 4. some companies may not use electrical tape to label, but it's always good to place a distinguishing marker on your stuff to facilitate identification)
ID tag (if you're that free, go get another set. won't hurt you to have oen more)

Stuff you should NOT attempt to bring in:

handphone charger (though this varies from company to company, chances are its no. so don't do it until you're sure its allowed)
gore-tex boots (some NCC guys may have this, again, clarify with your company first. some companies don't allow recruits to wear these)
wet food (i.e porridge or w/e, not sure why anyone would want to bring stuff like this in but anyway.)
storage devices (like thumbdrives, or USB cables for your MP3. not allowed, since SAF will probably issue you a UMPC, and they don't want people tampering with it.)
chewing gum and other contraband (its the army, don't bring in stuff illegal in singapore =.=)
sharp objects like knives, swiss army or otherwise (you don't need it, its illegal anyway)
medicine not prescribed by a polyclinic or hospital (i.e: panadol, or w/e strange medicine you have)

the list is not exhaustive, use your own discretion. after all, you should be able to take it out after the first week if its not allowed, just ensure you remember to bring it out, and don't bring it back in. confinement is NOT fun.

Stuff you MIGHT want to bring in but might have to bring out again eventually:
liquid kiwi (goes for less than $2 a bottle, easy to use, fast too. but some companies don't allow it; like mine =.= but you may want to bring it in and use it anyway till its banned)
dry food (depends on company's stand, biscuits should be fine, cup noodles is at the edge of the line. at your own risk.)

Things to take note of inside:

take care and label your stuff. people don't like others leaving stuff around, make sure you keep and label your own things properly to prevent looting.

LOCK YOUR LOCKER. really. or get confined.

when you check your stuff when you get inside, make sure everything is functional. your water bag, water bottles don't leak, that you have EVERYTHING. you don't want to waste time and money buying it outside. especially the pouches for your LBV, they are expensive. take care of them, some people might lose their own and try to take yours. LABEL IF NECESSARY.

yeah okay. leave a note if you have something to add. kthx :)