DSA [Defence Services Academy] cadets are divided into three battalions, each with 14 companies. The three battalions are named after Burma’s great conqueror kings: Anawrahta, Bayintnaung and Aung Zeya. I belonged to Bayintnaung battalion, which is known as the toughest of the three. The softest is Anawrahta battalion, to which the sons of high-ranking military officers are assigned.

– Extracted from Sai Zom Hseng. “Becoming a Member of Burma’s ‘Triumphant Elite’”, The Irrawaddy, 26 February 2011.