HANDS clasped in front of them, standing almost ramrod straight with their feet slightly apart, they answer your questions politely.
This type of disciplined stance is what any army would instil in its soldiers.
But these boys are not in the armed forces. Not yet anyway.
It is their mother who is the uniformed officer in this family.
And since she has just become the first female combatant to be promoted to Master Warrant Officer (MWO), it is hardly surprising that some of her character traits would rub off on her sons.
MWO Jennifer Tan, 41, was already the army's first woman Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) in 2006.
On 19 Jun, she was awarded her new rank at the Warrant Officers' Promotion Ceremony 2008 at The Chevrons in Jurong.
Her husband, private bus driver, Mr Philip Ong, 41, knows her career has always been her passion - it is a passion that runs in her family.
MWO Tan's late father was also an RSM and one of her sisters is a radar controller with the Republic of Singapore Air Force.
Her brother is a technician in the air force.
MWO Tan has 17-year-old twin sons, Jeffrey and Jason, and another 15-year-old son, Jordan.
Having joined the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in 1984, she knows more than any other mother the importance of getting her sons prepared for national service.
And that means pitching in with the housework.
Jeffrey and Jason, who is younger by five minutes, mop and sweep the floor on alternate days.
The twins are studying at the Institute of Technical Education Clementi and will enlist for national service (NS) next year.
Jordan, a Secondary 4 student at Zhenghua Secondary, has to wash the two toilets in the family's five-room flat in the Bukit Panjang area.
The Tans used to have a maid, but have not had one for about six years.
Jeffrey said: 'We have been doing this since Primary 6. We learnt from our maid how to do housework. It's to prepare us for NS.'
Such discipline extends to their personal grooming.
When we peeked into the bedroom the three brothers share, we saw three well-made beds in a row.
And with a mum who has put soldiers through drills and marching, you wouldn't expect the boys to be slouches, even at home.
Jason said: 'She taught us that when you talk to people, you must stand properly and not move around, otherwise we will give others a bad impression.'
Another thing that their mother constantly harps on is punctuality.
MWO Tan is stationed at the Control of Personnel Centre, and is responsible for advising warrant officers and specialists on their career paths.
But because she is a female combatant, she will be required to bear arms if called into battle.
And during an operation, being punctual is extremely vital to its success because every second counts, she said.
'In the private sector, time is money,' MWO Tan said. 'In the Army, punctuality is discipline.
'When you go for an operation, and if there is a casualty, he would need immediate attention.
'If there is no sense of urgency, how will you take him back to be treated in time?'
LONG SERVICE
With 24 years of service under her belt, it was hard for MWO Tan to step out of uniform even though she was dressed in civilian clothes during the interview.
When asked what time her sons had to be home should they be out, she said: 'Twenty-three hundred hours.'
That's 11pm in civilian-speak.
But MWO Tan was quick to point out that that is not how she talks to her children.
Still, when both boys do their NS next year and find the going tough, they probably won't get much sympathy from their mother.
Her sons have an interest in weapons systems, and MWO Tan would like to see them in the armour vocation.
She said: 'If they tell me it's tough, I will them it's part and parcel of NS.'
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On 19 Jun, she was awarded her new rank at the Warrant Officers' Promotion Ceremony 2008 at The Chevrons in Jurong.
