RSAF's teams have saved 127 lives over last five years

Winch Man makes for a terrible superhero name, but Third Sergeant (3SG) Lee Jia Ming is no comic illustration.

Dangling and swaying on a rope more than 30m below a hovering helicopter, 3SG Lee and a doctor are winched down to attend to casualties on ships.

The moniker describes 3SG Lee's role on the Super Puma helicopter, where he has served for more than a year as a full-time national serviceman in the Republic of Singapore Air Force's 126 Squadron.

The 23-year-old air crew specialist (ACS) recalls one experience from earlier this year.

ON DUTY: (From left) Lieutenant-Colonel Christine Sim, Second Warrant Officer Elangovan Visuvanathan, Third Sergeant Lee Jia Ming and Captain Azlan Latiff in the crew room at Sembawang Air Base. They are part of the Super Puma search and rescue teams that have saved 127 lives over the last five years. TNP PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR

"It was a merchant vessel, and there was no helipad. In fact, there were a lot of superstructures (tall structures) on the ship," he says.

"I was bumping into them and had to push myself away to soften the impact because I was swaying around.

"The crew on the ship did not say much, but they were really relieved to see us."

3SG Lee volunteered to extend his national service to be with his squadron in Australia for Exercise Wallaby.

He says: "I extended because I feel fortunate to be an ACS for my NS. It is meaningful as everything is real - I get to fly, and I get to save people."

TNP PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR

Super Puma search and rescue (SAR) teams from 125 and 126 Squadrons have saved 127 lives over the last five years.

This is on top of a myriad of other peacetime and wartime roles that the Super Puma performs, including counter-terrorism operations, humanitarian missions and counter-piracy activities.

Both units are scrambled an average of 20 to 30 times a year to attend to civil emergencies, which include rescues from high-rise structures such as cable cars and skyscrapers.

The New Paper on Sunday was invited to take a look at one such SAR scramble at the Sembawang Air Base.

TNP PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR​​

As soon as the button is pressed, a team of two pilots, two ACS, a doctor and a medic must be in the air within 15 minutes.

Commanding officer of 125 Squadron, Lieutenant-Colonel Christine Sim, 44, says: "When it comes to operations, there are no safety measures or fail-safes (as compared to peacetime training). There are no black and white rules that we can follow. We cannot abide strictly by rules during training, and we have to make decisions on our feet."

The 30-year-old Super Pumas will soon be replaced but the pilots say they do not feel that the Super Pumas have aged much.

TNP PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR

Captain Azlan Latiff, 32, of 125 Squadron, tells TNPS: "Maintenance is something that we take seriously. We are meticulous when making sure that the aircraft is serviceable and prepared for any flights.

"Any pilot who jumps into any aircraft will be able to feel that he can do his job safely."

TNP PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR