Women's Boot Camp provides a taste of national service
Experience of NS training leaves reporter filled with admiration for those serving Singapore
Yesterday morning, I found myself hanging on to a rope for dear life.
Then, I dropped off the rope and landed in a sandpit, my face flushed from both the sun and embarrassment.
Demonstrating how it should be done, a female trainer then climbed up the rope, and, in a jiffy, tapped the pole above and slid down with grace.
A similar scenario was repeated five more times at the other stations of the Standard Obstacle Course (SOC), out of the nine stations attempted, during the Women's Boot Camp held over the weekend at Maju Camp.
The first of its kind in Singapore, the camp gave the 103 women participants a taste of national service.
As part of the SOC, participants also had to jump off walls and get through tunnels.
Before the SOC began, some of them were giggling and obviously excited to be part of what was one of the highlights of the camp.
But when a female trainer at one of the stations sprinted up a slope and leapt down effortlessly, some of the participants looked a little nervous and started to whisper among themselves.
The female trainers, from the Singapore Armed Forces Volunteer Corps, accompanied the participants throughout the camp.
After a couple of tries, the participants' nervousness gave way to confidence as they managed to get over the wall unscathed.
I could not say the same for myself.
The trainer made it look easy, and I started to feel confident that I could do it too.
SANDPIT
But when I got to the top of the wall at one of the stations, I found myself unable to jump because the sandpit below suddenly looked quite far away.
But I eventually took a leap of faith and landed on all fours. I was supposed to land on my feet.
We then headed for the route march , followed by the Singapore Assault Rifle 21 (SAR 21) firing.
Awed by the rifles, the participants watched their sectionmates fire away, craning their necks to see if the target board had fallen.
I felt heartened that so many women had shown interest in military training.
It was a new experience holding and shooting a rifle.
I failed to find the target but I felt excited each time I squeezed the trigger and felt the sharp jerk of the recoil.
My ears were still ringing after the shooting ended, despite the earplugs.
After the two-day camp, I went home feeling sore but also full of admiration for everyone who serves the nation.
I really cannot imagine going through the activities with heavy backpacks and a 4.5kg rifle.
From teen to cancer patient, 103 fall in at Women’s Boot Camp
The Women's Boot Camp was organised by the Ang Mo Kio Women's Executive Committee (WEC) and initiated by the Advisory Council on Community Relations in Defence (Accord).
More than 1,000 women signed up for the camp, and 103 were selected by balloting.
Among them were Madam Patsy Chong, 61, one of the oldest participants, and Athi Ramesh Athirah, 13, the youngest.
A mother of four, Madam Chong - who's undergoing breast cancer treatment - joined the camp because she wanted to go through what three of her sons experienced during national service.
Her favourite activity was handling the Singapore Assault Rifle 21(SAR21).
She said: "I have never handled a rifle in my life. It looks like a toy gun, but it is actually very heavy. Positioning and judgment, it all has to be taken into account when firing."
Athi's favourite activity was handling the SAR21 as well.
She joined the camp because her father is a member in the Singapore Armed Forces Volunteer Corps and she thought it would be interesting to try out what he goes through during training.
The participants learnt how to camouflage themselves by smearing green and black paint on their faces and what to do in a casualty evacuation drill, such as lifting their buddy in a fireman's lift.
They also slept in bunks and ate at the cookhouse.
At the closing ceremony, Dr Maliki Osman, Senior Minister of State for Defence and co-chairman of Accord, said: "The camp was to engage all Singaporeans because we believe that NS is not the sole responsibility of the Singapore Armed Forces.
"All of us have a role to play in ensuring that NS continues to function effectively for the benefit of national defence."
Ms Joanna Portilla, chairman of the Ang Mo Kio WEC and a member of the Accord Family and Community Council, said: "I realised that a lot of women want to experience what camp is like... I think experiential learning is key.
"It is important that you come and experience it yourself."
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now