How To Forge A Frogman , livre ebook

Marshall Cavendish International - Max West

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

114 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

Half-American and half-Singaporean, Max West grew up in Singapore without having ever heard of the Naval Diving Unit. Upon graduating from high school, however, he was conscripted for two years of mandatory military service. He found himself thrust into NDU, Singapore's elite naval special forces formation, as one of just two Eurasians in his enlistment class. In this candid firsthand account, West recounts the grueling training he endured and the deep camaraderie he and his teammates forged throughout their journey. West offers an accurate, unrestrained depiction of life as a trainee, revealing what it takes to succeed as a combat diver in the Singapore Armed Forces. National Service is a shared crucible borne by every Singaporean son. Unrestrained in its frankness and compellingly told, How to Forge a Frogman is a true, coming-of-age tale set in a uniquely Singaporean setting.

Sujets

Lettres et linguistique

Diaries

Memoir

Informations

Publié par	Marshall Cavendish International
Date de parution	23 juin 2017
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9789814751834
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	3 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0550€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

2017 Maximillian Alisdair West
Cover design by Aneirin Flynn Photographs by the author Book design by Benson Tan
Published by Marshall Cavendish Editions An imprint of Marshall Cavendish International

All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Requests for permission should be addressed to the Publisher, Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited, 1 New Industrial Road, Singapore 536196. Tel: (65) 6213 9300. E-mail: genref@sg.marshallcavendish.com Website: www.marshallcavendish.com/genref
The publisher makes no representation or warranties with respect to the contents of this book, and specifically disclaims any implied warranties or merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose, and shall in no event be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
Other Marshall Cavendish Offices:
Marshall Cavendish Corporation. 99 White Plains Road, Tarrytown NY 10591-9001, USA Marshall Cavendish International (Thailand) Co Ltd. 253 Asoke, 12th Flr, Sukhumvit 21 Road, Klongtoey Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand Marshall Cavendish (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Times Subang, Lot 46, Subang Hi-Tech Industrial Park, Batu Tiga, 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Marshall Cavendish is a registered trademark of Times Publishing Limited
National Library Board, Singapore Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Name(s): West, Max. Title: How to forge a frogman : a recruit s account of basic training in Singapore s Naval Diving Unit / Max West. Other title (s): Recruit s account of basic training in Singapore s Naval Diving Unit Description: Singapore : Marshall Cavendish Editions, 2017 Identifier(s): OCN 983214340 | e-ISBN 978 981 4751 83 4 Subject(s): LCSH: Basic training (Military education)--Singapore. | Underwater demolition teams--Singapore. | Singapore. Navy--Officers. Classification: DDC 359.965095957--dc23
Printed in Singapore by Markono Print Media Pte Ltd
CONTENTS
Author s Note
A (Brief) Glossary

Week One
Week Two
Week Three
Week Four
Week Five
Week Six
Week Seven
Week Eight
Week Nine

About The Author
Disclaimer
This publication does not represent the views of the Singapore Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defence, or the Republic of Singapore or any of its governing bodies. The opinions expressed are those of the author alone.

The names of all regular military personnel and nearly all National Servicemen have been changed for their protection and privacy. Their pseudonyms are entirely fictitious and bear no reflection on actual persons.

And, as we all know, people in the Navy do not swear.
AUTHOR S NOTE
By law, upon completion of their secondary education, all Singaporean men are required to perform 22 months of National Service (NS). At the start of NS, every combat-fit recruit undergoes nine weeks of Basic Military Training (BMT) before being posted to various vocations across the Singapore Armed Forces.
The following account of my BMT was handwritten at the time of its occurrence, day by day, painstakingly and often furtively. Only later was it typed and transcribed for publication. No material was recreated in hindsight.
This is one recruit s story.
A (BRIEF) GLOSSARY
Ang moh (n.): Literally, red head. Generally refers to anyone who appears Caucasian
Chao keng (v.): To feign injury for the purposes of evading training or responsibilities
mee soto (n.): A noodle soup dish common in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Milo (n.): A chocolate malt beverage popular in Singapore.
Pang kang (v.): To be done with work; to be free to go
Pasar malam (n.): Literally, night market. A street market that opens in the evening, typically around residential neighborhoods
DRILL COMMANDS
Sedia : At attention
Senang diri : At ease
Kekanan pusing : Right turn
Kekiri pusing : Left turn
Diam : Strictly at attention; no movement
Dari kiri : By the left
Cepat jalan : Quick march
Hentak kaki : Quick mark time (march in place)
Julang senjata : High port arms
Berhenti : Halt

The author with his parents on enlistment day, March 11, 2013.
MONDAY, MARCH 11, 2013
Today, on the 11th of the month of March, I enlisted into National Service. I joined the Naval Diving Unit. We re in Sembawang Camp.
There are 100 of us.
I m nervous.
IF I MAY
My name is Maximillian, but I go by Max. My father is American and my mom is Singaporean Chinese. I was born and raised in Singapore. I m 180 cm tall, and weigh 78 kg.
I like to write.
NAVAL DIVING WHAT?
The Naval Diving Unit is an elite formation of the Singapore Armed Forces. In peacetime, NDU conducts maritime security and counter-piracy operations, underwater search and salvage missions, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief.
NDU only has two intakes of National Servicemen each year, each consisting of fewer than 120 enlistees. I wanted to come here, and was lucky to be chosen.
We are the 39th Batch.
THE FIRST TEST
We had a swimming lesson on Wednesday. We had to wear SAF standard-issue swimwear, which are navy blue triangle trunks. I ve never seen so many wedgies in my life. On the bright side, I passed the Category 1 swimming test, our first official evaluation. It s a test of water confidence.
Ivan Tan, a national runner, and I were the first to attempt the test. We donned our number fours, green camouflage-patterned uniforms. The test consisted of a 50-m breaststroke swim, followed by five minutes of treading water. It s untimed, so it makes sense to swim slowly and conserve energy. I was nervous, though, and rushed through the breaststroke, wasting energy. When I started treading water, I was already out of breath. The five minutes felt longer than they should have, but I made it through.
Next, I removed my number four and used the pants to make a float. I tied the legs of the pants into knots and flipped them over my head, trapping air inside. I struggled a bit with the pants inflation, but in the end, I managed to pass. So did Ivan.
The Category 1 test has been our only evaluation so far.
THE SAF S NEXT TOP MODEL
Looking around during the Cat 1 test, I noticed a strange assortment of physiques. NDU is one of the fittest units in the SAF, so I thought everybody would be in shape. Surprisingly, some guys are chubby, and some are really skinny. A few can t even do one proper push-up or pull-up. On the other hand, many are ripped. A handful are bodybuilders, but most are lean and toned.
Nobody wears glasses, which is highly unusual for one hundred Singaporeans. Perfect eyesight is a requirement for naval divers.

There are only two members of 39 who aren t fully Asian. As I m half-American, I m one of them. The other is Aneirin Flynn, who s half-British. On enlistment day, I saw him and said, Hey, you re white, I m white. Wanna be friends?
Before enlisting, I thought being half-American would hurt me. I thought I d be picked on to do extra work or tougher training, and that it might be tougher to make friends. In truth, it s been the opposite. The novelty of being Eurasian has helped me get to know people. Nearly everyone wants to know what an ang moh is doing in NS. I m also the only one who didn t study at a local school. I attended Singapore American School, an international school under the American curriculum.
Aneirin and I stand out. Unexpectedly, this has been an advantage. The instructors have noticed us, and most of them like us.
BUT WE HARDLY KNEW YOU
After just seven days, Batch 39 has already lost two men. One went out-of-course (OOC) because of sinusitis and flat feet. The other went OOC because he tripped while walking into the cookhouse and fractured his arm.
Our class s total strength has fallen to 98.
SATURDAY, MARCH 16 - SUNDAY, MARCH 17
Typically, we ll book out on Friday nights and book in on Sunday nights. However, the first two weeks of NS are the confinement period, so we stayed in camp over the weekend.
Let the second week begin.

MONDAY, MARCH 18
This week, Aneirin and I have volunteered to be ICs. I won t lie - I did this purely to increase my chances of going to Officer Cadet School.
There are always two class ICs. IC stands for In-Charge. These two poor dudes are tasked with running the class. The ICs rotate weekly.
This morning, our Platoon Commander, 2nd Warrant Officer (2WO) Foo, asked for two volunteers to be this week s ICs.
Last night, Aneirin and I had agreed to volunteer to be ICs together. Now, as Warrant Foo s question hung over us, I looked at Aneirin and froze, paralyzed by nervousness. I shook my head. Aneirin smiled, looked away, and raised his hand.
Shit , I thought. I raised my hand too.
Warrant Foo was surprised. You two want to be ICs? Good, he said.
So, here we are.
The ICs are responsible for knowing the class head count and keeping the batch on schedule. As I m starting to find out, this is harder than it sounds. Getting nearly a hundred dudes to behave and cooperate is a task worthy of a Greek tragedy. Even worse, the ICs get punished for the class s mistakes. For instance, whenever the batch is late, Aneirin and I hold the push-up position until everyone arrives.
The ICs also give the drill commands. The commands are in Malay and must be delivered in a precise order. I ve really been struggling with these. My pronunciation is terrible, and I can t get the accent right. A few times, instead of following my commands, the batch has just laughed at me. I m taking each screw-up deeply. I want to succeed, but each time I say the wrong thing in front of the class, I tense up.
Aneirin is able to laugh off his mistakes. When he mispronounces something or forgets the command, he laughs and yells, Shit! Everyone l