ALL IN A DAY'S WORK ON BOARD RSS STEADFAST

Commissioned in February as one of three new Formidable-Class Stealth Frigates, the RSS Steadfast recently returned from a long deployment in Hawaii for the multilateral Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) naval exercise.

Find out some of the activities that happen on board this leading warship in the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) as cyberpioneer takes a peek at the crew's busy schedule on 23 Sep.

5:36 A.M.

At this time of the day, most people would usually still be fast asleep, but Staff Sergeant (SSG) Michael Raj, chief chef of RSS Steadfast, was already up before dawn.

Together with two fellow chefs, he prepared a hearty breakfast that was ready for the crew by 7 o'clock.

Having served for 14 years as a chef in the Navy, SSG Michael proudly stated that his job was to "cook a good meal for the ship's crew, to help keep morale high".

Cooking may seem like a simple task, but keeping a 70-plus crew well-fed and in good spirits requires thoughtful effort and dedication, such as changing the menu regularly to suit different tastes, as well as catering to the needs of vegetarians.

"I know them very well. I really studied them one by one to find out what they like and do not like to eat," he explained. "The most important trait for a chef in the Navy is discipline in timing, and he must also provide the right quality and quantity of food."

8:43 A.M.

Gathering for their morning mustering at the hangar on deck, the crew went through a detailed briefing about the week's schedule and other daily events. Drills and exercises were then conducted to strengthen the crew's proficiency in undertaking a wide variety of missions.

Due to lean manning on board the frigate, crew members are often required to multi-task.

For instance, while First Warrant Officer (1WO) Loh Wai Hon's primary role is as the Coxswain, he is also a supervisor in the Combat Information Centre when they are at sea.

"The tasks that this ship is given are more complex, compared to a smaller ship," he said.

"For example, we have to deal with helicopter landings, and we also have to carry out replenishments at sea because we sail for long periods of time, so our tasks are more diversified and the crew need to be really competent and know what they're doing."

7:13 P.MSince frigates are relatively new additions to the fleet and gradually building on their aviation abilities, they are frequently tested and put through their paces. Ensuring the readiness of the crew as they prepared for a touch-and-go helicopter landing operation at night was Marine Engineering Officer (MEO), Major (MAJ) Heah Khim Yong, who also doubles up as the Flight Deck Officer. A practice run had also been held in the afternoon for the pilots to familiarise themselves with the flight deck during the day. Sharing that the purpose of these trials was to "verify the intensity settings of our lights to make sure that aircraft can land on the ship at night", MAJ Heah explained that if they were successful, it would mean other ships would be able to adopt similar settings and conduct night landing training from then on.Indeed, operationalising new capabilities as part of the pioneer crew on board RSS Steadfast is something that this officer derives great satisfaction from - be it in his engineering or aviation duties."Learning all these new things about the frigates and what they're capable of is extremely satisfying. We're breaking new ground as we work," MAJ Heah enthused.