CLASS-TOPPING DIVERS

Captain (CPT) Linkesh S/O Balasubramanyam and 3rd Warrant Officer (3WO) Loh Chin Wee tell PIONEER what they did to attain the highest honours for both the commissioned and non-commissioned officer classes of the United States Army Special Forces Qualification Course.

For 24 days, their tenacity, agility and resourcefulness were tested to their limits. CPT Linkesh and 3WO Loh had to complete physically-demanding exercises such as a 12-mile (19km) march carrying a 45-pound (20kg) load, which did not include their Load Bearing Vest, water supplies and weapon, in under three hours.

They also went through day and night long-distance land navigation courses, sometimes, in harsh weather conditions and over rough hilly terrain. The long list goes on, including a 100m swimming assessment in their combat uniforms and boots and the US Army Physical Fitness Test (the US Army's equivalent of the Individual Physical Proficiency Test).

These were just entry requirements, or phase one of five phases of the elite US Army Special Forces Qualification Course held at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, which the two Naval Diving Unit (NDU) divers and their colleague Master Sergeant Lim Chii Kian participated in last year. US soldiers who successfully complete the course are touted as the US Army s most specialised experts in unconventional warfare and are often deployed for missions in areas such as counter-terrorism.

Staying strong

"In a day, you can walk up to 30km," recalled 3WO Loh of the gruelling experience during phase one, the assessment and selection phase. If candidates failed any phase, they risked being kicked out of the course. "We were smaller, compared to the Americans, and had to carry the same loads, and their training ground is huge, nearly as big as Singapore. It was extremely taxing," said CPT Linkesh of the challenges they faced.

Away from home and all things familiar, CPT Linkesh said there were times when he especially missed his family and local food. "But we knew we had to finish it. That's the way we've been trained."

In phase two of the course, CPT Linkesh and 3WO Loh were trained in small unit tactics where they learnt to conduct raids, ambushes, patrols and strikes against enemy forces. But phases three and four were what 3WO Loh and CPT Linkesh counted as highlights.

At phase three, 3WO Loh who was in the Special Forces Engineer Sergeant Military Occupational Specialty (MOS), had to hit the books for the first time in nearly 15 years. The challenge of studying for the frequent theory tests was made worse by the fact that the US used inches and feet while he was used to the metric system. "We had to do a lot of calculations during construction and demolition and I needed to do the conversions each time I had to calculate, so that was the hardest part," explained 3WO Loh, who made up for it with lots of practice during the weekends. Memorable moments of the course for him included constructing an 18m-by-28m building, complete with air-conditioning, windows, a staircase and power supply with his 21 teammates from scratch in just seven days.

For CPT Linkesh, Operations Robin Sage in phase four of the course topped his list of personal highlights. The final training exercise in unconventional warfare before they earned their Green Berets - they skipped language training in phase five as both knew a second language in addition to English - saw him being deployed as part of a 12-man Operational Detachment Alpha. The training mission gave him his first taste of what actual operations were like, as he got to execute tasks ranging from parachuting into a city to gathering food, water and weapon supplies. All these tested essential skills like critical thinking at every turn. "You are forced to think of creative solutions to problems because you are out in the open and you need to survive," he said.

Graduating at the top

When they started the course, the two RSN divers only had one aim: to finish the course, and in the process, do their best. So they were pleasantly surprised when they were asked to take the honour graduate seats during the Allied Graduation Ceremony of the Special Forces Qualification Course. CPT Linkesh topped his class of seven international officers.

The accolade was especially sweet for 3WO Loh, who topped his class of five international non-commissioned officers from both the Weapons and Engineering MOS, because he was one of the two non-commissioned SAF officers sent to participate in the course for the first time. So how did they feel about being honour graduates? "We re not going to lie," said 3WO Loh with a laugh. "It was good."

"We have this mindset in NDU: Once you step in, you never give up. When you are tired, you think of your family and you keep walking till you finish."
- 3WO Loh, who is married, on what kept him going throughout the course.