FIRST BATCH OF SAF VOLUNTEERS ENLISTS, STARTS BASIC TRAINING

They heard the call. They stepped forward.

And now, the first batch of Singapore Armed Forces Volunteer Corps (SAFVC) Volunteers (SVs) will finally begin their training.

On 24 Mar, 68 non-National Service (NS)-liable Singaporeans and Permanent Residents (PRs) reported at Maju Camp for their enlistment into the SAFVC. After taking their oath of allegiance, like their NS counterparts, they waved goodbye to their accompanying families and loved ones before embarking on a two-week journey to learn to become soldiers.

The SAFVC was established as one of the accepted recommendations by the Committee to Strengthen NS, with the purpose of allowing more Singaporeans and PRs to contribute to national defence, show support for NS, and deepen their understanding and ownership of national defence.

Since it was officially launched in October last year, the SAFVC has received about 900 applications, from which 150 were eventually selected to form the 2015 cohort. The second and third batches will enlist on 11 Apr and 15 Jun respectively.

Interview and selection process

The five-month-long selection process included face-to-face interviews between the applicants and a panel of three to five members from the selection board. The board comprised SAFVC commanders, senior commanders from the sponsoring Headquarters (HQs) whose units the volunteers will be deployed to, and senior NS officers with the ranks of Senior Lieutenant-Colonel and above.

"The first part of the interview is trying to ascertain if the person has the right motivations and aptitude," explained SAFVC Commander Colonel (COL) Mike Tan. "Eventually we will ask the sponsoring HQs whether they find the person eligible for his particular role. We then spend a long time deliberating to make sure our assessments are accurate enough."

COL Tan also highlighted the importance of including senior NS officers in the panel: "These volunteers will be expected to work with NSmen (Operationally-ready National Servicemen). The NS commander has a very important input for me (because) it's the set of eyes making sure that the person before us is able to work with the NSmen."

Board member COL (NS) Leonard Yeow, who is Chief of Staff of Division Hub 2, HQ 2nd People's Defence Force (2 PDF), agreed: "We were primarily looking at motivation, as COL Tan said. For us who have been in NS for a long time, we listen and decide if it (the motivation for signing up) sounds right. Subsequently we look for the technical capabilities. (Nonetheless), the atmosphere is always positive and friendly."

COL (NS) Yeow, who has been in NS for 34 years, added that the process of interviewing applicants had been heartening: "While NSmen have enough reasons to be motivated, it's very nice to hear the people they have been defending come forward and say they want to volunteer."

Training

The first batch of SVs will undergo the Basic Training Course (Continuous) from 24 Mar to 4 Apr. Under instructors from the Basic Military Training Centre and other SAF training schools, they will learn basic military skills like individual field craft, live firing and the technical handling of the SAR 21, as well as undergo the Battle Inoculation Course (BIC). The course will culminate in a two-day field camp on Pulau Tekong.

When asked how the training would cater to such a diverse group of SVs, COL Tan explained: "(Indeed, we have) two genders (with ages ranging from) 18 to 45 years old, different cultural backgrounds. We spent a long time with our trainers discussing how to do the training. In the course of preparing my trainers, I can't help but hark back to those days when we had the Hokkien platoons when we (the SAF) first started. We have a long history of training people, so I am confident."

Although tough, many of the SVs are already looking forward to training and learning about the military way of life.

"I'm most looking forward to the BIC," Kimberley Winona Jeremiah, a 19-year-old Mass Communication student at Republic Polytechnic, said excitedly. "I've liked military stuff since I was young and I wanted to sign up because I like the training involved, such as the Standard Obstacle Course, and learning to shoot the rifle. Even though I'm scared of the physical aspect, joining a sport in poly has prepared me."

Citing her father, Lieutenant-Colonel (LTC) (NS) Jeremiah Jonathan Mark, as her inspiration, Ms Jeremiah hopes that becoming an info-media staff would allow her to spread awareness of the SAFVC among young people like herself.

"It's like a dream come true for me," said LTC (NS) Jeremiah, Commanding Officer of 806th Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment. "Last time, when we went to MMRC (Multi-Mission Range Complex), I would come back and tell her about it. But there was no way she would have a chance to see it. In my heart, I was thinking, how I wish I had a chance to bring her there. Now, there's a chance."

LTC (NS) Jeremiah added wistfully: "I hope this will open her eyes. It will also inculcate a never-say-die attitude in her."

As for Dr Vidyadhar Padmakar Mali, a Senior Consultant in the National University Hospital, he hopes his participation will in turn inspire his son, who will be serving NS in two years' time.

"We've always brought him up to know that he has to serve NS once we became PRs, so there was no two-ways about it. And my going through this process ahead of him gives him a positive outlook. He will see his own father doing NS out of his own volition, even though it's not mandatory for me," explained the 45-year-old, who has since obtained his citizenship. He will be joining the SAFVC as a medical doctor.

Becoming an SV is also a family affair for Mr Jiang Hong, a PR from China who has been living in Singapore since 2006. "I can see that I am half Singaporean, because I studied here, I'm working here, and my family is here. I should protect my family and Singapore," he said earnestly. The 27-year-old is a Transactional Logistics Coordinator in Becton Dickinson Holding Pte Ltd, and became a PR in 2012.

Mr Jiang revealed that his wife, also a PR, is equally keen to join the SAFVC. "After I told my wife of my interest in participating, she wanted to apply too. But I told her to wait until I had finished my training, so that at least there was someone to watch over the home. She was very understanding. Maybe she will apply in the next batch."

Following their graduation from the Basic Training Course, the SVs will begin their Qualification Training in the latter half of the year, to prepare them for their specific roles in the SAF. They will then have the opportunity to be deployed from this September onwards.