FROM BOYS TO NAVAL DIVERS

The boys are back! But this time, they face the seemingly insurmountable challenge of training to become members of the elite Naval Diving Unit (NDU).

We were waiting quietly at the J Team office when Joshua Tan burst in. A flurry of introductions ensued and not long after, Maxi Lim and Wang Weiliang arrived too. Everyone looked tired, about five shades darker and slimmer.

It was clear that their training at NDU had been fruitful. For almost a month, the main cast of Ah Boys to Men 3: Frogmen went through the same gruelling training that naval divers do. Due to hit cinemas during Chinese New Year, the movie is about how the original characters would fare if they were posted to NDU for their Basic Military Training instead of Pulau Tekong.

Despite the crazy schedules and special diet which they were put through, it was evident that the boys enjoyed reminiscing about the "good ol' days". Ask them about one aspect of their training, and they would ramble non-stop and interject one another about how strenuous it was. But at the end of the day, there is no doubt they had gained tremendous respect for the frogmen of the Republic of Singapore Navy.

You guys are looking good. So how has your training been?

JOSHUA - Training was in three main stages. First was NDU immersion. We report at 7am, do morning PT (physical training) till 11am, break for lunch and train in the pool till 5pm. So it was like a full day of physical training (i.e. torture) The warrant officers taught us swimming strokes as NDU's strokes are different from the conventional ones.

MAXI - It's done with flippers. Sort of a tactical way to remain hidden while carrying equipment. You're not allowed to break the surface of the water or create lots of splashes. And it's long distances back and forth.

Who did you train under?

J - 1st Warrant Officer Frankie Chong is one of our chief trainers. His nickname in NDU is "Psycho". If you're known as a psycho within NDU, it's really something.

M - I think he does get a lot of respect. When we were in NDU and people asked who we were training with, we said "Frankie" and they would say: "Oh Psycho Frankie ah? Wah."

J - Whatever he asked us to do, he would do it with us. He's on the platform during morning PT and we are forced to look at him from the ground. So that we know whatever he asks us to do, he can do it better. And he's like 40-plus. It's a motivating factor - he's older but still fitter than us. Really lao kui (Hokkien for embarrassing) lor.

Maxi, I heard that you had a phobia of water. How did you overcome it?

M - It's a bit bo bian (Hokkien for no choice) 'cos I wanted to be in this movie. But I'm glad that whenever there was a task to perform in the water, my friends and the instructors would stop (what they were doing) to look after me. The training was done in a safe environment so I was able to keep all the negative thoughts away and just focus on what I needed to do.

Were you also motivated by the encouragement from your fellow Ah boys?

M - (laughing) I think it was more like insults. They'll insult my physical appearance, just to make me train.

J - He's called the dead seal!

M - Before the training, I was called the dead seal. After the training, I became the baby seal.

WEILIANG - We don't say "Bro, you can do it." We say: "You confirm cannot do it. This movie doesn't have you only mah, you should just sit in the corner." This is how we motivate each other - tough love. But he was really hardworking. He lost 10kg!

I heard that you guys had to go through a special diet... (all groaned simultaneously)

J - Aiyoh. This is one portion in which we suffered more than the divers.

M - Our healthy diet was basically chicken breast and red rice...

J - The chicken breast is steamed. So you can chew on it for 20 minutes and you're still chewing, till it becomes powder in your mouth.

WL - Because we're filming, the food is already cold when we eat it. And it's like a piece of wood. But we have no choice 'cos we're hungry and we have to eat.

J - Actually we should thank our chef 'cos he helped us exercise our jawline to make it more defined with all the chewing!

Which part of the training was most xiong (Hokkien for tough) for you, individually?

J - For me, it was drown-proofing. There's this thing called"no man's land". In a 4m pool, it's around 2m. We were doing the underwater somersault, and suddenly I had no more air. It was either that I kicked up or continue to sink down and kick up. The proper way is actually the latter. It's faster than fighting your way up.

I think this is the most challenging 'cos I've never tried it before. And you have to trust both your instructors and teammates to look out for you.

WL - On land, everything is ok. The moment you go into water, it s a different ball game. Our instructor told us that we cannot be scared of water. Instead of fighting it, we must flow with the current.

M - Once, the instructors told us to fill our masks (which cover our eyes and noses) with water, put them over our faces and do flutter kicks while lying on our backs and counting out loud. It was so hard to breathe, to shout and to do flutter kicks at the same time. That was very torturous.

You really went through a lot, but I guess it's all worth it?

J - There were some of them who were skeptical, who thought we were just there (in NDU) to show face and act like we're interested. But when the divers saw that none of us gave up, they decided to take the training to a higher level. Gaining their respect and acceptance meant a lot to us.

WL - Getting Warrant Frankie's and the divers' approval, and then seeing how we changed from the start of filming to the end, it was really precious to us.

What message do you hope this movie will bring across to the public?

J - For me, it's very simple. I want public recognition for the divers. The US Navy Seals are very popular and they inspire so much respect at the very mention of their name. Singapore has our own elite forces and they deserve recognition too.

WL - I hope that this film can bring recognition to all these people who are not known - that we have this bunch of people who are protecting us in Singapore.

M - A lot of times it's about attitude. The NDU divers are pretty much the same as us, but what sets them apart is their attitude. And not much is known about the divers and how they train, so I hope this film helps to shed some light on them.