The Guards are infantry soldiers who are
proficient in helicopter
operations.[6] All
Guardsmen are taught and trained to be comfortable working with
helicopters. They are proficient in Terminal Air Guidance, in the
setting up of landing sites as well as communicating with the
pilots.
To achieve such high standards, trainees are put through some of
the most rigorous training within the Singapore Armed Forces. To be
worthy of donning the coveted "Guards" shoulder tab and the Khaki
beret, trainees have to go through the gruelling
Guards Conversion Course (GCC) for Officers &
Specialists. The enlisted men go through the Guards Advanced
Infantry Training (GAIT) to earn their mark as Guardsmen.
[7] These
conversion courses signify the conversion from regular infantry to
the elite Guardsmen and push every soldier physically and mentally
to the limit. Only those who qualify will be given the right to be
called a "Guardsman", wearing the coveted khaki beret. In Dec 2011,
the Ministry of
Defence (Singapore) released a 7-part web series on the Guards
Conversion Course, titled Making The Cut: Guards
Conversion Course.
Part of the conversion requires the soldier to undergo a timed
12 km fast march, a 2 km coastal swim and an advanced
obstacle course known as the Guards Assault Course (GAC). The GAC
is a team course that requires the group of soldiers to swim 50
meters, to climb a high tower, rappel down a tower and complete a
5 km run with a standard SAF obstacle course and carry an
"injured" teammate on a stretcher for the last 1.5 kilometers. The
entire course is done in full battle order (FBO) with packs packed
with sandbags to reach the required weight requirement. Guardsmen
are also required to maintain a strict physical fitness regime
throughout their careers.
The Guards are trained to be inserted and extracted from the
combat zone by helicopter, hence the term
"heliborne". They can do this either by rapid disembarkation while
the helicopter is landing, or by "rappelling" (descending by rope
while the helicopter hovers) and fast roping straight into battle
zones, or onto rooftops.[6] As a nice
landing area may not always be available, the Guards have to master
many kinds of rappelling from cliffs and buildings.[8] In one
method, they come down a cliff head-downwards. In case they are
wounded in a leg and cannot use their legs to brace themselves
against the cliff face, they also learn to come down with their
backs facing the cliff, and also in a stretcher.[8] Another
dangerous method, but at times necessary for a fast and decisive
strike, would be "running" down a cliff. This method is known as
the "Australian rappel".[9]
Guards are also specialised in seaborne assault such as coastal
hook, which is an offensive manoeuvre initiated by army forces and
executed by forces embarked in surface water craft using the
coastal sea or river as an axis of movement, to outflank the enemy
in order to accomplish the assigned tactical mission.