NEWLY recruited full-time national servicemen (NSFs) who have to
do Basic Military Training with the Singapore Armed Forces will
undergo a new Standard Obstacle Course (SOC) from this month, said
the Ministry of Defence yesterday.
The new course has more obstacles that simulate urban
environments like building rubble.
This is to meet the changing needs of the SAF and the
environments it has to operate in.
While the old course had 11 combat obstacles, the new one has
12, with seven of them being new stations. Some of the existing
stations have also been modified for better safety.
New recruits will need to run a shorter distance when clearing
the new SOC. For instance, the final leg of the old standard course
required recruits to run 600m. This has been cut to 300m.
As part of these changes, recruits will have to clear the new
standard course in a shorter time of under six minutes, instead of
below eight minutes.
The new SOC also applies to new NSFs selected for the Officer
and Specialist Cadet Courses, but these servicemen need to complete
the course in a slightly shorter time.
The new standard course will be cleared only by NSFs who are of
Physical Employment Status A and B, representing servicemen who are
physically fit for combat training.
When NSFs enter SAF units to serve the remainder of their
two-year active service, the individual SOC will be replaced with a
new team-based Vocation Obstacle Course (VOC).
The vocation course is tailored to an NSF's function in the SAF
but regardless of vocation, all VOCs will feature the 12-station
combat obstacles from the new SOC.
During the VOC, servicemen will also wear an equipment vest that
weighs 6.5kg and contains body armour plates. This contrasts with
the lighter 2.5kg vest new recruits wear for the standard course
during their early training.
The number of participants for the vocation course can range
from four servicemen to seven, depending on vocation.
It will also require NSFs to carry combat equipment unique to
their functions.
For instance, NSFs who are infantry men could embark on a VOC
with seven members. Equipment they would carry include grenade
launchers, and anti-tank weapons called Matadors that weigh 8.9kg
each.
They will start with a 1km fast march before embarking on the 12
combat obstacles, and ending with a 300m leg where they will have
to evacuate one of their members on a stretcher.
When NSFs trained in the VOC have completed their two-year
active service and become NSmen, they will continue to do VOC
during their In- Camp Training.
But they will not need to pass it as a test, like they did
during active service.
The frequency at which NSmen will go through the VOC is subject
to the discretion of NS commanders and based on the combat fitness
of the NSmen.
Current batches of NSmen who have already done their active
service and who have not been trained in the new VOC will not need
to do it during the rest of their NS cycle.
Only NSFs who have gone through training for the redesigned SOC
will need to do the VOC later. The VOC needs to be cleared by NSFs
once a year.
The Defence Ministry said that 18 camps here will be fitted out
with the revamped 12-station combat obstacles over the next
year.
According to Chief of Army Chan Chun Sing, each redesigned SOC
costs about $200,000 and more than 20 of them will be revamped.
The SAF also introduced from this month new physical exercises
as part of NSFs' and NSmen's training.
They are customised to different vocations and designed to train
specific muscle groups relevant to servicemen in carrying out their
combat tasks.
NSF third sergeant Leroi Lim, 20, said the new VOC requires
planning and encourages cooperation.
"We have to help one another so that every member can clear the
obstacles," he said.
