But navy IS very different from army and i think yup its
slacker and easier, especially for the non fit people, pussies who
can't chiong sua or people whose command and leadership isn't their
forte.
If seasickness is something you don't even feel, navy is really
an extended vacation interjected with some routine work. You are
sheltered, have nice food to eat,no physical
exertion, and don't face the rough elements, the navy
guys I know are fair like Fann Wong, you don't need to chiong sua
in the rain, sleep in the jungle on a mat, eat combat rations and
walk for 20km with a 20kg fieldpack and lugging a 3kg rifle to
fight.
i know that cos there are some specialists who had really
tough time in NS army but did well or were happy when they sign on
to navy cos they can't take the toughest regime, army and have just
enough toughness for navy or air force. if you dun have an issue
with seasickness, its generally a walk in the park. The other thing
is of course being away for up to 4 months, quite a downer, few
jobs I know have this sian factor of being away for up to 4 months
at a stretch frequently.
You can sign on after BMT, no hurry, but from what little i know
of naval ops, there is nothing relevant in BMT army in terms of job
scope.
For high fliers I know who aren't super fit for
army or don't have exceptional leadership qualities that army
requires but qualified for SAFOS, Navy is the place where they
end up.
The largest ship command fewer than 100 person at CO level,
fewer than the no. of people an army OC commands.
The more people in a unit at the same level of command in the
service, the higher the emphasis on leadership and the bigger the
draw for those who thrive on leadership.
As for air force, people gravitate there to be pilots, their
first choice, and if they fail to be and want to be in
SAF(combat), the rigors of WSO are still more demanding than most
naval vocations save for diver. Pilots in RSAF operate very
independently, like silos, with hardly any leadership requirements
at the junior to middle command levels.
Sheltered my foot. Extended vacation?? It depends on the
vocation.
If you think sea-sickness is something one can easily
adjust to if one has no prior problems beforehand, obviously you've
never tried fighting fires in full gear and damage control in rough
seas.
As a NSF who once served as part of the damage control team,
what I can tell you the fatigue one experiences is not something
comparable to "chiong sua", because one has to think quickly to
save the ship, in narrow passages, hot compartments, and in full
gear which is not light and restricted by the
face-mask. You must be able to know the ship inside-out, since
power will be cut-off and smoke will obscure your view! You must
know where EVERY important equipments are kept, how to rig them up
etc etc. You are shagged, your breathing and vision restricted,
people shouting at you, the urgency. What do people outside of this
team know? How many of us have injured ourselves doing this kind of
things? How was Courageous saved?
You won't understand unless you've tried it yourself. Picture
yourself woken up in the dead of the night by alarms and then going
through drills after drills. The mental fatigue and physical
exhaustion is there. Damage-control was but one job of mine. I also
have my own systems to man, to repair, to maintain. I was also a
seaman....and I belonged to a dept that takes the lead in the
dirtiest and toughest jobs. (Fellow RSN folks will know which
vocation I belonged to!
)
I won't compare both lives in army and in navy, even though I've
experienced both. To compare would be unfair to both services that
serve the country.
