Commando Selection and Training

2010 SG

Hey

I am going for ns in a couple of years and i was wondering what the selection process is to be a commando.

Also what is the training schedule of a commando and where do people drop out?

Please be as detailed as possible.

Thanks you!

2010

PS: can you add the year you were doing the training.

eac SG

pls be informed that their training programme is classified to the general public. the declassified info r in the www.mindef.gov.sg .

u just wait for ur cmpb medical screening when u r due for enlistment age, there u inform the counter officer that u r volunteer/interested to go for the selection test for commando/ndu diver.

after the checkup,
unless u r the selected few who receive the special letter asking u to go for a pre-selection physical/mental ability test in pasir ris, or else no way to be one.

2010 SG

so i tel them i am interested and if they are interested in me they will send me a letter?

What are the things that can have you cut from being a commando, like eye sight, and what else.

Thank you

jianfish9 SG

Its a matter of luck really. You can wear specs, you can be unfit as long as you PES A or B.

Anyway, still long for you. Don't worry abt it.

charleslee SG

eh really can request to the counter officer to tt u r interested to be CDO or NDU diver meh?

crabx SG

dun be commando lah.... so siong u noe... have to always go outfield n put camo on face all the time....

aim for a slacker vocation

mhcampboy SG

no.

eac SG

my classmate got it this way... and some of my bmt mates requested for early enlistment into the june batch bmt after poly graduation. if not, they had to wait till september batch.

storm_freaky13 SG

my friend crashed the CDO selection.

My advice is just keep medically fit, dont get serious injuries. Eyesight below 200 degrees for NDU, above that usually CDO but of course there are many exceptions. and Pes A for high chance of being shortlisted. You can call CMPB when its the time for you to enlist to request being shortlisted for mono-intakes. Accept or not is a different story altogether.

Cro-Magnon SG

Pes A.

Tell them you 2.4KM timing less than 8 minutes, and you walked the last round.

Tell them you got perfect eyesight.

Tell them you dun smoke.

Tell them you want to be ranger or recon force or special force, etc...

Tell them you dun have girlfriend...

I am sure they will select you for CDO...

hardyhall SG

Laughing What if they channel that poor chap straight to SOF, how?

2010 SG

just reading up on armour, but which is more tough?

Armour or CDO training?

mhcampboy SG

If I say driver is tough, some ppl will disagree. If I say RP tough, some ppl will disagree. If I say signallers is tough, some people will disagree. If I say clerical work is tough, some people will disagree. If I say infantry is tough, some people will disagree....

How like that? ALL BECOME GENERAL LA!!! Very Happy

kwlee SG

being a campy is tough....

being me is tough too....

damn. Rolling Eyes

Gedanken SG

For the gazillion and umpteenth time, CDO picks whoever they want to. Yes, there are a few prerequisites like PES status, but the rest of the time it's pretty much a lassiez faire process. Only son, girlfriend, prefer the colour blue, that's just all old wives' tales.

I was there from 1990 to 1993, and I got my letter in mid-1990. I decided I didn't want in, so I thought I'd give them a bad attitude and they'd go pick someone more gung-ho.

So I ended up reporting for the tests, at the end of which I was interviewed by a sargeant. He asked me if I wanted to go to Commandos, and I asked if I had a choice. He said no, and I said, "So what the f*ck are you asking me for?".

I found out over the next two and a half years that that was precisely the mentality they were looking for. Who was to know?

2010 SG

Ged, are you saying they are looking for people who don’t want to go?

Ah Cek SG

u r selected bcos u hv the guts to f a sergeant Laughing

dong dong mau SG

Hahhaa, i got add on

Tell them you don't mind eating cockroaches
Can go hungry for min 3 days
Tell them you can breath under water
Killing snakes are your family biz
Bungee jumping are for pussies
you tattoo singapore flag on your body
You do only 12 x chin up, upside down
Normally you run pass rollerblader
you avoid TP while running to avoid misunderstand

I am pretty sure they will get u in the troop but these are the kinds of things you will be sharing after that.

Okay i am kidding...

Gedanken SG

No, that's not it.

What it is instead is a no-nonsense philosophy - throughout my service, one of the most commonly used phrases (first instituted by my CSM) was, "Can means can lah - wayang so much for what?". In typical light-infantry style, anything that isn't worth its weight is discarded, and this approach extends to practices as well as equipment.

In my case, the sergeant asked a question that he and I both know was useless. By pointing it out, I inadvertently displayed the "no wayang" attitude. On top of that, Commando culture is irreverent if not rebellious - by asking the question in the manner that I did, I showed the sergeant that I'd fit right into the culture.

When you get down to brass tacks, the whole Commando thing is much more a matter of the mind than of physical fitness. As Captain Roger Courtney said to one of the pioneer batches of the Special Boat Squadron in 1942, "You think you're tough? If so, get out - I want f*ckers with brains".

Cro-Magnon SG

One of my BMT sergeants like to say to use recruits, "wah lao, you all so gu niang, wait commandos come and chop you all into bundung."

I kept wondering why commandos want to chop people into bundung... Very Happy