Originally posted by wuming78:
I WAS sitting in the living room of an HDB flat in total
darkness, when men in black stormed in with guns blazing.
I couldn't make them out, or even tell how many there were, as
rapid volleys thundered around me and several spent cartridges
bounced off my hand. Live rounds.
My only protection was the bullet-proof vest I wore, and strict
compliance with instructions: 'Please stay within your seat in the
red box. Don't stand up. And no camera shots. The men are trained
to fire at flashes.'
Seconds later, the firing stopped and all was silent again. Of the
shootout, only the pungent smell of gunpowder remained.
The lights came on and the dozen of us in the red box were shown
the cutout figures of the terrorists and civilians that had been
placed side by side behind us.
All the shots had been to the cardboard terrorists' foreheads.
Instant death - if those cutouts had been real people.
'They are trained to recognise the terrorist and go for the brain
stem kill,' said an officer with the Special Operations Forces, who
are the cream of the Commandos.
This was the same unit that stormed the hijacked Singapore Airlines
Airbus SQ 117 in 1991, gunning down all four hijackers and rescuing
all 123 hostages unharmed.
Recently, I visited the secret training ground of the SOF.
[b]
High fences surround this four-storey building tucked away in a
corner of the home of the Commandos at Hendon Camp in Changi. Few
people other than the SOF men have ever been inside what is called
the Close Quarter Battle building, off limits even to most
Commandos.
Built in 1991 and upgraded in 1999, its facilities point to the
crisis scenarios they are trained for, and the skills they strive
to perfect.
Every other day, they practise in the firing range in their 'main
battle hall' to sharpen their shooting.
They also blow up replaceable doors on one side of the hall for
demolition practice.
Above the hall is a mock-up of an A310 Airbus plane fitted out with
plywood figures of passengers on foam seats, and along the
corridor, two panels open up to reveal a mock-up lift.
A maze of rooms in the multi-purpose building can be configured for
any crisis scene, even one as mundane as an HDB apartment, complete
with sofa set and coffee table.
They weren't prepared to show them all to reporters.
Secrecy is the watchword.
Even from family members. Warrant Officer Chan, 48, a 20-year
veteran with the SOF before he took on a different assignment last
year, said: 'My family knew I was in the Commandos, but they didn't
really know what I was doing. My wife was very supportive whenever
I couldn't be home or had to go overseas.'
Like many in the SOF, he is a father. He has a 17-year-old daughter
and a 14-year-old son.
They were always in his mind when he went on a mission.
'But my priority is the mission, other people's safety and my
safety.'
Super shooter: Unlike a regular sniper, a Commando sniper is
cross-trained in reconnaissance and learns more shooting
techniques. He is also trained to survive longer in the field on
his own, up to 14 days compared to three days for a regular
sniper.
--ST
see related[/b]
cool man...
btw u are a Regular? Aren't you?
is it real?
