A Glimpse into the Lives of Our Navy

(Caption of photo above) MAJ Thia Shan Zhi, Operations Officer of our submarine RSS Conqueror, showed participants the anti-flash gear which all sailors have to put on when conducting operations on board the warship or submarine.

How good must our swimming capabilities be to join the Navy? What is the culture like in the navy regarding women?

These were just some of the questions raised by students from various junior colleges and polytechnics that participated in the first virtual MINDEF Experience Programme over the weekend. Although they were not able to have a chance to interact with our sailors on board warships, they still were given a glimpse into the lives of our navy through the stories shared by our naval personnel.

A special shout-out to our participants: We hope you have learnt more about the Navy in this unique MEP! Our Navy family has truly enjoyed sharing their experiences with you and look forward to meeting you in person in the near future! 

(Some photos were taken before additional precautionary measures against COVID-19 were implemented)

CPT Russell Ewe, Assistant Navigation Officer of RSS Tenacious, shared with the participants on his journey to become a Naval Officer.

LTA Sheryl Ng, who recently returned from her overseas study, spoke about her experience on board ship and allayed concerns that females may have about working in a military environment.

This photo shows LTA Ng's Midshipmen batch during the send-off for their Midshipmen Sea Training Deployment (MSTD) on board RSS Persistence.

LTC Bertram Ang, Executive Officer of RSS Tenacious, elaborated on how the RSN strengthens its diplomatic relationships with like-minded foreign Navies through the various overseas deployments and operations.

This photo shows LTC Ang interacting with his Thai and Indian counterparts onboard an Indian Navy warship, INS Ravir, during the inaugural Singapore-India-Thailand Maritime Exercise (SITMEX) held in 2019.

With their interests piqued throughout the session, there were many questions from the participants showing eagerness to find out more about the Navy career and how they can be part of it. Here are some of them!

LTA Paul Loh, alumni of ACS(I): "Swimming is not hard to overcome! There were structured swimming lessons during OCS and at the end of the day, nobody was held back by their swimming competency. Even if you do struggle at the start, there is a good runway of about 7 to 8 months, which is more than sufficient for most people to become competent in swimming."

LTA Allison Tan, alumni of SOTA: "In my personal experience, I find that the females in the Service are getting increasingly accepted. When I was on board RSS Supreme, my Commanding Officer was a female. At that point of time, there were about 10 female crew on board RSS Supreme and we were a very tight bunch! We will all support each other and even go out for makans together after work."