Nothing Stands In Our Way
A Naval Diver with the LAR-V pure O2 breather
Exactly a week ago, i paid a visit to the Naval Diving Unit(NDU), Singapore. The Home of the Divers.
On 29th July, the Ministry of Defence(MINDEF) sent me a letter requesting me to go for a Further Reporting Order at Sembawang Naval Base. A Vocational Assessment of some sort. But for what?
I got my answer within minutes of asking around - Selection for Naval Divers. First thought that came to mind : "Wah jia lat." If you people don't already know, NDU and Commandos happen to be the 2 toughest vocations to go through for NS. They're infamous for their high dropout rates due to the incredibly tough training, and significant number of injuries due to risks involved. But the good thing is, if you successfully survive the course and earn your diver badge at the end of the 2 years spent in National Service, you'll emerge as one of the fittest men in Singapore. Spanking iron lads!
What to do? I skip the VA, i get charged by MINDEF.
Okay so i went to NDU, situated in the heart of Sembawang Naval Base. Jitrui and Angus received the very same letter, so at least we had each other's company. Pardon my lack of pictures, military installations are unfortunately photo-shy.
Once you step into NDU, you can't help but notice the Diver Motto "Nothing Stands In Our Way", splashed across the building ahead, accompanied by "Home of the Divers".
There was a statue of a biped frog with wings, seemingly guarding the entrance, with a trident in one hand and a bomb in the other. Clearly shows the affectionate nickname for all Naval Divers - Frogmen.
1. Introductory Talk
Just a routine talk to all the boys shortlisted for the VA. Apparently for one to be a diver, you had to have near-perfect eyesight at the very least, and deemed fully combat-fit.
They said out of all the Singaporean boys, 240 were chosen for NDU. 120 JC students, 120 poly students. (Oh man why didn't i go buy 4D or something)
One particular question cracked everybody up.
Boy : Sir! Do you train with the US Navy SEALs?
Officer : *Ponders.........
Boy : ?
Officer : Nooo........they TRAIN WITH US! *grins
2. Medical Checkup(now isn't this familiar?)
They just HAD to take another blood sample. Medic said my vein nice, easy to poke. The medics were outrageously funny. They had all these names for the various machines that were used for the tests.
-Lung Capacity Blow Test - "Blowjob Machine"
You blew fast and hard into a tube which will calculate your lung capacity.
-Audiometry Test - "Machine Moan"
Similar to the one at CMPB. Hear sound, press button.
-Eardrum Test - "Earfuck machine"
Something gets inserted into your ear which scanned your eardrum and plotted a graph.
There was this questionnaire you had to fill up for previous medical history. There was one particular TRICK question.
Qns: Are you pregnant?
Many of us ticked the "No" option and continued for the other qns. Then the medic suddenly spoke up.
Medic : See la! KENA our TRICK already right!
Boys : ??
We took a closer look at the options for the pregnancy question. There was one extra option that wasn't there for the other qns.
" Not - Applicable "
Boys : LAUGHTER*
3. Chamber Bounce Dive
Hyperbaric Chamber
Now this was something new. They placed you in a hyperbaric chamber(above) and compressed the air to simulate the ambient pressure underwater at a depth of 10 metres. Try swimming to the bottom of a 1.5 m swimming pool and experience the pressure in your ears, then you would know 10 metres is really deep and meant much more discomfort to the ears.
Dive Slip
The procedure wasn't exactly risk-free. Clothing would have to be 100% cotton, or they would run the risk of catching fire in the chamber. The Valsalva maneuver was taught, to equalise the pressure in our ears, for fear of possible bleeding. If you didn't do as told, you would feel a whole lot of pain.
As the chamber decompressed, mist formed and the temperature fell(think Thermal Physics).
We weren't supposed to talk, laugh, cough, or perform any rapid expulsion of air, as lungs would burst due to air pockets in the body expanding. We had to sit straight as well, to prevent air bubbles in the blood from accumulating at the joints.
4. Physical Assessment
Pull-ups. Standing Broad Jump. 50m swim.
The 50m swim took place in a pool that had different depths at different sections. 1m, 4m, 6m, 10m. Managed to catch the divers in their LAR-V pure O2 breathers training.
A group of lao jiaos(officers in their 40s), were playing 2-on-2 street soccer at the multi-purpose hall.
They came over and spoke to our officer.
Laojiao : Eh can we borrow 4 men?
Officer : *smiles
Laojiao : Play soccer mah!
5. Interview
Regular interview for opinions on becoming a Diver.
6. Killer 325 MCQ questions
325 MCQs to kill your brain at the end of the day. Patterns, IQ, personality tests.
Sembawang Naval Base
12 hours spent at NDU, 8am to 8pm. We left the camp, liberated after being confined there for half a day. Results would be posted to us.
