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I STILL get the chills whenever I stand close to a Standard Obstacle Course (SOC).
It reminds me too much of the unfit and bungling 18-year-old army recruit that I was some 21 years ago.
Back then, the obstacles looked like medieval instruments of torture.
Physical training instructors – or PTIs as they were then called – were the keepers of these strange contraptions.
Yesterday, when I witnessed a group of modern-day SAF soldiers manoeuvring through the redesigned SOC, I could still hear my previous trainer shouting, “Semula!” (“repeat” in Malay) in my face.
You see, the quick dash through the SOC with your skeleton battle order and rifle was enough to knock the wind out of you.
You’re under pressure to perform as the SOC was part of a timed fitness test. It still is today.
By the time you reached the low wall, which was the first in a series of then 11 obstacles, you grit your
teeth and slam hard into the wall just to get over it.
After the low wall, the sound of rifle muzzles hitting steel-pot helmets and water sloshing away inside water bottles, accompanied most soldiers all the way to the last obstacle, the ramp.
Demoralising
And sometimes it was demoralising seeing those “pai kar pai chiu” cases (Hokkien for broken and injured legs and arms) littering the SOC grounds – all thanks to moments of carelessness during ramp landings or a slip while negotiating the swinging bridge.
These recruits lay where they fell – their hands holding their injured ankles of knees. Scenes like these are what fitness specialists (formerly known as PTIs) like Second Warrant Officer Steven Tan, 42, would like to avoid.
He had said yesterday: “We want to reduce unneccesary injuries to the soldiers.
“But we still have to add the element of realism, with obstacles that soldiers face in today’s battlegrounds.”
This explains the windows and tunnels that mirror the scenes where soldiers fight in built-up areas or
crawl in sewers.
Relevant safety measures have also be been taken during the construction of the latest SOC, said Dr Roger Tian, a sports physician from Changi General Hospital.
The landing at the redesigned ramp is terraced. So is the balancing bridge, where two lower steps have been added.
Dr Tian had been roped in by the SAF to ensure that the soldiers’ safety and fitness are not
compromised.
Said Dr Tian, 40: “This redesigned SOC is definitely safer than the previous one judging by the injuries I have seen in the past.”
What
The Singapore Armed Forces redesigned its Standard Obstacle Course (SOC) with 12 obstacles.
Why
To inject more realism and provide better safety. The obstacles mirror what today’s soldier will come across on the battlefield.
When
In the next 12 months, about 20 redesigned SOCs will be ready in military camps around the island.
Difference
Some of the older obstacles like the low wall and low rope remain, while new ones like the tunnel, ditch and window are added. Running distances to the SOC ground are shorter now.
Cost
Each SOC costs about $200,000 to rebuild.
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