Neo, crew should take naval diving course

I refer to S. M. Ong's column, "Jack, you don't want to mess with this frogman" (The New Paper on Sunday, March 30).

Anyone who has seen Ah Boys to Men and its sequel should realise that these movies have done damage to the Singapore Armed Forces.

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• Humour: Jack, you don't want to mess with this frogman

The Naval Diving Unit (NDU) is the pride of the Republic of Singapore Navy.

When I joined the unit in the early 1990s, we were taught to be proud of being hand-picked by the unit.

Enlistments were only once a year, with less than 200 recruits selected, and a pass rate of only 30 per cent.

Starting from day one, we were trained to be the toughest in the navy.

We were trained to risk our lives, such as clearing of enemy beaches during war time, which has to be done before the main fleet lands.

Ask anyone who has gone through the Professional Diving Course, and he would tell you about the last week of the six-month course.

The demanding physical and mental training, paired with sleepless nights, earned it the name "Hell Week".

We got our badge only after surviving Hell Week.

In the frogmen's minds, our only worthy opponents are the Commandos.

The NDU is no joke for anyone to fool around with.

Please tell Jack Neo and his crew to go through the full six months of hell, like we did, before he decides whether or not to make a mockery of the NDU.

From Reader HO Y. C.

This article was published on April 2  in The New Paper.

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