https://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore/c...h-gruelling-perisher-submarine-command-course
While Senior Lieutenant-Colonel Loh Mun Heng is fond of whisky, he was determined not to receive a bottle of it during the six-month- long "Perisher" submarine command course he attended in 2007.
That is because trainees who fail the course – including those who choose to give up at any point – are given a customary farewell bottle of whisky to drown their sorrows on board the ferry back to shore, said SLTC Loh in an e-mail interview last Thursday.
"I was determined not to receive that farewell. It dawned on me that the submariner's competency and character are key to the submarine's mission success," he said.
SLTC Loh, 46, shared his experiences with Singapore media ahead of the launch of the Republic of Singapore Navy's (RSN's) first newly built submarine, the Type 218SG, by Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen in the German city of Kiel today.
It is the first of four Type 218SG submarines, built by German defence contractor ThyssenKrupp Marine System, to be delivered from 2021.
The RSN has conducted more than 20 years of submarine training and operations since it began acquiring four Swedish Sjoormen-class submarines second-hand between 1995 and 1997, which underwent refurbishment and were named Challenger-class vessels.
While Senior Lieutenant-Colonel Loh Mun Heng is fond of whisky, he was determined not to receive a bottle of it during the six-month- long "Perisher" submarine command course he attended in 2007.
That is because trainees who fail the course – including those who choose to give up at any point – are given a customary farewell bottle of whisky to drown their sorrows on board the ferry back to shore, said SLTC Loh in an e-mail interview last Thursday.
"I was determined not to receive that farewell. It dawned on me that the submariner's competency and character are key to the submarine's mission success," he said.
SLTC Loh, 46, shared his experiences with Singapore media ahead of the launch of the Republic of Singapore Navy's (RSN's) first newly built submarine, the Type 218SG, by Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen in the German city of Kiel today.
It is the first of four Type 218SG submarines, built by German defence contractor ThyssenKrupp Marine System, to be delivered from 2021.
The RSN has conducted more than 20 years of submarine training and operations since it began acquiring four Swedish Sjoormen-class submarines second-hand between 1995 and 1997, which underwent refurbishment and were named Challenger-class vessels.
