Shots flew over me... and I saw how deadly the crack troops
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I WAS sitting in the living room of an HDB flat in total darkness, when men in black stormed in with guns blazing.
I couldn't make them out, or even tell how many there were, as rapid volleys thundered around me and several spent cartridges bounced off my hand. Live rounds.
My only protection was the bullet-proof vest I wore, and strict compliance with instructions: 'Please stay within your seat in the red box. Don't stand up. And no camera shots. The men are trained to fire at flashes.'
Seconds later, the firing stopped and all was silent again. Of the shootout, only the pungent smell of gunpowder remained.
The lights came on and the dozen of us in the red box were shown the cutout figures of the terrorists and civilians that had been placed side by side behind us.
All the shots had been to the cardboard terrorists' foreheads. Instant death - if those cutouts had been real people.
'They are trained to recognise the terrorist and go for the brain stem kill,' said an officer with the Special Operations Forces, who are the cream of the Commandos.
This was the same unit that stormed the hijacked Singapore Airlines Airbus SQ 117 in 1991, gunning down all four hijackers and rescuing all 123 hostages unharmed.
Recently, I visited the secret training ground of the SOF.
High fences surround this four-storey building tucked away in a corner of the home of the Commandos at Hendon Camp in Changi. Few people other than the SOF men have ever been inside what is called the Close Quarter Battle building, off limits even to most Commandos.
Built in 1991 and upgraded in 1999, its facilities point to the crisis scenarios they are trained for, and the skills they strive to perfect.
Every other day, they practise in the firing range in their 'main battle hall' to sharpen their shooting.
They also blow up replaceable doors on one side of the hall for demolition practice.
Above the hall is a mock-up of an A310 Airbus plane fitted out with plywood figures of passengers on foam seats, and along the corridor, two panels open up to reveal a mock-up lift.
A maze of rooms in the multi-purpose building can be configured for any crisis scene, even one as mundane as an HDB apartment, complete with sofa set and coffee table.
They weren't prepared to show them all to reporters.
Secrecy is the watchword.
Even from family members. Warrant Officer Chan, 48, a 20-year veteran with the SOF before he took on a different assignment last year, said: 'My family knew I was in the Commandos, but they didn't really know what I was doing. My wife was very supportive whenever I couldn't be home or had to go overseas.'
Like many in the SOF, he is a father. He has a 17-year-old daughter and a 14-year-old son.
They were always in his mind when he went on a mission.
'But my priority is the mission, other people's safety and my safety.'
Super shooter: Unlike a regular sniper, a Commando sniper is cross-trained in reconnaissance and learns more shooting techniques. He is also trained to survive longer in the field on his own, up to 14 days compared to three days for a regular sniper.
--ST
see related -
trained for the worst case scenario
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Originally posted by wuming78:
cool man...
I WAS sitting in the living room of an HDB flat in total darkness, when men in black stormed in with guns blazing.
I couldn't make them out, or even tell how many there were, as rapid volleys thundered around me and several spent cartridges bounced off my hand. Live rounds.
My only protection was the bullet-proof vest I wore, and strict compliance with instructions: 'Please stay within your seat in the red box. Don't stand up. And no camera shots. The men are trained to fire at flashes.'
Seconds later, the firing stopped and all was silent again. Of the shootout, only the pungent smell of gunpowder remained.
The lights came on and the dozen of us in the red box were shown the cutout figures of the terrorists and civilians that had been placed side by side behind us.
All the shots had been to the cardboard terrorists' foreheads. Instant death - if those cutouts had been real people.
'They are trained to recognise the terrorist and go for the brain stem kill,' said an officer with the Special Operations Forces, who are the cream of the Commandos.
This was the same unit that stormed the hijacked Singapore Airlines Airbus SQ 117 in 1991, gunning down all four hijackers and rescuing all 123 hostages unharmed.
Recently, I visited the secret training ground of the SOF.
[b]
High fences surround this four-storey building tucked away in a corner of the home of the Commandos at Hendon Camp in Changi. Few people other than the SOF men have ever been inside what is called the Close Quarter Battle building, off limits even to most Commandos.
Built in 1991 and upgraded in 1999, its facilities point to the crisis scenarios they are trained for, and the skills they strive to perfect.
Every other day, they practise in the firing range in their 'main battle hall' to sharpen their shooting.
They also blow up replaceable doors on one side of the hall for demolition practice.
Above the hall is a mock-up of an A310 Airbus plane fitted out with plywood figures of passengers on foam seats, and along the corridor, two panels open up to reveal a mock-up lift.
A maze of rooms in the multi-purpose building can be configured for any crisis scene, even one as mundane as an HDB apartment, complete with sofa set and coffee table.
They weren't prepared to show them all to reporters.
Secrecy is the watchword.
Even from family members. Warrant Officer Chan, 48, a 20-year veteran with the SOF before he took on a different assignment last year, said: 'My family knew I was in the Commandos, but they didn't really know what I was doing. My wife was very supportive whenever I couldn't be home or had to go overseas.'
Like many in the SOF, he is a father. He has a 17-year-old daughter and a 14-year-old son.
They were always in his mind when he went on a mission.
'But my priority is the mission, other people's safety and my safety.'
Super shooter: Unlike a regular sniper, a Commando sniper is cross-trained in reconnaissance and learns more shooting techniques. He is also trained to survive longer in the field on his own, up to 14 days compared to three days for a regular sniper.
--ST
see related[/b]
btw u are a Regular? Aren't you?
is it real? -
har? is wat real? this article? its as real as the ST journalist noes and reported lor.Originally posted by Arena:cool man...
btw u are a Regular? Aren't you?
is it real? -
They train at other places too, places where terrorists might strike. I have said enough.
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There's been too much said. Years ago, the official line was that there was simply a force of regluar Commandos that rotated through the CT role.
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There's been too much said. Years ago, the official line was that there was simply a force of regluar Commandos that rotated through the CT role.
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Tangos don't stand a chance...
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great article -
haha trust mi SOF are human too... i have the honour to train with them b4.. while.. we take cover together, eat hot dog in field, and as usual.. slept during stand 2 together. hahaha100% on alert in your DREAMS...haha
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Must be my suspicious nature, but I can never trust anyone who says "trust me".
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cannot trust dun trust lor.... haha i did trained with them b4 and did sneak up behind them when they suppose to be on alert. haha.. pls lah.. they are human too... .hahaOriginally posted by Gedanken:Must be my suspicious nature, but I can never trust anyone who says "trust me". -
Why don't you tell the whole story? I'm sure some of them would love to hear it.
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Even better, I have drinks with the boys on Friday nights - you wanna make it an amusing story over a few beers?
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haha thanks but no thanks.. choose to believe whatever u want then, i think your ego are just too big, commando or SOF are human too, so they can get tired too.. anyway the story is about a band of brothers on a mission and well at the objective, we got duty roster to be on alert.... but usually we are 100% sleeping or resting.. so SOF or not they are still human.. ok... THE END.. nice story...?? bye now i understand why the say commando all abit loose screw one haha... good nite...Originally posted by Gedanken:Even better, I have drinks with the boys on Friday nights - you wanna make it an amusing story over a few beers? -
No, really - who knows, your story might be true and they might find it funny. You're not the first nothing to come up with some cock-and-bull story about how you caught them off guard, so you've got nothing to be afraid of - the boys will just have a good laugh.
If you'd actually met us, you wouldn't be depending on the myth what "they say", would you? That seems to indicate that you know nothing about us.
Look, forum members like the Bear and the_don (amongst others - y'all know who you are! :mrgreen) have met me in person, so why don't you ask them how "screw loose" I am? You wouldn't know if you met one of us on the street. -
Oh, by the way, that kind of mission sounds familiar. The boys are supposed to raid something like an airbase, and the base commander is told when the attack will be. The base commander sets up sentries all along the perimeter, and we send some guys to rustle bushes to make them feel better about their alertness. In the meantime, the other guys scam their way right past the RPs at the gate and casually go do the job.
Our guys have done that so many times it's no longer funny - you probably fell for the oldest trick in the book, hook, line and sinker. -
What, that flaccid idea of a comeback is the best you can come up with? Christ, that's weak, even for a cheap hit-and-run attempt. Hmm - no wonder you haven't had the best run of luck. Remember, according to sociobiological theory, women look for guys with balls.
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well, for all i know, during training what they do i will never care, but for all i know i trust my countries elite when they are put in real situwations
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haha that your funny story lor.. everyone have their fair share of they story from ns. haha. but i guess u never read to carefully about my post... haha.. i said i was training with them and take cover with them too. haha....get it??? with and not against.. sighz.. and mi dun need more loose screw commando brothers lah.. i got enough.. haha...my cousin also one of them and just got into a court case for nothing.. haha..Originally posted by Gedanken:Oh, by the way, that kind of mission sounds familiar. The boys are supposed to raid something like an airbase, and the base commander is told when the attack will be. The base commander sets up sentries all along the perimeter, and we send some guys to rustle bushes to make them feel better about their alertness. In the meantime, the other guys scam their way right past the RPs at the gate and casually go do the job.
Our guys have done that so many times it's no longer funny - you probably fell for the oldest trick in the book, hook, line and sinker. -
Oh, you trained with the boys, did you? What unit were you with? I'll go check with them.
Ah, what the hell - the extent of their capabilities isn't supposed to be public knowledge anyway, so you've probably done them a favour. -
just some training that u will find ppl from almost any unit in army.. go guess lor.....Originally posted by Gedanken:Oh, you trained with the boys, did you? What unit were you with? I'll go check with them.
and if u still want to continue your ego crap then u can go ahead lah.. ok. haha just have to answer mi this ok does commando or SOF need to sleep too? if the answer is YES then just go see my original post if that was my statement or not lor.. and if your answer is NO then good for us lah.. we really got macross or gundam in singapore. haha ...
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Oh, a throwaway chickensh*t course. Should have said so in the first place and saved us both a lot of trouble. You made it sound like it was real work.
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haha well.. u were blinded by your ego.. so what am i to do right?????? haha throw chicken?? that one not in the course lah.. but if u are interested go check with AVA lah.. heard they just throw away 5000 chicken. haha. mi sleeping already lah. not commando like u dun need to sleep one. hahah byeOriginally posted by Gedanken:Oh, a throwaway chickensh*t course. Should have said so in the first place and saved us both a lot of trouble. You made it sound like it was real work. -
No, you didn't explain yourself clearly - my ego has nothing to do with your lack of skills of expression. Another source of your troubles, perhaps?
Of course the guys have a reputation for being switched off when they are sent out on course. One school CO got majorly pissed off when some of them took a bucket of paint along and marked out their own parking lot in front of his building!
Do you realise how stupid you sound? These guys went through Hell Week just to get into SOF. Whatever makes you think they will cave in to the need for sleep the way you do?