The group I did gypsy with was pretty good. We were the second to finish the DAY part of the exercise. The most exciting part of the day was when we did the NIGHT portion. Thats when we got lost in the fucking forest for 1 hour. Under the canopy, its really pitch black. Only vague silhouettes slide around like creatures in the depths of the ocean. What makes things worse is that the Mandai trees have stems lined with rows of spikes. Talk about having backbone huh. Then theres deep pools of mud you step into and it sorta drags your entire leg down into the ground, like quicksand. We wernt even halfway through when everyone was shit dirty till the calves.
My sarge got increasingly pissed when even he couldnt figure a way out and into the track/road and cuz he kept stepping into the mini swamps with his gortex boots (ouch!). Then he started blaming people for not doing their jobs but I suspect pride had much to do with it. Thank God we met a group of OCS artillery people who came from the road or else we'd have walked till the next morning or till ghosts found us.
*****
I got an interview for Chemical Biological Radioactive Explosives/Explosive Ordnance Disposal Units. I did their IQ/personality test, which I got past and went to seletar camp to wear their bomb suits!
Talk about once in a lifetime experiences!
Despite looking like an entire piece of armor, its actually a 3 part set velcro-ed together (your bottoms, tops and helmet/visor are separate). It weighs a total of 26kg, which is about half my fucking weight and I had to climb up 4 floors, under a table, step through tires, do one of those ring and wire games where you have to hold a ring past a length of wire without touching the wire, climb back down to the first floor, over some more tables, up another 3 floors, through a balancing beam and finally do a wooden puzzle at the end, which I failed cuz my visor was half fogged and cuz I was almost hyperventilating.
No joke man, the suit is so tight and claustrophobic that ever deep breath you take in you gotta push the suit outwards with your lung strength lol. In the end you have to deal with breathing only 40% of your full capacity which makes you breathe really really quick and you start using your mouth, which causes the fog.
It was quite a harrowing experience, but god damn, it was fun.
Good lord, youre really the only person who can wake me up at 4am and not get your head shouted off.
I got an interview for Chemical Biological Radioactive Explosives/Explosive Ordnance Disposal Units. I did their IQ/personality test, which I got past and went to seletar camp to wear their bomb suits!
Talk about once in a lifetime experiences!
Despite looking like an entire piece of armor, its actually a 3 part set velcro-ed together (your bottoms, tops and helmet/visor are separate). It weighs a total of 26kg, which is about half my fucking weight and I had to climb up 4 floors, under a table, step through tires, do one of those ring and wire games where you have to hold a ring past a length of wire without touching the wire, climb back down to the first floor, over some more tables, up another 3 floors, through a balancing beam and finally do a wooden puzzle at the end, which I failed cuz my visor was half fogged and cuz I was almost hyperventilating.No joke man, the suit is so tight and claustrophobic that ever deep breath you take in you gotta push the suit outwards with your lung strength lol. In the end you have to deal with breathing only 40% of your full capacity which makes you breathe really really quick and you start using your mouth, which causes the fog.
It was quite a harrowing experience, but god damn, it was fun.
*****
Good lord, youre really the only person who can wake me up at 4am and not get your head shouted off.
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