NOT JUST ANOTHER INSTRUCTOR

Second Warrant Officer (2WO) Sinayah Sangilee has coached six batches of trainees, while Lieutenant (LTA) Wong Khang Ching has taken only one.

But both of them share a common aim - to train soldiers to be top-notch Rangers.

They are two of the cadres who coached this year's Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Rangers Course trainees in August.

The course saw trainees going through a series of tactical exercises in which they planned and executed Ranger missions. They were also expected to exercise command and control to successfully accomplish assigned missions in all terrain and under all weather conditions.

"Our job is to give our trainees a real-time battle scenario with the right amount of mental stress," said LTA Wong.
"But with them coming from different units, different backgrounds and having different levels of knowledge, it's also our job to level up each trainee's combat proficiency to meet the course requirement."

2WO Sinayah agreed, saying: "We want to impart our knowledge to them and also pass on what we've learnt from our own cadres to them."

Ranger cadres play a multifaceted role.

They have to ensure that training safety is not compromised without affecting the realism of the exercise, grade the trainees and also look for qualities among them.

"We're like the care-taker, safety officer, teacher and virtually the most important person when we're with the trainees," said 2WO Sinayah.

Describing the duties of a cadre as "a great challenge", LTA Wong added: "We've to balance being an instructor and a mentor, and that's really not easy to achieve."

2WO Sinayah told cyberpioneer that there were occasions when the trainees were very tired after several back-to-back missions and as a cadre, it was his responsibility to egg them on to carry on with their mission.

"We've to motivate them and 'wake' them up although they're very tired. There could be another 5km more to walk but in a real situation, if one person doesn't move, the whole patrol or team could, for example, miss the chopper tasked to extricate them," said the 42-year-old.

"With limited rations and supplies, the consequences can be disastrous."

With the batch of trainees passing out and joining the Rangers family on 16 Oct, the cadres feel satisfied that they have successfully trained another group of elite soldiers.

Fellow cadre Master Sergeant (MSG) Chen Chye Hua said it was satisfying to see his charges mature throughout the duration of the course.

"From day one, we followed them for training till the end of the course, seeing them getting used to the tough training," he said. "You can really see the difference in them."

Quipped the 32-year-old: "That has to be the best form of appreciation given to us cadres!"