Corporal First Class (CFC) (NS) Gary Tan is not afraid to admit that he stood frozen with fear at the top of the 5m diving tower for more than an hour back in Basic Military Training (BMT).

"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity" – this saying by Roman philosopher Seneca certainly applies to Corporal (CPL) (NS) Tan Ying Li, who stuck to his guns and landed a spot in NUS to study medicine on his third application attempt.

This Air Warfare Officer extended his full-time National Service (NS) not once, but twice. In total, he served for nine months after his original ORD (Operationally Ready Date).

He was scheduled to attend a two-month training in Switzerland earlier this February. But there was a problem: the dates clashed with his In-Camp Training (ICT).