News

NS Boot Camp for Ladies, Which Was Oversubscribed in 2018, Coming Back

2019-06-13 , 4:00 pm

Here’s a golden opportunity (again) for half the population to experience what is compulsory for the other half of the population.

Females who want to support your male family members and friends or who are thinking of enlisting yourself, here’s a sample of what going through the army is like that is (a) reasonably priced, (b) watered down so it’s not the full shitty experience yet tough enough that it’s still meaningful, (c) low commitment since you go through two days and not two years.

For the two people still reading this article because I’ve chased away the rest with my sad marketing skills, ~~thank you so much~~ read on.

Women’s Boot Camp

Last year, SAF tried this out for the first time and the response was overwhelming, with about a 1,000 participants fighting for 100 slots. They had to resort to balloting in the end. Pretty sure it’s not for Instagram.

Riding on that success, they’re bringing it back this year.

Women's Boot Camp is back!If you have missed this first camp in 2018, you won't want to miss it again this year!Join…

Posted by The Singapore Army on Wednesday, 12 June 2019

Here’s a video of last year’s boot camp:

Activities Listed

It’ll be a 2D1N camp that is supposed to expose participants to weapon handling, urban operations training, route march, standard obstacle course (SOC) and combat ration tasting.

According to my colleague who’s been through two years instead of two days, the SOC isn’t for the faint-hearted, so it’s probably a very watered-down version.

Participants are also promised the experience of eating their meals in the cookhouse and staying overnight in military bunks.

Who is Eligible

Here’s the cool part: any Singaporean or PR female who isn’t a child (13 years old and above).

That means that they’re not restricting it to the fit ones at their peak; young teens and senior citizens are perfectly eligible.

People took that seriously last year with ladies past 60 and a 13-year-old going through the camp. The average age was reported to be 29.

When and Where

When: 7 Sep (Sat) 8am to 8 Sep (Sun) 5pm, but you sign up at http://go.gov.sg/wbc19 by 23 June 2019 so you have 10 days left to decide!

Where: Maju Camp (off Clementi Road)

Opinions

Now that all the official details are out of the way, let’s get into the controversies.

The nation-serving males weighed in during last year’s boot camp announcement and many were very scornful since they saw this as a “chalet” or “holiday” that trivialises the 2 years they serve in the army.

Arguments raised include the obvious one about this camp being way less tough (I mean they need to cater to the huge age group, it will automatically be less intense, plus this camp seems to focus more on the pure military activities rather than the added experience of being governed by stern officials).

Even if it were as tough, they point out that a mere two days can’t represent army life for the journey it is.

However, lots of others were more positive, recognising this for what it is: a step towards understanding each other.

As a female, I have my opinions. I’m curious to know my male colleagues think. Mr Editor?

Mr Editor: There’s a reason why we call ICTs “paid chalets”, my little one.