TR EMERITUS

New IPPT - Simpler and Better "I like this counting system because it encourages NSmen to max out on each station" Minister Ng Eng Hen The Army has completed their review for the new IPPT. Instead of the current five, there will be 3 stations – 2.4km run sit-ups and push-ups This new format will make it simpler for NSmen to train for IPPT, and for more to pass. Many other militaries use 3-station tests to keep their forces fit. We will also have more age bands and a new scoring system. Instead of a pass mark for each station, points will be awarded and the combined points from the 3 stations will be used. This way, soldiers can make up through more sit-ups, if they are weak in push-ups and running, or vice versa. There’s a limit to how much you can make up, but I like this counting system because it encourages NSmen to max out on each station and it plays to the individual’s strengths. Pass Mark? For NSFs, Regulars and Awards, about the same as before. For NSmen, some adjustments based on past data. Even though the new IPPT is simpler to train for, it will still take effort and regular exercise to pass. And that’s the idea – keeping healthy and fit should be a lifestyle and it’s good for you. We expect more to pass the new IPPT, as a result. Look out for training apps and programmes to help you. Chief of Army Perry Lim will provide more details tomorrow.   Ng Eng Hen 23 Jul 2014 [Source]: https://www.facebook.com/ngenghen.defenceminister    Read More →

I refer to the report that 70 percent of NSmen fail the IPPT. [Link] The high failure rate is not surprising. What do we expect from most NSmen who have to struggle to make ends meet? How many would have the luxury of running in their own backyards in their own sweet time? IPPT standards totally flawed The IPPT requirements are severely outdated. The stations were designed with conventional warfare in mind. You have to jump over a trench, conduct fire movement, climb over erected obstacles, and run away from an artillery attack, and yes, evacuate a buddy who is injured. However, should Singapore army still train with conventional warfare in mind? Clearly not. The days of hamburger hill and elephant hill are over. It is not in our intention to attack and occupy. The SAF is more meant as a deterrent force - to inflict maximum damage to any aggressor. That I still believe in. The design of the IPPT is almost completely flawed. It works well for NSF when we get to train 2 years full time, daily 5BX, 10km runs, SOC, and route march. There was a time when I could easily run 10 minutes for 2.4 km. There were best PT who can cruise below 8 minutes. But the IPPT standards while no doubt get easier as one becomes Cat Y and Z, it did not recognize that our fitness downgrades by a greater extent. It is harder to pull 80kg compared to 60kg, and run with a bigger mass. The regulars would have you believe that it can be done regardless of old age and weight. But how many people can set aside the time to train 3-4 times per week? NSmen after all are not professional soldiers. We are full time employees at work. I did try to train 3-4 times a week for a whole year, and yes, I managed to pass last year. But it was still not a walk in the park. Especially for 2.4km, I ran till breathless and with aching legs. I was proud to pass at the age of 38, but told myself that would be a last serious attempt. The IPPT standards need a major rethink. Be fit, not combat fit For the 2.4 km, the distance is perhaps alright but the timing needs a major overhaul. It is wrong to expect NSmen aged 35 and above to hit 90 percent of maximum heart rate. A more sensible standard would be a lower heart rate, over the same distance, in a more generous time. If a NSmen above 35 years of age can run below 16 minutes for 2.4km, he is definitely considered fit. Whether he is fit for combat is perhaps a separate matter. However, the way the current bar is set, it is so discouraging that many NSmen would not even want to waste time preparing or trying. For even with great diligence, seven in ten would still fail and have to attend the 20 RTs grudgingly. It is high time for Mindef to wise up. What we need is perhaps a NSmen cohort that is fit, but not necessarily combat fit. It is insane to punish NSmen with 20 RTs in 3 months. Leadership by example As taught in OCS, leadership by example: perhaps all male MPs can publish their IPPT results as a way to motivate the rest of us? Kampong Boy *  Submitted by TRE reader.  Read More →

The lush life days may be coming to a close (17 Jul) - Since the days of the Vietnam War, Bangkok, with its louche hotspots like Soi Cowboy and Patpong, has been a haven for lonely ex-GI’s, drunks and others looking for love in all the wrong places, as the song goes. But it appears that the days when a middle-aged male could wash up on Thailand’s shores to find romance and cheap housing and excellent food on a tourist visa and make “border runs” to Cambodia or Myanmar to renew the visas in a few hours, then return to Thailand, are ending. In addition to sending home as many as 200,000 Burmese workers, the junta is also lining up to send the drunks and sex tourists home. Of course there are plenty of productive expatriate westerners in Thailand who do more than drink and chase girls. They are either freelancing illegally – IT, design, online writers -- or have enough independent cash to eke out a living. The country for decades has been a welcoming home for freelance writers and photographers who use either Bangkok or the northern city of Chiang Mai, with their low costs and good flight connections to other regions, as a base. .... The Immigration Bureau has been on a campaign to root out foreigners for a long time. A fairly large number of Caucasians lived in Chiang Mai on tourism visas, crossing the border into Myanmar or elsewhere every month or 90 days to renew and then come back but the government cracked down about four years ago, a Chiang Mai-based editor said. .... The Immigration Bureau announced in May that those taking advantage of the in-and-out exemptions would be scrutinized and that border runs by land were being phased out. Those by air will be allowed until mid-August, after which the same-day reentry would no longer be possible for tourists. Those wishing to stay in the country longer than the 30-day exemption allowed were encouraged to apply for 60-day tourist visas, which are easily available from Thai embassies and consulates around the world. .... The crackdown will undoubtedly affect businesses built around visa run services, including tour companies that offer transportation services to and from the border. As the rules have tightened, Chinese officials have requested a visa-free privilege for Chinese tourists to Thailand, according to The Nation. Chinese make up the number one foreign tourist group in Thailand, with 4 million visiting the country between January and October 2013... The agreement would allow Thais to travel to China visa-free as well. [Read more:  Asia Sentinel]  Read More →