The New Revamped Combat SOC wef 2011
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NEWLY recruited full-time national servicemen (NSFs) who have to do Basic Military Training with the Singapore Armed Forces will undergo a new Standard Obstacle Course (SOC) from this month, said the Ministry of Defence yesterday.
The new course has more obstacles that simulate urban environments like building rubble.
This is to meet the changing needs of the SAF and the environments it has to operate in.
While the old course had 11 combat obstacles, the new one has 12, with seven of them being new stations. Some of the existing stations have also been modified for better safety.
New recruits will need to run a shorter distance when clearing the new SOC. For instance, the final leg of the old standard course required recruits to run 600m. This has been cut to 300m.
As part of these changes, recruits will have to clear the new standard course in a shorter time of under six minutes, instead of below eight minutes.
The new SOC also applies to new NSFs selected for the Officer and Specialist Cadet Courses, but these servicemen need to complete the course in a slightly shorter time.
The new standard course will be cleared only by NSFs who are of Physical Employment Status A and B, representing servicemen who are physically fit for combat training.
When NSFs enter SAF units to serve the remainder of their two-year active service, the individual SOC will be replaced with a new team-based Vocation Obstacle Course (VOC).
The vocation course is tailored to an NSF's function in the SAF but regardless of vocation, all VOCs will feature the 12-station combat obstacles from the new SOC.
During the VOC, servicemen will also wear an equipment vest that weighs 6.5kg and contains body armour plates. This contrasts with the lighter 2.5kg vest new recruits wear for the standard course during their early training.
The number of participants for the vocation course can range from four servicemen to seven, depending on vocation.
It will also require NSFs to carry combat equipment unique to their functions.
For instance, NSFs who are infantry men could embark on a VOC with seven members. Equipment they would carry include grenade launchers, and anti-tank weapons called Matadors that weigh 8.9kg each.
They will start with a 1km fast march before embarking on the 12 combat obstacles, and ending with a 300m leg where they will have to evacuate one of their members on a stretcher.
When NSFs trained in the VOC have completed their two-year active service and become NSmen, they will continue to do VOC during their In- Camp Training.
But they will not need to pass it as a test, like they did during active service.
The frequency at which NSmen will go through the VOC is subject to the discretion of NS commanders and based on the combat fitness of the NSmen.
Current batches of NSmen who have already done their active service and who have not been trained in the new VOC will not need to do it during the rest of their NS cycle.
Only NSFs who have gone through training for the redesigned SOC will need to do the VOC later. The VOC needs to be cleared by NSFs once a year.
The Defence Ministry said that 18 camps here will be fitted out with the revamped 12-station combat obstacles over the next year.
According to Chief of Army Chan Chun Sing, each redesigned SOC costs about $200,000 and more than 20 of them will be revamped.
The SAF also introduced from this month new physical exercises as part of NSFs' and NSmen's training.
They are customised to different vocations and designed to train specific muscle groups relevant to servicemen in carrying out their combat tasks.
NSF third sergeant Leroi Lim, 20, said the new VOC requires planning and encourages cooperation.
"We have to help one another so that every member can clear the obstacles," he said.
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where's the sauce (source)..
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http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20100908-236211.html/
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What's nice........hate SOC....
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I know many enlistees injured after doing SOC.
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O... did they include a bar in the midst? I think that would be the biggest obstacle in the real world......
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Just make the current low wall 10cm higher, and most won't be able to clear it.
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SOC is the thing that separates the men from the boys
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Team-based SOC.....hmm what if the team is saboted by a weaker or chao-geng member and failed to clear often, resulting in stay-back saturday training extra given to the entire team. Won't there be more blanket-party? ...More suicide by the weaker soldiers who cannot keep up? How to run in team if 1 or 2 more soliders reported sick?
In summary, SOC should be an individual event and never a team activity. In my opinion, SOC is a personal challenge to one's determination and the will to overcome physical pain, it is extremely difficult to function well in a team where physical and mental level differ among the individual. I give SAF 2 years they sure change the SOC program.
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in missions you function as a team
you are as good as the weakest member