SINGAPORE — While others may go shopping at a mall for some mother-daughter bonding time, events manager Josephine Lim, 40, and her 13-year-old daughter Kelicia Chng decided to join a women’s boot camp.

Asked why she joined the two-day, one-night camp — designed to offer a glimpse into National Service (NS) life — the shy Secondary 1 student turned to her mother and quipped: “She forced me to.”

Chuckling at her daughter’s remark, Madam Lim replied: “But you were the one who is so excited!”

The duo were among 111 women who “booked in” at Maju Camp in Clementi over the weekend (Sept 7 and 8) as the women’s boot camp returned for its second year.

The camp is an initiative of the Advisory Council on Community Relations in Defence’s (Accord) family and community council supported by the Singapore Armed Forces. It is organised by Ang Mo Kio Women’s Executive Committee (WEC).

The organisers received almost 600 applications and used a balloting system to decide who got to take part.

To better experience NS life, the participants got to taste combat rations, try carrying field packs, smear camouflage paint on their faces and eat meals at the camp’s cookhouse.

Even though she was the youngest participant, Kelicia told TODAY she had no qualms about attempting the activities.

She spent the night in a military bunk with four other participants, completed a 2km route march at the break of dawn, tackled the modified standard obstacle course (SOC) — which was her favourite activity — and even fired an SAR21 assault rifle (with blanks).

This year’s camp included several activities that were not held in last year's edition.

Participants got to hold weapons such as an M203 grenade launcher, the anti-armour 8.9kg Man-portable, Anti-Tank, Anti-Door (Matador) weapon and the Section Assault Weapon (SAW), which is a light machine gun.

They also tried night-fighting equipment, which allows soldiers to see in pitch darkness through a mini device pulled over their helmets, and urban operations equipment soldiers can use in an urban setting.

Activities were curated to cater to the wide range of participants, who were aged between 13 and 60.

The nine-station SOC, where participants have to climb a low rope, crawl through concrete tunnels and climb over walls, gives a taste of the 12-station SOC NS recruits have to go through. The NS recruits do so while carrying their field pack, a load-bearing vest and an SAR21 rifle.

Participants in the boot camp took part in the 2km route march, a sampling of the 24km route march most full-time national servicemen go through when they pass out of basic military training (BMT).

The oldest participant, 60-year-old Judy Koh, said that the most challenging — and enjoyable — activity was learning how to use the SAR21.

As a mother to a regular officer in the army, Mdm Koh said the camp gave her an insight into her son’s experience in BMT, which she felt changed him.

“I think every mother, wife or girlfriend should join this boot camp so that they will know and understand what their husband, son, boyfriend or even colleagues have gone through,” she added.

SAFETY MEASURES IN PLACE

While many of the activities in the camp were watered down for the women’s boot camp, one aspect that was unchanged was the safety regulations that recruits have to adhere to.

Participants were each given a thermometer to check their body temperatures at least three times a day to ensure that the heat was not getting to them.

Warm-up and cool-down exercises and a water parade were also conducted before starting activities such as the SOC and the route march.

Acknowledging that the camp was but a fraction of the entire NS experience, Mdm Lim said the camp was a good opportunity to bond with her daughter.

“I have four kids, so it is a rare opportunity to have some one-on-one (time). This is the first time we stayed overnight, just the two of us,” she said.

Participants in the women's boot camp drink water ahead of the 2km route march. Photo: Mindef

Business process analyst and participant Lorraine Keong, 27, wished that the camp could have been longer to give a better insight into the experience of Singaporean men.

“To really experience NS, I think two days is not enough. There are things we didn’t get to experience, like outfield, full battle order or a longer distance route march — things I’ve only seen in the Ah Boys to Men movies.”

At the closing ceremony, Senior Minister of State for Defence Maliki Osman congratulated the participants for challenging themselves through the activities and successfully completing the camp.

In his speech, he reiterated the importance of the contributions national servicemen have made towards the security of the nation and emphasised that everyone has a role to play in the defence of Singapore.

“I hope you will continue to show strong support for NS and defence in your own ways even after this camp,” said Dr Maliki.

Ms Joanna Portilla, chairman of Ang Mo Kio WEC and a member of Accord family and community council, said: “We are heartened to see women taking active steps to understand how they can support and play a role in Singapore’s defence.”