SINGAPORE — For eight weeks in 1967, Mr Clarence Tan underwent gruelling training, climbed mountains without protective gear and trained in Florida’s swamps. “That (airborne and ranger) training pushed you to the ultimate level ... You don’t know when the next dinner will come,” the retired Lieutenant-Colonel told TODAY.

When he returned from the United States, he was put in charge of building up Singapore’s first commando battalion. Recruitment was a challenge. “Armour was also recruiting regulars. They had tanks to show. The artillery had guns to show,” he recalled. “The only (thing) I could tell them was: ‘You’ll have a lot of adventurous training, hard training and overseas training.’”

Today, the commandos’ rigorous training and discipline remain, and Mr Tan is proud their can-do attitude has been passed down the generations. He makes it a point to inspire young servicemen by sharing his life lessons. His story of leading the commandos to disarm troublemakers on board refugee boat Dai Duong in 1975 was chronicled in the SAF50 commemorative book launched yesterday (July 24).

Another tale is that of Senior Warrant Officer Selvanathan Selvarajoo, the command chief in Headquarters Helicopter Group. He was winch-man in the 1983 cable car tragedy, saving 13 people in a mid-air rescue. “(The) cable car rescue was something different ... beyond our training scope, but we were able to adapt and succeed.”