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Grenade throwing mishap


Ahtong
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See HERE for the video.

 

I think SAF also have many such near misses but they are not reported and the people involved rather not be reminded.

 

I don't understand why the PRC dugout need a trench on the inside. I think ours is better, ie you just jump to the other side should the grenade fall inside your dugout.

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I ever heard one horror story where the recruit's fingers were trembling and he accidentaly loosened his grip on the handle (ie the 6 sec countdown has started). Luckily his officer was alert and made him throw the grenade pronto.

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Our very own back in '08:

 

http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/publicati...sep08_news.html

 

Quick-thinking officer saves recruit

Posted: 16 Sep 2008, 1700 hours (Time is GMT +8 hours)

 

Report by Gail Wan

Photos by Chai Sian Liang and Aloysius Tan

 

As the platoon commander of his unit, Second Lieutenant (2LT) Kok Khew Fai (right) was tasked as the Bay Safety Officer, overseeing 50 recruits during a Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) hand grenade live throw in Pulau Tekong on 8 Mar.

 

2LT Kok stood next to the recruits at the throwing bay as one after another, they took turns to throw a live Singapore Fragmentation Grenade 87 towards the target, at his command.

 

However, mid-way through the exercise, an armed explosive slipped out of the hand of one of the recruits as he attempted to throw it forward. It landed about four metres behind where they were standing.

 

With six seconds to go before the grenade blew up, 2LT Kok's instinct and training kicked in as he pushed the recruit to the ground and lay prone over him - an ideal posture as practised during the SAF-mandated immediate action drills.

 

"It all happened so fast, I didn't really have time to think," said 2LT Kok. "I just got him flat on the ground, lay prone over him and tried to stay very still as we had practised."

 

Thanks to 2LT Kok's quick thinking and the precautionary high walls of the throwing bay, both men were protected from the fragmented shrapnel and escaped with nary a scratch.

 

For his selfless act, Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean presented the SAF Medal for Distinguished Act or the Pingat Jasa Perwira (Tentera) to 2LT Kok during the Officer Cadet Course commissioning parade at SAFTI Military Institute on 14 Sep.

 

The medal is conferred on any individual who has performed an act or a series of acts of courage without regard for his personal safety. It is a State award approved by the President of the Republic of Singapore and gazetted on 25 Jun 1997.

 

2LT Kok is the first Full-Time National Serviceman (NSF) to receive this award. Five SAF personnel and one serviceman from the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) have been previously awarded this medal.

 

"In the SAF, we provide our soldiers with the best equipment, and we train them well. But ultimately, it is the readiness and commitment of our soldiers, especially those in leadership positions, to do their duty which makes the real difference," said Mr Teo.

 

"2LT Kok Khew Fai's actions epitomised what it means to be an SAF Officer - well trained and prepared, quick thinking and decisive, brave and selfless."

 

2LT Kok teaching Basic Military Training Centre trainees soldiering skills.

He added: "2LT Kok performed his duty resolutely - to lead his men into action, and to protect them when in danger."

 

For 2LT Kok, who will complete his full-time National Service in November this year, he was quick to play down his newfound "hero status" and said that what he did was "nothing special".

 

"I am not a hero. I was merely doing my duty, looking after my men and doing what I was supposed to do," he said. "Anyone would have done the same thing."

 

This is the first grenade incident to occur since the throwing bays were enhanced with new safety features in 2004, and only the sixth incident in the 41 years since National Service was introduced in Singapore.

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See HERE for the video.

 

I think SAF also have many such near misses but they are not reported and the people involved rather not be reminded.

 

I don't understand why the PRC dugout need a trench on the inside. I think ours is better, ie you just jump to the other side should the grenade fall inside your dugout.

 

nb I missed out the chance to throw grenade during recruit due to company cropped up. End up post to engineer unit setting up and firing all kind of explosives and detonations

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the instructor very strong to pull that noobie into the trench in one tug!! steady!!

 

I am more impressed after the grenade had gone off, the instructor simply got back up and use his feet to dust off the debris from the platform as if nothing had happened....machem like it's part of his daily job.

 

Next recruit please!

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See HERE for the video.

 

I think SAF also have many such near misses but they are not reported and the people involved rather not be reminded.

 

I don't understand why the PRC dugout need a trench on the inside. I think ours is better, ie you just jump to the other side should the grenade fall inside your dugout.

 

 

Wouldn't this not happened if the MIWs have..

 

OUT SOURCED 'these defence jobs' to the BANGALA instead? :D

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This next one even more hiong..and thsi time PLA instructor covered the trainee after dragging him across to a wall partition...all in 3.5 seconds.

 

Trainee later says "my mind all gone blurred..thought I was a gonner"

 

So next time remember, there are good reaons why instructors had be super strict during live-firing.

Edited by Wishcumstrue
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the instructor very strong to pull that noobie into the trench in one tug!! steady!!

 

Fear & desperation = +10 modifier to strength [laugh]

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nb I missed out the chance to throw grenade during recruit due to company cropped up. End up post to engineer unit setting up and firing all kind of explosives and detonations

 

i never threw a grenade during my NS life (never reported sick hor)

 

my BMT was in Nee Soon Camp in 1997...

 

was it a norm for recruits to be trained in throwing grenades?

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no such thing bro ...

No leh.. I remember my instructor telling me that the SFG used in BMT is not the full power of a standard grenade. There is a meaning to the SFG87.

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