ST documentary traces national service journey of four Singapore recruits
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
(From left) Aniq Afhami Hamir, Haravin Shaun Sivakumar, Connor Francis Foster and Javis Goh did eight more weeks of physical training before their basic military training.
PHOTO: ST FILE
- Four Singaporean recruits who did not pass their Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT) underwent an extra eight weeks of physical training before starting their nine-week basic military training.
- The recruits faced physical and mental challenges during their National Service, including a five-day field camp, live-firing exercises and a graduation march.
- A 33-minute documentary by The Straits Times follows their journey, highlighting the significant impact NS had on their lives.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – National service is a rite of passage that all young Singaporean men have to navigate.
A new 33-minute documentary by The Straits Times traces the NS journey of four recruits who were featured in a two-part series in ST in February.
Javis Goh, Haravin Shaun Sivakumar, Aniq Afhami Hamir and Connor Francis Foster were among a few thousand pre-enlistees in 2025 who did not pass their Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT).
The four young men had to do eight more weeks of physical training from August that year. This was to improve their fitness before the nine-week basic military training (BMT) began.
At 1.75m, Goh weighed 91kg in 2025, placing his body mass index (BMI) in the obese range. The 20-year-old, who has an aerospace engineering diploma from Ngee Ann Polytechnic, dreaded enlistment and tried to get fit.
By the time he enlisted, his weight had dropped to 76kg, which shifted his BMI to the overweight category.
However, he did not attempt the IPPT as he did not think he would pass.
Beyond physical fitness, 20-year-old Haravin had concerns about adapting to military life.
The biomedical science graduate from Singapore Polytechnic missed taking the IPPT as he was unwell.
Foster, 18, the only son of a Singaporean mother and a British father, is a self-described fussy eater who avoids leafy greens. He was worried about adjusting to the food served during NS.
He did not take the IPPT because of a scheduling conflict.
Aniq is a fitness enthusiast who overslept on the day of his IPPT. The 22-year-old, having left a marine engineering diploma course to pursue gig work, decided to do the extra eight weeks of training, or what is known as the Physical Training Phase.
After that, as part of their BMT, they went through a five-day field camp, live-firing exercises and a graduation march – experiences which tested their physical and mental endurance.
When the four recruits stepped into the Basic Military Training Centre on Pulau Tekong, it was the start of a journey that would make an extraordinary and indelible impact on their lives.
