Coronavirus: No relaxing for recruits while BMT is on hold

Basic military training (BMT) might have been suspended for more than two weeks now, but Recruit Emir Ilyas Elham, 18, is not taking this period to relax.

In fact, the full-time national serviceman aims to lose another 4kg to 5kg by the end of his 19-week BMT, on top of the 10kg he has already shed since he enlisted in the Singapore Armed Forces in late January.

Enlistees whose body mass index (BMI) is more than 27 are considered obese and must undergo a longer BMT than the nine weeks for non-obese, combat-fit recruits.

Rec Emir is now aiming to get a gold award for his Individual Physical Proficiency Test - which consists of push-ups, sit-ups and a 2.4km run - to improve on his silver standard.

To achieve his goals, Rec Emir, who had a BMI of just under 30 when he enlisted, has been on a regimen of exercising twice a day and maintaining a healthy diet during this period of BMT suspension at home.

He must also complete a minimum of 200 minutes of self-directed learning every day through online training content provided by the Basic Military Training Centre (BMTC), such as watching videos on weapon handling and first aid.

He is among 3,400 recruits who have switched to home-based learning since BMT was suspended from April 7, the same day Singapore's circuit breaker period to minimise the spread of the coronavirus started.

The recruits have to submit quizzes, do weekly reflections, as well as take part in discussion forums, where they can raise questions on topics they are unclear about.

Participation and completion of the syllabus is monitored by their commanders, both at the BMTC school level and at the centre's headquarters.

Rec Emir said: "For me and most other obese recruits, I feel it's important to maintain fitness so as to not let our efforts go down the drain."

Asked if he misses the interaction with his platoon mates, he said they have bonded in the past weeks of training and have become close friends who keep in touch every day.

"I guess I do miss them and the general experience of being in BMT, and hopefully when this ends, we can all go back to training together."

Last Wednesday, the Defence and Home Affairs ministries announced in separate statements that the suspension would be extended to June 1, in line with the Government's extension of the circuit breaker period to the same date.

They also said the period of suspension will count towards the servicemen's full-time national service, and that their operationally ready dates will not be affected.

With the extension of the circuit breaker period, BMTC is reviewing its plans for the recruits, such as how their graduation dates and how their subsequent training would be adjusted.

Recruit Ferguson Chiew, 18, who enlisted on April 1, spends three to four hours a day completing online lessons, on topics such as how to handle the SAR-21 rifle, and regimentation and discipline.

He also has to submit his temperature reading twice a day, before 7am and 2pm.

Similar to restrictions for other Singaporeans during this period, recruits are told to stay home as much as possible, and go out only for essential activities.

Rec Chiew said: "I would say that the home-based learning won't exactly serve as a replacement for BMT, it's more of a preparation for us to return to continue our BMT."