Instructor behind S'pore's elite frogmen among 733 recipients at National Day Awards Investiture

SINGAPORE - As the chief instructor of the Republic of Singapore Navy's Frogman School, Senior Warrant Officer (SWO) David Ling is responsible for ensuring that aspiring divers can face up to the toughest challenges.

He believes teaching methods need to evolve to help them understand the objectives of their training, which goes beyond following instructions given in a top-down fashion.

SWO Ling, 46, has trained four batches of enlistees in Frogman School since his appointment as chief instructor in late 2020.

For his dedicated service to the nation, he was awarded the Long Service Medal during the National Day Awards Investiture on Tuesday (May 31).

He is among the 733 award winners of both military and non-military personnel from the Ministry of Defence and Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).

When asked what he would say to young national servicemen aiming to become part of the elite naval diving unit, SWO Ling said: "What sets frogmen apart is their adherence to the values of honour, integrity and team spirit. To become a frogman, one has to take up the ownership of self-maintenance. And beyond staying fit, frogmen must remember that they never work alone, where two is one, and one is none."

In a career spanning more than 26 years with SAF, he has also been involved in a wide range of duties, from being part of a multinational task force to counter piracy in the Gulf of Aden in 2018 to serving as the Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) during the 2020 National Day Parade (NDP).

He has been involved in more than 10 NDPs, but remembers the 55th National Day in 2020 as the most challenging one as it took place during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We were under scrutiny for holding a physical NDP during a pandemic, but we were careful to not turn the parade into a cluster itself, while taking the opportunity to lift the spirits of many Singaporeans and salute our front-line workers who have worked tirelessly."

As Battle Watch Captain of the Combined Task Force 151, a multinational naval task force comprising personnel from SAF and other countries, he also recalled an incident in 2018 when he responded to a distress call from a Singapore-flagged tanker, Bow-Sun, after a crew member accidentally fell from the stairs on the tanker and was bleeding from his head.

SWO Ling managed to swiftly send a medical team to airlift the casualty to Djibouti, in Africa, for medical attention.

He said his wife Bin Ni, 43, and their three sons, aged seven, 13 and 15, have always been fully supportive of his career.

Another Long Service Medal winner is Military Expert (ME) 3 Umar Devi.

The 50-year-old was a pre-school teacher for five years before joining the Republic of Singapore Air Force in 1996.

As an air operations and systems expert, she is in charge of utilising operating command and control systems to coordinate aircraft missions.

While she is on 24-hour shifts, her husband and siblings would take care of household matters. She and her husband have two sons aged 17 and 23.

Second Warrant Officer (2WO) (NS) Mohamad Hamdan Ismail, 46, was awarded both the Efficiency Medal and the Long Service Medal.

He enlisted in 1996 as a full-time national serviceman and signed on months after his enlistment, serving as a regular until 2006. He later volunteered to continue his service to the nation.

The father of three sons, aged five, 11 and 18, said juggling his full-time job as a Land Transport Authority project engineer and his role as a RSM of the 33rd Combat Service Support Battalion would not have been possible without his family's support.

2WO (NS) Mohamad Hamdan began his RSM appointment in 2018 and oversees the discipline levels of servicemen.

"I often remind my children that no one else will defend our home but us," he said.

"So I volunteered to continue my service to the nation, and I'm doing what I can to the best of my ability."