It isn’t everyday that you get invited on board a warship.
A couple of weeks ago, we had the opportunity to get on board the RSS Persistence, a Landing Ship Tank (LST) of the Singapore Navy. This was part of the Navy’s public outreach programme. At Navy@Vivo, the public were given the chance not only to tour RSS Persistence, but also get up close to a Super Puma helicopter, a Light Strike Vehicle Mark II and several other vehicles. We even got to ride the Fast Craft Utility (FCU) out to sea. It was a real eye-opening experience for all of us!
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
If you’re wondering “Navy? Vivo? What?” Navy@Vivo is an initiative of our Republic of Singapore Navy to allow the public to gain a better understanding of the Navy — what it does and the role it plays in ensuring maritime security. I personally think it is a great idea that the Navy has chosen to bring itself to the people, so to speak. As a layperson, when I think of the Singapore Armed Forces, I immediately think of the Army and NS! Having not undergone NS, I only have a vague notion of what the Army, Navy and Air Force do, so for me, it was most enlightening to have the opportunity to find out a bit more about the Navy, get on the warship to have a look see, and most of all to meet the people who are playing their part defending our shores.
Our experience at Navy@Vivo started with an evening cocktail onboard RSS Persistence where we got to observe the ceremonial sunset ceremony, a long-standing naval tradition. One of the oldest navy traditions which dates back centuries to the age of sail, this ceremony marks the end of the day with the sailors saluting the lowering of the naval ensign flown by our warships. The solemnity and dignity of the entire procession was certainly awe-inspiring!
I couldn’t resist getting up close to the Super Puma!
The Light Strike Vehicle that I could just imagine the kids being excited to climb on board!
Mummies on a night out! With Pam, Angie and Del.
Shortly after, the band struck up and it was time to party! Or in our case, take a look-see around the inside of the ship. To be honest, me and boats, we don’t really go together. I get seasick easily. So I could never be a sailor, and I guess, this in return makes me all the more fascinated with those who can.
Welcome onboard the RSS Persistence!
Our very helpful guide for the evening, Capt HH Chong, showing us around the control room.
In the gym. Sailors need to be fit!
We knew the kids were going to love getting onboard a real-life warship, so we brought them down in the weekend to take a look. They were in awe, naturally! We toured a warship on display at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney the last time we were there, but the RSS Perisistence, being a working warship, was much more interesting.
Why hello there, Capt Noey!
Hello? Is it me you’re looking for?
Getting to hold a real-life gun. Ooooo…
The real highlight though was getting to ride the Fast Craft Utility (FCU) out to sea. I actually thought we were not going to be able to take the ride as our scheduled ride got cancelled due to bad weather. We decided to come back again later to try and would you believe it, rides had to be stopped again due to weather conditions, just before it got to our turn! But we decided to wait around any way and managed finally to hop. Kudos in the meantime to the ever-patient and helpful Navy personnel who helped make the experience much less painful than it could have been. They handed out water, regularly provided updates, addressed questions promptly and politely, and generally tried to make everyone as comfortable as possible while being unstintingly firm about safety. I’ve always had great respect for the men and women who serve in uniform, and the Navy personnel I met at Navy@Vivo made me proud that these folks were serving the nation and representing Singapore to the world.
You can’t really tell from their expressions but these are happy children squinting into the sunlight. Yes, it was bright and sunny during our ride despite the intermittent rain!
There were activities back at the exhibition on land, and Noey couldn’t resist playing some of them. Computer games! With huge guns! What a dream come true for a little boy. Mei on the other hand wanted to dress up, and this I couldn’t resist, because they had the cutest little uniforms in tiny sizes! Since the kids had already tried on the white ceremonial uniforms at the Navy Museum, I got them to don the combat uniforms this time and oh my goodness, they were soooo adorable! The kids really got into it too, with the guns and the don’t-mess-with-me expressions!
Being dwarfed by the enormous gun!
All suited up! Can’t believe they had uniforms this small! And staff who patiently dressed each kid.
Don’t mess with us! We’re armed and dangerous!
Navy@Vivo was altogether quite an experience. Thank you Navy for your wonderful hospitality and for giving us a glimpse into the important work that you do, keeping Singapore safe! Till the next time!
