'I chose this path and I must finish it'

First woman to top SAF’s arduous combat diver course, one of two females to ever finish it

- Yong Li Xuan

Tridents are commonly associated with the Greek sea god Poseidon and his Roman equivalent Neptune.

In mythology, the weapon is a symbol of power, strength and influence. In the Republic of Singapore Navy, it is a symbol of excellence bestowed upon the top graduate of the Combat Diver Course (CDC), one of the toughest courses in the Singapore Armed Forces.

Standing at just 1.54m, a head shorter than most of her male coursemates, Captain Jhosy Ng raised the trident triumphantly at the front of the formation during her underwater graduation ceremony at Sembawang Camp on March 21.

That ceremony will go down in local military history for two milestones the first time women have completed the arduous course since it started in 1987, and the first time a woman has topped this course.

The 32-year-old said: "I was very surprised and in disbelief because I wasn't expecting to receive any awards. I was just very focused on graduating." The top graduate is selected based on overall performance in physical activities and theory tests, on top of peer and instructor appraisals.

Along with Captain Angelia Tan and 68 other male trainees, Cpt Ng joined the elite ranks of the Naval Diving Unit (NDU) after they graduated from the 60th edition of the course.

The pair are not Singapore's first female divers-Major (Ret) Esther Tan, who joined the NDU in 2000, holds that honour.

In the past, female naval divers were not required to pass the 20week CDC. Instead, they took a different set of courses, including a two-week basic diving course.

To even make the cut for the CDC, Cpt Ng and Cpt Tan had to prove themselves by passing the rigorous Diver Fitness Test. The test has eight stations, including chin-ups, a 500m swim and a 10m underwater swim.