'I just want to test my limits,' says first female SAF Ranger

She is first woman to complete what is deemed SAF’s toughest small-unit leadership course

- Gabrielle Chan

Captain Yap Hui Jun tips the scales at just 55kg, but had no qualms about heaving a man significantly heavier than her over her shoulders when the going got tough.

"I had no time to think about how tired I was," the 27-year-old said, recalling one of the most challenging missions during her 65-day Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Ranger Course.

The army intelligence officer recently became the first woman to graduate from the course, regarded as the toughest small-unit leadership course in the SAF.

Trainees have to meet three prerequisites before being selected a conditioning programme, a medical examination and a selection test.

The Ranger Course was introduced in 1978, and Capt Yap was part of the 50th batch.

Recalling the mission, Capt Yap, who stands at 1.62m, said that she had to carry a "casualty" to an extraction point, more than 500m away.

"I had to carry someone who was 15kg heavier than I am, so I just did the fireman's carry on the nearest casualty," she said in an interview at Pasir Ris Camp on Tuesday.

The mission was tiring, but this is just what the Ranger Course is about, she added.