First Navy Divers

: Step back in time and find out how the Naval Diving Unit came into being. Meet the First Navy Divers, learn about their training regime and get to know all who were involved in the process.

: First Navy Divers 1972 return home to our alma mater after 48 years.

: Written by Naval Diver Cpt (Ret) Eddie Loo, PhD, The Ode uses a 10-syllable format to honor the first batch of 10 Naval Divers who graduated in 1972.

: Officers and Men of First Navy Divers 1972 assembled after 47 years. We celebrated our reunion on Friday 9th August 2019, Singapore's Bicentennial National Day.

: Generations of Navy Divers assembled on Friday 20th December 2019 for festive season celebrations with special guests of honour and foreign visitors.

: We remember and honour those who have gone before us, wishing them fair winds and following seas.

1972.

The Royal Navy Far East Fleet Clearance Diving Team was replaced by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Diving Centre.

A small group of young Divers aged between 17 to 20 years,
under the command of
Maj Robert Khoo (CDO),
was trained and tasked to look after the naval assets of the Singapore Maritime Command which would, years later, become the Republic of Singapore Navy.

This is the story of our contribution to the nation.

The world beneath the waves is one of the most inhospitable places on Earth.

It is an environment that does not support human life - no air to breath, intense pressure and poor visibility.

Special training and skills, together with a certain mix of bravado, brawn and brains are required to work under water. You don't just strap on some stuff and jump in.

You could, but you wouldn't last long.

Diver selection

200 aspiring young men
report for aptitude testing

First, a medical work-up that includes a lung function test, vitalograph, large chest x-ray, full blood count, long bone x-ray, a treadmill stress test to measure VO2 Max uptake and a hearing test.

A physical test follows which involves swimming, running, climbing and jumping. Individual timings are taken and performances noted.

To round off the test, candidates don scuba gear and with minimal instruction, are made to dive to the bottom of a 20 foot water tower. There, we perform a series of drills under the watchful eyes of the instructors.

It was the first time in our lives doing something like this.

The first group of trainee Divers and their instructors

14 of us were found suitable to undergo Basic Diver Training.

We were on our way to becoming our nation's First Naval Divers.

Over the course of the following months, we would be challenged to reach and exceed the limits of our abilities.

Any signs of physical and/or psychological weakness would result in instant dismissal from the course.

We had a lot to prove to our trainers.

And to ourselves.

Divers in training

Divers are not risk takers

Diving is, arguably, the most unique job on earth. No other profession requires you to bring your own air supply with you.

Divers are thoroughly trained in Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus, Surface Supplied Breathing Apparatus and Closed Circuit Breathing Apparatus.

Diver using the Aquadyne Surface Supplied Breathing Apparatus

We learn how to breathe all over again because if you can't breathe properly, you certainly can't work.

We study underwater medicine, recompression and hyperbaric chamber operations, physics and physiology of underwater diving.

All those boring lessons that we painfully sat through in school suddenly made perfect sense in the real world.

More so because getting things wrong would have far more drastic outcomes than just failing an exam.

A portable recompression/hyperbaric chamber

Dive planning and salvage operations, underwater cutting and welding as well as the use of explosives were all par for the course.

The expansive scope of our training served to prepare us for most eventualities. But as there is always the element of the unknown to contend with, we were constantly driven to improve our physical fitness skills.

We did this...

Daily circuit training rope climb

so we could do this.

Divers board a vessel by climbing the anchor cable

We practiced jumping off a perfectly good sea-going vessel...

Divers deploy by ship

so we could safely jump out of a perfectly good aircraft.

Divers deploy by chopper

We swam for miles...

Divers resting after a long-distance swim

and when we weren't swimming, we were running.

Divers doing a Forrest Gump impression

Life was like a box of chocolates and occasionally, we'd catch an Uber ride - with a five star driver. Sweet!

Divers caught joy-riding in a Gemini inflatable

Our Diving Officers

We were always under the eagle eyes of this guy - who turned down several offers to be on the cover of Playgirl Magazine!

Training Officer
Lt Victor Rodrigues (MCDO)

Training Officer Lt Victor Rodrigues earned the qualification of Mine Clearance Diving Officer (MCDO) at the British Royal Navy's Defence Diving School, Horsea Island, Portsmouth, UK.

Commanding Officer
Maj Robert Khoo (CDO)

Commanding Officer Maj Robert Khoo trained at the Royal Australian Navy's HMAS Rushcutter Anti-Submarine Training School, New South Wales, Australia. He attained the qualification of Clearance Diving Officer (CDO).

Out training was tough, but at no time did we feel threatened or unsafe.

This was due mainly to the trust we had in our Commander and Training Officer, both highly qualified and experienced divers.

They cajoled, scolded and praised us, leading by example and teaching us from their own hard won experiences.

This made all the difference, giving us the impetus to push through ever present fatigue.

More importantly, we learned to trust each other, building bonds and wonderful memories that would last a lifetime.

(Left) A diver enters the water from the diving barge, tethered to his tender. (Right) The standby diver prepares to activate in emergency. (Top) Underwater medics on alert in the safety boat.

Despite the excellent training and safety measures put in place to protect us, accidents and injuries did occur simply because diving is an inherently dangerous activity.

Barotrauma, Nitrogen Narcosis, Alternobaric Vertigo, Decompression Sickness and Carbon Dioxide Toxicity are but some of the many maladies divers expose themselves to every time they venture beneath the surface of the ocean.

So, when the job requires you to repeatedly place yourself in harm's way, it's probably a good idea to have backup of the finest kind for when things go wrong.

The First Underwater Medics

"M E D I C !" is the first word on the lips of first responders to divers in trouble. It is usually uttered in a very loud, very high-pitched voice - for obvious reasons.

The Underwater Medicine unit was formed in late 1971 under the Command of SMO Maj Dr Jimmy How.

Commanding Officer, Underwater Medicine,
Senior Medical Officer Maj Dr Jimmy How.

Executive Officer was MO Maj Dr Gene Chan.

Maj Dr Gene Chan standing second from left,
in training with the Royal Australian Navy

Candidates came from various SAF formations and were required to meet strict acceptance criteria.

First Underwater Medics and Nursing Officer
Lt Bob Mong (RN), front row second from left

Underwater Medics had to be physically fit to a standard way above that of army and air force medics, with good hearing acuity and no tendencies toward claustrophobia, vertigo or motion (sea) sickness.

Trainee medics underwent selective aspects of diver training to better understand what divers experience and the potential risks divers face.

Medics were also trained to carry out the strict medical examinations divers were required to undergo, as well as recompression and hyperbaric operations of the British made Camel Laird Chamber.

The underwater medical team worked closely with divers in training, operations and the treatment of decompression sickness.

Medics and Divers working together to mate a portable hyperbaric chamber and its occupant with the main hyperbaric chamber

The First Engineers

As you know, a diver carries his air supply on his back in tanks which are also called "bottles".

But, do you know how the air gets into the bottles?

A huge compressor made by the British Oxygen Company is used to force air, to a pressure of 3000 psi, into a charging bank made up of six 860 cubic foot bottles.

The charging bank is then used to fill multiple sets of diving tanks at the same time.

At regular intervals, compressor and charging banks must be pressure tested to 6000 psi, more than what is required for operations.

Water absorbing filters, used to keep the air dry and clean, are also frequently changed.

These tasks were performed by the engineers.

They bore the heavy burden of responsibility to ensure that the air the divers breathe while working underwater is correctly pressurised and free of pollutants.

One mistake on their part could have spelled disaster for us.

The engineers were also responsible for maintenance of the Camel Laird Recompression/Hyperbaric Chamber.

They worked quietly and efficiently behind the scenes. Without their efforts, the divers would not have been able to do their job.

The First Diving Team

Graduating as fully-fledged divers was a proud day for us, especially since only 10 of the original 200 successfully completed the course.

1 returned to Fleet Command Duties.

9 of us formed the First Naval Diving Team.

The First Operational Divers and our
Commander Maj Robert Khoo (CDO)

And that was the beginning of a whole new adventure.

Working Underwater

Ship husbandry and repair below the waterline, salvage and clearance, pipeline restoration, underwater demolition, construction and welding are some of the things divers do.

Here are some pictures of the First Navy Divers at work.

Enjoy!

A diver enters the water from the rolling and pitching deck of a vessel.
Note the angle of the horizon.

Buddy-line check before descending

Hull inspection

Propeller inspection and maintenance

A diver performing a grid search

Divers doing a snag-line search

Safety check to ensure no one's gone missing

Look what we found!
Divers proudly display a WWII
magnetic mine recovered in waters
off Pulau Hantu (Devils Island)

The Naval Diving Unit of today is almost totally unrecognizable from its forebear, the SAF Diving Centre of 1972.

However, this does not in any way diminish nor trivialize the contribution we made to the safety and security of our nation.

All who come after us stand on our shoulders.

We are the First Navy Divers.

Foremost.

Forever.

Acknowledgments

This website would not have been possible without the contributions and assistance of all mentioned hereunder.

First Diving Officers

Commander
Maj Robert Khoo (CDO)

Ops Officer
Cpt M A Hamid [deceased]

Training Officer
Lt Victor Rodrigues (MCDO)

First Naval Divers

Chew Kok Hua
Lee Kok Weng
Ku Lai Hock
Bryan Klassen
Ralston Fernando
Rodney Hogan
Philip Tay Liang Chang
Cheng Hua Ju
Yap Teck Ming Steve
Tony Koo Hong Kee

Underwater Medicine

Senior Medical Officer
Maj Dr Jimmy How

Medical Officer
Maj Dr Gene Chan

Nursing Officer
Lt Bob Mong (RN)

First Underwater Medics

Vernon Loh
Sunny Kong
Joe Fong
Edward Chua
Frankie Lee
Francis Chew
Lim Pheng Chiang
Suhumaran
Benton Wee [deceased]

First Engineers

ME Gopalakrishna
EM Foo Sek Pin
Abdul Ghani

Manpower

Manpower Officer Lt Sonny Lo
Chief Clerk Foo Ah Jee