to go, or not to go.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Operation Blue Sapphire is a four month long mission that the RSN undertakes to demonstrate it's ability and willingness to secure vital shipping lanes, deter piracy and maintain sea lines of communication, all of which are linked to it's own livelihood via it's ports.
Sailing to the gulf of Aden, the participating LST will observe for any hostile activity within it's radar vicinity and if possible, act on suspected threats to merchant ships.
This year, RSS Endeavor, '210' will be representing Singapore in the yearly mission. The normal ship strength of around 90 will be augmented by a further hundred plus naval personnel, from shipwrights to divers and seamen to boarding party specialists. Eaech crew, regardless of NS status, is offered regular pay on top of a risk and ship bonus that can add up to 10k. And it seems that this year, they're willing to recruit NSFs.
Ever since I talked to the L Comms of 210 during my duty last Saturday, the thought of joining (or actually signing on, since they require NSFs to sign a short term regular contract for the mission) the ship for the mission has been one I'd been toying with. Their deployment, ending before Christmas this year and lasting four months excluding preparation time, seems highly tempting. But I can't decide.
The ship's already opened it's doors to volunteers, but the issue is mainly with my own ship, where movement tends to be more restrictive. Still, if I were convincing enough that I have strong desires to go for the trip, there's a chance I could be posted for the mission. And it's one that earns the volunteer a medal. I haven't been able to make up my mind, though, so I thought I should make a whole list of pros and cons to try and work things out.
Benefits derived from OBS participation
1. Experience
There's not going to be another opportunity like this ever in my lifetime. Four months out at sea, doing something that the newspapers all over the world talk about at some point or other. Four months thousands of kilometers away from home, in an environment many don't ever get to visit. Visiting places I'd probably never visit even if I had the money, and having friendly boardings on coalition ships from navies around the world. The capacity for new experiences seems quite large indeed. It will be something definitely out of the ordinary when it comes to sharing NS stories in future.
2. Monetary rewards
Given that there's a rough gauge of around 15k to be earned at the end of the 4 months, that's close to 4k monthly pay, something I'm not sure I'll be able to attain in the years to come. With this money, I could not only spend holidays before enlisting with much less concern for the origins of the budget, I could even ease a part of the burden on my parent's parts with University fees. Creature comforts would be much less out of reach, too!
3. The Medal
I know many would be contented with serving their time in the SAF and moving on, but surely you know by now I'm not one headed down that same school of thought, I've always said that I enjoy being where I am in the Navy, knowing it's niche in the armed forces. The mission that rewards all volunteers with an actual medal would be the ultimate ORD gift for myself, something like a one-of-a-kind, can't-be-bought souvenir. Priceless.
4. Time
The mission would largely be within my last year of NSF duty, save a week or two of ORD extension. Still, everything will end before Christmas, because everyone wants to spend that back home. I'll essentially be ORDing the moment I disembark from the mission, into the welcoming arms of awaiting friends and family. (Yes, there is a returning home party for the ship crew) This more or less means my time in NS is kept intact, with me not needing to go the extra mile in terms of time spent in the armed forces. What more could I ask for?
And yet, there still remains a number of concerns should I go for the trip.
Drawbacks arising from OBS participation
1. Boredom
I've been asking around for a long time, even before I finished my term in IMOS and got posted to ship. the tasks that the RSN undertakes during the mission are apparently highly routine, and highly unlikely to have anything happen that's out of the ordinary. Day in and day out, it's more or less the same drills and actions, and as the only overstaffed ship that the RSN sends out, we have a right to be kiasee- and hence tend to avoid the dirty work that the USN so likes to carry out. Things can get pretty dull save the few routine changers like friendly ship to ship boardings, or shore leave to friendly Middle East countries that don't offer as vibrant a shore leave as other ports in the world. With four months out at sea having such a lifestyle, I'm not sure I'll be able to take it.
2. Time
Back at home, while I may still be serving my NS stint, I can still stay out everyday save duty days. I have weekends to myself, and with this, I've got time to pursue other things. One important such thing is driving lessons, which I've told myself time and again that I'll start after these two long sails are over. I wanted to make it a goal to finish learning driving before I ORDed, but should I go on this trip, that's one thing I'll be unable to accomplish. One saving grace is that I've still got a great many months before the August University matriculation, and in that time, I can still try to finish learning how to drive, while at the same time (hopefully) holding down a job I like and still being able to enjoy my freedom. Still, the four months and the preparation time before that will essentially be blotted out should I go for the trip
3. Murphy's Law
As I mentioned earlier, our role in the anti-piracy mission is one that is largely incident free. Even with the more active navies, casualties out at sea tend to be very low. Either that or they're not reported. In any case, there is always an off-chance something might happen. In a previous year, the Destroyer USS Cole suffered quite some damage to its infrastructure when a suicide dinghy came alongside it's hull while in harbor and detonated itself. In recent times, freak weather occurrences have made themselves known around the world, and while our ship might be big and relatively stable, in the high seas accidents can happen during highly adverse weather conditions. It does not necessarily have to be that the whole ship encounters a dramatic incident with large loss of lives, it could simply be a few unlucky ship crew who bear the brunt.
To put myself in harm's way for four months will present its risks, no matter how tiny. And to let my parents worry over my safety for the entire duration is also another matter.
4. Future plans
Going for this trip will also mean I'll be unable to have a hand in the planning process for an OCIP trip that's been in the rough stages of formulation for a few weeks now. Slated for the early start of next year, a large group of Navy friends and I have thoughts on going overseas for said trip, and should I volunteer for OBS, I can't possibly be part of the planning process. This has some degree of importance, because I admittedly already have some reservations to the idea of OCIP, and I wouldn't want to be part of something that I don't believe is helping others while attempting to make it so on the surface.
***
So far, these are the few points I've come up with, but even assessing them now will make little use. I'll eventually find out through this MSTD sail the next week whether I feel suited for the slow life of long sails, then my judgement should be better in some aspects. Meanwhile, perhaps others could give their input on this.
posted by joseph at 10:02 PM
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Operation Blue Sapphire is a four month long mission that the RSN undertakes to demonstrate it's ability and willingness to secure vital shipping lanes, deter piracy and maintain sea lines of communication, all of which are linked to it's own livelihood via it's ports.
Sailing to the gulf of Aden, the participating LST will observe for any hostile activity within it's radar vicinity and if possible, act on suspected threats to merchant ships.
This year, RSS Endeavor, '210' will be representing Singapore in the yearly mission. The normal ship strength of around 90 will be augmented by a further hundred plus naval personnel, from shipwrights to divers and seamen to boarding party specialists. Eaech crew, regardless of NS status, is offered regular pay on top of a risk and ship bonus that can add up to 10k. And it seems that this year, they're willing to recruit NSFs.
Ever since I talked to the L Comms of 210 during my duty last Saturday, the thought of joining (or actually signing on, since they require NSFs to sign a short term regular contract for the mission) the ship for the mission has been one I'd been toying with. Their deployment, ending before Christmas this year and lasting four months excluding preparation time, seems highly tempting. But I can't decide.
The ship's already opened it's doors to volunteers, but the issue is mainly with my own ship, where movement tends to be more restrictive. Still, if I were convincing enough that I have strong desires to go for the trip, there's a chance I could be posted for the mission. And it's one that earns the volunteer a medal. I haven't been able to make up my mind, though, so I thought I should make a whole list of pros and cons to try and work things out.
Benefits derived from OBS participation
1. Experience
There's not going to be another opportunity like this ever in my lifetime. Four months out at sea, doing something that the newspapers all over the world talk about at some point or other. Four months thousands of kilometers away from home, in an environment many don't ever get to visit. Visiting places I'd probably never visit even if I had the money, and having friendly boardings on coalition ships from navies around the world. The capacity for new experiences seems quite large indeed. It will be something definitely out of the ordinary when it comes to sharing NS stories in future.
2. Monetary rewards
Given that there's a rough gauge of around 15k to be earned at the end of the 4 months, that's close to 4k monthly pay, something I'm not sure I'll be able to attain in the years to come. With this money, I could not only spend holidays before enlisting with much less concern for the origins of the budget, I could even ease a part of the burden on my parent's parts with University fees. Creature comforts would be much less out of reach, too!
3. The Medal
I know many would be contented with serving their time in the SAF and moving on, but surely you know by now I'm not one headed down that same school of thought, I've always said that I enjoy being where I am in the Navy, knowing it's niche in the armed forces. The mission that rewards all volunteers with an actual medal would be the ultimate ORD gift for myself, something like a one-of-a-kind, can't-be-bought souvenir. Priceless.
4. Time
The mission would largely be within my last year of NSF duty, save a week or two of ORD extension. Still, everything will end before Christmas, because everyone wants to spend that back home. I'll essentially be ORDing the moment I disembark from the mission, into the welcoming arms of awaiting friends and family. (Yes, there is a returning home party for the ship crew) This more or less means my time in NS is kept intact, with me not needing to go the extra mile in terms of time spent in the armed forces. What more could I ask for?
And yet, there still remains a number of concerns should I go for the trip.
Drawbacks arising from OBS participation
1. Boredom
I've been asking around for a long time, even before I finished my term in IMOS and got posted to ship. the tasks that the RSN undertakes during the mission are apparently highly routine, and highly unlikely to have anything happen that's out of the ordinary. Day in and day out, it's more or less the same drills and actions, and as the only overstaffed ship that the RSN sends out, we have a right to be kiasee- and hence tend to avoid the dirty work that the USN so likes to carry out. Things can get pretty dull save the few routine changers like friendly ship to ship boardings, or shore leave to friendly Middle East countries that don't offer as vibrant a shore leave as other ports in the world. With four months out at sea having such a lifestyle, I'm not sure I'll be able to take it.
2. Time
Back at home, while I may still be serving my NS stint, I can still stay out everyday save duty days. I have weekends to myself, and with this, I've got time to pursue other things. One important such thing is driving lessons, which I've told myself time and again that I'll start after these two long sails are over. I wanted to make it a goal to finish learning driving before I ORDed, but should I go on this trip, that's one thing I'll be unable to accomplish. One saving grace is that I've still got a great many months before the August University matriculation, and in that time, I can still try to finish learning how to drive, while at the same time (hopefully) holding down a job I like and still being able to enjoy my freedom. Still, the four months and the preparation time before that will essentially be blotted out should I go for the trip
3. Murphy's Law
As I mentioned earlier, our role in the anti-piracy mission is one that is largely incident free. Even with the more active navies, casualties out at sea tend to be very low. Either that or they're not reported. In any case, there is always an off-chance something might happen. In a previous year, the Destroyer USS Cole suffered quite some damage to its infrastructure when a suicide dinghy came alongside it's hull while in harbor and detonated itself. In recent times, freak weather occurrences have made themselves known around the world, and while our ship might be big and relatively stable, in the high seas accidents can happen during highly adverse weather conditions. It does not necessarily have to be that the whole ship encounters a dramatic incident with large loss of lives, it could simply be a few unlucky ship crew who bear the brunt.
To put myself in harm's way for four months will present its risks, no matter how tiny. And to let my parents worry over my safety for the entire duration is also another matter.
4. Future plans
Going for this trip will also mean I'll be unable to have a hand in the planning process for an OCIP trip that's been in the rough stages of formulation for a few weeks now. Slated for the early start of next year, a large group of Navy friends and I have thoughts on going overseas for said trip, and should I volunteer for OBS, I can't possibly be part of the planning process. This has some degree of importance, because I admittedly already have some reservations to the idea of OCIP, and I wouldn't want to be part of something that I don't believe is helping others while attempting to make it so on the surface.
***
So far, these are the few points I've come up with, but even assessing them now will make little use. I'll eventually find out through this MSTD sail the next week whether I feel suited for the slow life of long sails, then my judgement should be better in some aspects. Meanwhile, perhaps others could give their input on this.
Labels: jolly pirates, navy, NS, opinion, thoughts
posted by joseph at 10:02 PM