This NSman served in Exercise Wallaby in Australia 30 years ago. Now, he’s back with his son

SHOALWATER BAY, Queensland: When Daniel Lim travelled to Australia in the 1990s to participate in his first overseas military training exercise during National Service (NS), he never anticipated returning almost three decades later with his son in tow.

The younger Lim is of similar age – 20 – as his father was back then. But naturally, everything else is not quite the same.

Daniel Lim is now 49 and a reservist Senior Lieutenant Colonel (SLTC) who teaches mathematics and science in a primary school.

His son Lim Dylan is a 3rd Sergeant (3SG) in full-time NS, and he told media on Sunday (Oct 8) how excited he was to find out his father was joining him at Shoalwater Bay Training Area in Queensland for the latest edition of Exercise Wallaby.

“I feel it’s a very unique experience and I’m glad we can share this together," said 3SG Dylan, smiling broadly as his dad stood beside him. "And we can have a common experience to talk about when we go back home.”

Yet it will be a far cry from SLTC (NS) Daniel's maiden participation in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF)’ largest unilateral overseas exercise, back in 1994. Exercise Wallaby was in its infancy then, with the first iteration held just four years earlier. And mobile phones were non-existent.

Today Daniel is on the Reservist On Voluntary Extended Reserve Service (ROVERS) scheme, which allows operationally ready servicemen like him to continue serving beyond their training cycle, till they reach the statutory age of 50 for officers. He serves as chief of staff in the 3rd Singapore Infantry Brigade, and is a mission planner at this year's Exercise Wallaby.

The younger Lim meanwhile is a mortar ammo second-in-charge in the Army, operating the Belrex protected combat support vehicle that debuted at Wednesday's motorised battalion live-firing - the first to take place since 2012.

3SG Dylan initially had only a vague idea of how highly ranked his father was, and only had an inkling when the whole family was “invited to camp to celebrate something”.

“(It was) only after enlisting and talking to him about NS that I realised,” he said.

In the months leading up to his enlistment about one-and-a-half years ago, his father also advised him to get up to speed physically, to meet the standards of the annual mandatory Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT).

The going was tough but it paid off in the end. From not even managing to do a single push-up, Dylan struck gold at his most recent IPPT where he did 60 within a minute.

Because of their different roles at Exercise Wallaby, 3SG Dylan left for Australia a day earlier than his father. They only briefly met at a mass parade on Sunday.

“Unfortunately, I was the one without the sending-off party because my wife was working and the rest of the children were in school,” SLTC (NS) Daniel laughed.

Before leaving, he also told his son about the erratic weather conditions at Shoalwater Bay, where it can get intensely hot during the day but very cold at night.

3SG Dylan said it was initially “quite challenging” to get used to the environment, but he pointed to measures in place to protect soldiers, like wearing thermal gear in the evenings.

When asked what the biggest difference was from 30 years ago, SLTC (NS) Daniel was quick to point out the changes in training and safety aspects.

Back then, when he rode a motorbike at Shoalwater Bay in the evenings, the only light reference he had was the taillight of the vehicle in front, and dust clouds would hinder his vision.

“But today (in) the SAF, we really do train very safely. There are safety protocols, safety distance between vehicles," he said. “So if (soldiers) encounter dust clouds, if they impede visibility, they have been asked to stop until the clouds settle before we resume training.”

He has incorporated some of his military knowledge into his day job. While teaching a Primary 5 math class recently, he told his students that his son was in the Army and operating the Belrex, where precise calculation of angles is of utmost importance.

“If there is a mistake or a difference of one degree, to a mortar gun, when the round is discharged and it’s one degree off, you will likely not hit the target,” added SLTC (NS) Daniel.

He remains keen to serve the nation as a soldier, saying he wanted to “continue putting in his best” after a "really good" experience as an NSF as well as his completing his 10-year operationally ready training cycle.

Hence the ROVERS scheme - and with a year to go before hitting the age limit, he is now considering applying to extend his service even further. Under the NS Volunteer scheme, he can serve until compulsory retirement at 60 years old.

Asked if he ever thought of signing on as a regular, he jokingly gave the same reply he gives to colleagues.

"I put on green for two or three weeks in a year. But I can’t really imagine myself putting on green for 52 weeks in a year!”