From failing IPPT to Sword of Merit recipient
// Story by Thrina Tham / Photos by Xavier Loh & courtesy of interviewees
2LT Keane Dominic Travasso also went through the loss of his grandma during his course, which motivated him to push himself to do better.
As part of his Logistics Officer Cadet Course, 2nd Lieutenant (2LT) Keane Dominic Travasso went through a nine-day outfield in an overseas summary exercise, with just a night's rest in between.
This included tiring physical tasks like vehicle navigation and deploying tentage, on top of the mental fatigue of planning the logistics for the entire outfield exercise.
Yet, it was another outfield he never made it for which left the deepest impression on him.
On the first day of an earlier local outfield, his instructor called him out – to break the news of his grandmother's passing.
Having been close to his maternal grandma since young, 2LT Travasso felt his heart drop when he heard the news.
"I couldn't process it for a while. All I could think about in that moment was when I last spoke to her," recounted the 21-year-old.
In six hours, he was on a plane to Raipur, India, to attend her funeral.
"The entire experience felt like such a fever dream… but it was good closure. I decided then to push myself more and to make my whole family proud."
National Service (NS) was never straightforward for 2LT Travasso.
The Permanent Resident – who was born and raised in Singapore – is the first in his family to go through NS and was nervous about going into it blind.
He was also poor at running and failed his pre-enlistee Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT). This resulted in him enlisting early as part of the Physical Training Phase, or PTP, last May.
"I honestly let myself go in poly and didn't train much other than the occasional gym session," said the Ngee Ann Polytechnic alumni.
He decided to put effort into his PTP. With the support of his batch mates, he turned his failure into a Silver by the end of two months.
2LT Travasso did 60 push-ups and 60 sit ups – the maximum number required for full points – as well as brought down his 2.4km time from 16 to 12mins.
He then entered Officer Cadet School (OCS) later that September, where he shaved his timing further to 10min 55s, and got an IPPT Gold.
On 8 Jun, 2LT Travasso was among 402 cadets to be commissioned as officers of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) at SAFTI Military Institute.
The graduands comprised 327 from the Singapore Army, 42 from the Republic of Singapore Navy, and 33 from the Republic of Singapore Air Force.
The parade marked the end of 38 weeks of rigorous training at OCS, where they sharpened their combat, planning and leadership skills.
Addressing the cadets, Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Finance Mr Chee Hong Tat said that they are joining the ranks of the SAF Officer Corps at a time of heightened geopolitical uncertainties.
He added that the SAF must have capable and dedicated leaders "who have the skills and mettle to tackle security challenges that lie ahead of us".
"As future officers of the SAF, you will lead your soldiers, sailors, airmen and guardians in safeguarding the peace and stability of Singapore."
"You will be responsible for grooming the next generation of servicemen and women who will protect Singapore," said Mr Chee.
2LT Travasso, who had hoped to do his grandma and family proud, also achieved the Sword of Merit, which is awarded to the top 10 per cent of the cohort. He will take on the role of Motor Transport Officer following his commissioning.
For fellow graduand and Sword of Merit recipient 2LT Raymin Tong, his inspiration to do well came from an unlikely place – friendly competition with his twin brother.
Currently serving his NS as a naval diver, his brother, Corporal (First Class) Reiner Tong, went through a notoriously tough physical training.
This spurred 2LT Tong to set a goal to beat him at IPPT. (Incidentally, both twins were selected for the Naval Diving Unit Vocational Assessment but only CFC Tong made the cut.)
2LT Tong scored an impressive 94 points out of 100 – but still lost to his brother who got 98 points.
As an Air Warfare Officer (Air Defence Weapons), 2LT Tong recalled a trying time during his professional term summary exercise, when he was appointed as team commander.
"With limited resources, the other team commanders and I had to devise a plan to execute our mission," said the 21-year-old.
As his team's morale was low after being drained from many tasks, he rallied them together for a pep talk and encouraged them to give one last push for their deployment.
During a break time later, he managed to find time to talk and bond with them.
"I had meaningful conversations with my course mates and even managed to cook Maggie noodles for some of them," said 2LT Tong, who will be posted as a team commander in the Republic of Singapore Air Force's (RSAF's) 160 Squadron (SQN) following his commissioning.
"It was a great bonding session to end off our training, and it is something that I will look back on (fondly) in the future."
Who’s the better-looking twin? Who’s the cheekier one? You gotta watch 2LT Raymin Tong and CFC Reiner Tong in this video to find out!
