SAF renames trophies to honour ‘legendary enciks’
At 54, Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) Ng Siak Ping - nicknamed Lungless - still gets a perfect score for his annual fitness test.
The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Sergeant Major does 50 push-ups and 50 sit-ups and completes his 2.4km run in nine minutes for his individual physical proficiency test - a feat he credits to "commitment, discipline and professionalism".
The former Regimental Sergeant Major of the elite 1st Commando Battalion also represented the army in the ranger and pathfinder courses conducted by the US Army.
CWO Ng is one of four "legendary enciks" of the army who had challenge trophies named after them in a ceremony at Pasir Laba Camp on Oct 15.
Warrant officers, who are responsible for enforcing regimentation and discipline as well as ensuring soldiers' training standards are often called "enciks" in the army - Malay for "mister".
The other three men who had trophies named after them are former SAF Sergeant Major CWO (Retired) Joseph Koa; Captain (Retired) Shamsudin Shadan, also known as King of the Parade Square; and Captain (Retired) Hong Seng Mak, or Tiger Hong.
The trophies are awarded to top trainees from the Warfighter-Company Sergeant Major and Basic Warfighter-Platoon Sergeant courses for achieving excellence in areas such as combat skills and foot drills.
The renaming of the trophies is a good way to recognise the men's service to the SAF, inspire the next generation of warrant officers and anchor what they represent "in terms of values and attributes that are foundational for the Warrant Officer Corps", said the Ministry of Defence (Mindef).
CWO Ng, who is the top-ranking warrant officer in the SAF, spends at least 15 minutes every day running or doing static physical training.
He said: "Running is not just a hobby, but also my lifelong dedication to maintaining high standards of fitness. I need to walk the talk, you see, because people look to me as a role model."
The Combat Skill-at-Arms Challenge Trophy has been renamed Ng Siak Ping Challenge Trophy.
CWO (Ret) Koa, 60, who enlisted in 1976 and retired from SAF in 2014, had the Section Skill-at-Arms Challenge Trophy named after him. It is now the Joseph Koa Challenge Trophy.
The defence executive officer at the Safti Military Institute said: "For this trophy, the trainee has to go through a series of skill tests, like weapon tests and casualty evacuation as a section."
Capt (Ret) Shamsudin, 86, and Capt (Ret) Hong, 83, were warrant officers before they retired as captains. The Best Drill Award has been renamed the Shamsudin bin Shadan Challenge Trophy, while the Individual Skill-At-Arms Challenge Trophy is now called the Tiger Hong Challenge Trophy.
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