"Sea Soldiers" as they called it in the April's issue of Pioneer.

at last, these Regimental Policemen (RPs) in the naval bases can shake off their "poorly portrayed" image with the creation of a new identity, the Base Defence Squadron. Somehow, there are uncanny similarities between them and us (still called RPs) in our Field Defence Squadron, both in terms of our training and our job scope.

adapted from the Pioneer magazine (specially shortened for easy understanding),

The Regimental Policeman is one of those misunderstoond vocations. Sure it's not as physically challenging as other more 'glamorous' vocations, but it is nowhere as 'cushy' as some people feel.

For a start, it is a challenge to be awake, alert and all alone while the rest of the world is asleep, doing either sentry duty or 24-hour foot and mobile patrols...

It doesn't help that some people have an impression that RPs have an easy life (all they do is stand next to the scanners and metal detectors and check bags and passes, then they go home), which is not the real case.

Combat-fit RPs double as base defenders, trained to protect key installations by setting up fortifications like wire obstacles and gun emplacements, and are proficient in handling and firing various weapons and operational skills - just like any other soldier.

After all, the typical RP's 6 weeks session is nowhere comparable to our 3 mth fdc. what we learn during the course followed by the 3 weeks on-job-training (OJT) is constantly tested out in various tests and exercises, some even weekly. So it is saddening to hear from people that RPs are slack. What we do may be different from other units, but that does not neccessarily meant that our standards are comparatively lower. It is just that we adhere to different sets of rules.

Our counterparts in the navy can now correct this deeply-rooted misconception (as well as getting the additional $150 pay), when will it be our turn in the air force?