Meet Yap Hui Jun, first woman in Singapore to complete SAF's Ranger course

If he can do it, so can she — and Yap Hui Jun has made history after proving this.

Captain Yap became the first woman in Singapore to complete the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF) Ranger course, Chief of Army Major-General David Neo shared in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday (Oct 17).

"It's a great day to be a Ranger!" Neo said in his post. "Ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome our first female Ranger in the 50-year history of the SAF Ranger Course, Captain Yap Hui Jun!"

Adding that he was "immensely proud" of her and her achievement, Neo also uploaded a photo of himself with Yap, who grinned and gave a thumbs-up.

The Ranger course is the toughest small unit leadership course in the SAF, where trainees undergo "intense combat leadership training" based around small-unit-tactics, according to the Ministry of Defence. The course spans 65 days.

In order to simulate a realistic combat environment, Rangers will be placed under mental and physical stress during their training.

In the 49th SAF Ranger course, trainees had to take on activities such as parachute jumps, a 20km combat march and a 5km combat evacuation simulation, among others.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqtK4CTBGII[/embed]

Since Tuesday, many netizens left comments on Neo's post, expressing their well-wishes for Yap and respect for her accomplishment.

On the Singapore subreddit, users also shared similar opinions about Yap.

"She looks like she went through hell and back, which is what the Ranger course is, mad respect," a Redditor wrote.

Another commented: "First female in Singapore and one of the first female Rangers in the world."

"Ranger course is no joke," a netizen added. "This achievement is something nobody will dare to downplay."

AsiaOne has contacted Mindef for more information.

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khooyihang@asiaone.com