SINGAPORE – Tasked with boarding vessels that arrived in Singapore with Vietnamese refugees, the full-time national servicemen (NSFs) from the 1st Commando Battalion’s 2nd Company received the green light to use their AR-15 assault rifles and loaded magazines if threatened.

The pioneer batch of NSF commandos in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) numbered around 80 young men, and they had been activated for Operation Thunderstorm in May 1975, just two months shy of completing their 2½ years of national service.

Describing the operation as a “baptism of fire”, Lieutenant-Colonel (Ret) Clarence Tan, their commanding officer at the time, said he could see the fear on his young charges’ faces when they were told that they could face armed resistance.

After South Vietnam fell to the communists in 1975, scores of refugees fled the country, with some 8,355 arriving on Singapore’s shores.

The Republic hosted 32,457 Vietnamese boat people from 1975 to 1996. Those who could prove they could go to another country were given food and temporary shelter here.

“The ships housing the refugees did not just have civilians on board. They also had former soldiers from the Vietnamese army, and we knew the big ships had weapons too,” recalled LTC (Ret) Tan, 82, adding that his charges were the first NSFs deployed in a live operation.

“At that point in time, the commandos weren’t trained to storm ships, but the men of 2nd Company did very well.”

But getting to that point took blood, sweat and tears – something members of the group reminisced about during their gathering on Jan 5 at Raffles Town Club, ahead of their 50th year together on Jan 16.

There were 62 of them who turned up that night, along with their former commanding officer and 19 of their spouses.

When they first got together in 2013, however, only seven showed up. Mr Ronald Loh, 69, who organised their first reunion, said he had no idea how to get in touch with his peers initially.

“I attended this function organised by a group of NSFs I trained and wondered to myself – how did they do it? In fact, I did not even know how they managed to get in touch with me,” he said.

“It turned out that they had used the phone directory, so I used that too to get in touch with my former comrades.”

Subsequent gatherings saw them roping in those they were still in contact with. Eventually, they managed to get almost everyone back together.

They were the ones who attained the red beret, out of about 180 young men who originally enlisted in the elite formation on Jan 16, 1973.

The high attrition rate was due to the tough training, said LTC (Ret) Tan, adding that the trainers were regulars who went to the United States for ranger and airborne training.

These trainers were role models who kept them motivated, even if they did not pull any punches, said Mr Umapathy Shanmugam, 69.

“After a three-month stint in New Zealand training with soldiers from the elite Special Air Service Regiment, their commanding officer said he was very impressed with us NSFs,” said the retiree, a former general manager at the Housing Board.

“We were very professional, our fitness was up to the mark and, despite being conscripts, we were battle-ready to them – veterans of the Vietnam War.”

Their experience overseas marked the first time in the SAF’s history that NSFs were sent abroad, but this was only one of many firsts for 2nd Company.

For starters, they were the first in the army to take up taekwondo.

“We started out as white belts. When we completed our NS, we were still white belts,” said Mr Kelvin Tan, 69, with a laugh.

“All of us couldn’t show up for the grading held by the Singapore Taekwondo Federation because we were out at sea for Operation Thunderstorm.”

The retiree, who used to work in the creative field, added that they were the first NSFs to go through airborne training – which later became a rite of passage for all commandos.

He said wryly: “Back then, we needed parental consent to be able to jump off planes, though, which sadly I never got to do.”

They were also the ones who first clinched the Best Combat Unit award for the commandos, who would go on to win 35 more – an unprecedented figure in the competition’s history.

These achievements are testament to the fact that their legacy continues till today, despite it being five decades since they first set foot in Hendon Camp as recruits, Mr Loh said.

“During our time in the commandos, we had to put our trust in one another. Whether it was training or live operations, we had one another’s backs.”

He added: “I am really so proud that even today, we still share that brotherhood.”