2016/06/01
Sea Dragon Reserve Training Team Completes Training Today with 15 Members Receiving the Highest Frogman Medal of Honor (June 1, 2016)
(Military News Agency reporter, Chou Li-Xing, May 31st) Having completed 19 weeks of rigorous training, the 15 students of the 139th batch of the Kinmen Sea Dragon Frogman Reserve Training Company have successfully completed their training test and won the “Sea Dragon Frogman Medal” which is a symbol of the highest honor.
In the 5-day training graduation test, the test began with the 21km long-distance running event and tested the trainees on a diverse selection of test items. Besides testing their physical fitness, the graduation test also assessed the trainees on their proficiency in amphibious warfare, their absolute obedience and the will to endure hardships.
On the first day, besides the 21km run, there were also items, such as pull-ups, grenade throwing, push-ups, sit-ups, bench press, and barbell lifting, in progressive order. The second day of the test focused mainly on the water warfare skills, including 200m breaststroke with equipment, 400m water treading with flippers, 3000m long-distance sea swimming and 5000m run. On the third to fifth day, the test adopted condition simulations to test the trainees’ proficiency in amphibious combat skills, including items such as combat readiness inspection, armed swimming, manual boat operations, shore infiltration, survival skills, cliff ascending/descending, armed march (with nighttime GPS navigation), transportation of injured in difficult terrains, and diving, and last but not least, the test most memorable and unforgettable by the trainees, the “Frogman Exercise cum Sand Exercise”.
The battalion commander, Major Colonel Lin expressed that the Sea Dragon Frogman has an excellent tradition and history where all members must qualify for the frogman reserve training before they are admitted. The graduation test is just a test that each and every member possesses the basic qualities to become a Frogman. In future, the members should continue to strive for self-improvement and training, and to enrich their professional skills so as to develop themselves into frogmen with multi-talents to defend the security of the country.