In the last of PIONEER's "From Desk to Field" series this year, we speak to former YES 933 DJ CPT Henry Law who left the media industry to pursue his naval calling.
For almost 10 years, he was making waves on the radio and surrounded himself with the latest Mandopop hits.
When Captain (CPT) Henry Law announced his departure on air in August 2020, the news came as a shock to his fans.
"It was my 10th year in the media industry (then) and I felt that I had achieved what I wanted in radio, so I wanted to move on, grow in different ways and try something beyond my comfort zone," said the former YES 933 DJ, who had been in media industry since he was 18.
"Whenever I look for a job, I've always searched for meaning to see if there's a purpose, whether I can give back to the community or make an impact.
"Being able to do my part for maritime security, defend Singapore's waters every day – coupled with a personal desire to travel and see the world – gave me the motivation to join the Navy."
The fact that CPT Law was a training officer at Changi Defence Squadron during his National Service (NS) days had also piqued his interest in the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN).
Re-doing OCS
On 11 Sep 2020, CPT Law re-entered Officer Cadet School (OCS).
The difference? He was being trained as a midshipman, as opposed to his previous training as an infantry officer cadet during NS.
While physical training was not an issue, getting back into the academic tempo was challenging for the then-28-year-old, especially since the majority of his batch mates were at least five to 10 years his junior.
He found himself with lots of information – from navigation to technical knowledge about the shipboard systems – to cram within a few months.
"Most of my peers were either fresh out of university or polytechnic, so they were already very used to the academic rigour while I had been working for about five years then, so it was tough," recalled CPT Law.
"However, we were all doing it together and supporting one another so having that sense of camaraderie really helped."
Despite the age gap, the self-professed Zillennial (the demographic cohort on the cusp of the millennials and Generation Z) easily bonded with his younger batch mates thanks to his previous job.
"As a DJ, I'm always in trend with music, culture or whatever is the tip of the tongue. We also had plenty of interesting conversations over each other's generation!"
Dealing with seasickness
Despite all of his positivity and enthusiasm, one thing that CPT Law did not expect to deal with was severe seasickness – a condition he first experienced during his Midshipman Sea Training Deployment (MSTD).
His highest record? Throwing up eight times a day.
While it took him close to a week to get used to the seasickness and still perform his roles, CPT Law also gained a newfound respect for the ship crew.
"There were times that the sea state was really bad, but the ship crew still held themselves together and performed to the best of their abilities – like doing their work even while holding a puke bag!" he said with a grin.
But he also admitted that he found himself wondering if joining the RSN was the right choice due to his bad seasickness.
It was only after talking to the Executive Officer (XO) of his MSTD ship, RSS Persistence, that he became more assured.
"He (the XO) told me that we would take some time to grow our sea legs as quite a number of naval personnel had also gone through the same phase."
True enough, the bouts significantly lessened when he served aboard Littoral Mission Vessel RSS Unity, as a Young Officer in late 2021, after his MSTD.
Those days of throwing up from seasickness are now in the past.
Making fond memories
A fortunate thing – as sailing was something that CPT Law truly looked forward to when deciding to join the Navy.
The moments on board ship are those that he's enjoyed the most, said CPT Law, who has taken part in exercises such as Exercise Malapura in December 2022.
"The ship crew was very tight, so we were very close and had a lot of fun doing watch duties when we were at foreign ports," recalled CPT Law fondly.
"The camaraderie, the sense of unity and the shenanigans that we do on board ship – those are really good memories."
A meaningful career
It is something that the 32-year-old keeps close to his heart even in his current appointment, which he took on last July.
A Staff Officer (Communications Strategy) in the Information, Strategy and Plans Branch in the Navy Information Centre (NIC), CPT Law is involved in planning the communications strategy for the entire RSN.
This has opened his eyes to a wider spectrum of the Navy's events and operations.
CPT Law brings us the highlights of Navy@Vivo!
These included being part of community outreach event Navy@Vivo in November 2023, and the commissioning of KDB Al-Faruq – the second of two ex-Fearless-class Patrol Vessels (PVs) transferred from the RSN to the Royal Brunei Navy – last December.
"Being able to witness diplomatic events like the commissioning of the PVs in the Royal Brunei Navy has been very eye-opening, and I think my time in NIC thus far has been very enriching."
While there's still a long way ahead for him in his naval career, one thing is for sure – the work that he does needs to be meaningful. He is also looking forward to being deployed for large-scale exercises.
"Being able to sail and go to different parts of the world that you otherwise will never have a chance to, is an experience that cannot be duplicated elsewhere and a story that I will be able to share with my grandkids," said CPT Law.
"I have no regrets and I'm looking forward to more amazing, interesting and unique experiences that the navy has to offer."
