Justin

28

Law enforcement

Diving since 2011

• I think it wasn’t by choice, fortunately or unfortunately. I think fortunately. When I was doing my NS back in 2011, I was posted to the Naval Diving Unit and so that was actually my first encounter with diving. So I actually got to learn diving as a vocation, in the diving unit, but prior to that I was always wanting to learn diving so I guess everything just fell into place.
• Right before starting NS I was doing triathlon, so being out at sea, swimming in the sea is something I am familiar with as well. I guess it came quite naturally, as a second nature, I feel quite at home in it.

• At Komodo, in Indonesia, I think back in 2018. For me, it was the first time seeing mantas. And not just one, but there were at least six or seven of them, like swimming together. That was quite nice, and that came maybe seven years after I first started diving, so after seven years of diving and not having anything eventful happen - I mean every trip is eventful, but in the sense after seven years of diving and after many, many dives, this dive being the first time seeing wild mantas in the ocean, ya, I think that was pretty memorable for me.

• It was quite surreal. I was quite...it was quite emotional, seeing, experiencing that. Definitely surreal. I mean, we only see mantas on TV and on the internet and things like that, but actually being in the water and swimming right next to them and having them swim right next you is quite nice, and you feel small. It makes you feel small, makes you feel smaller than you usually do.

• Now, my current job, as with many other civil servants or those in public service, it’s one of those jobs where you do it because it’s absolutely necessary for the running of society, and there’s not really any intrinsic or inherent monetary value that adds to the economy per se. And how this relates back to the environment is that in a sense, the ocean and the environment is absolutely necessary for mankind. I mean, I am not talking about the commodities and values that the ocean provides such as tourism or provision of raw materials and food supplies, which I acknowledge to exist and are important, but I am talking about how the ocean is more than just a resource provider in our capitalist system. It is to me as important as the clean air we breathe, the sunsets and sunrises, the plants and trees on our lands and the rain that falls from the skies. These things are more than just commodities that mankind has somehow managed to find a way to valuate and commoditize, they’re very essential phenomena that are important to Man’s higher needs and wants. In the same way that we can never commoditize or private policing work, we can never commoditize the ocean and all it brings – it will just lead to a total failure and destruction of the ocean.

• The ocean is a part of nature, it’s not all of it, but it’s a big part to it. Being a diver myself, of course I would encourage my child to pick up a hobby, preferably diving, that involves the ocean. At least for me, in all my involvement with the ocean through my life, I have learned to have a greater sense of appreciation of nature. And especially diving, it’s one of those things where you don’t just observe the ocean as you would on a beach or from a plane, rather you are literally immersed in it, and become a part of the ocean. And there is so much more that you get to experience and observe and feel when you’re actually under the water – and when you do that, you realize that it is a beautiful place that is unseen to many. If I were to ever so lucky to have my child experience that – being within nature – then I do hope that the experience will give my child that sense of appreciation and wonder of a world that is much bigger than him or herself. And hopefully, due to the ocean being a part of my child’s upbringing, through the course of his or her life would grow up with a sense to protect and preserve it.

• There are many aspects of character building and what defines good character, and I guess one of it, at least to me, is being humble. Humble not only towards others, but being humble towards the world we live in. In the same way we exemplify humility towards others by not thinking that we are better or greater than others, we also show humility towards our world by living in a way that does not imply that the world owes us everything.

• And I think how diving has changed me is that it has humbled me – as a diver, you are at the absolute mercy of the environment you are in. It’s something you have to respect. In that regard, the ocean makes you feel small, it makes you feel vulnerable and it makes you feel like the forces of nature can eat you up just like that. I mean, both literally and metaphorically, the ocean outweighs you an infinite times to one. I’ve been in situations where the currents and the conditions control you no matter how hard you fight it, and it’s moments like that which make you truly understand and realize just how small and powerless you really are as an individual. It gives you a sense that you are a part of something much bigger than yourself. You take those lessons of being small and humbled, and you extrapolate that to how you live your life – I guess you could say that’s character building right there.

• Yes, the diving is awesome, but it is the company and the people you meet, the experiences we share with each other, and memories you make with others on a dive trip that usually sticks with you.

• It’s about humility, respect and gratitude. There’s a sense of reverence towards the ocean for what it is, what it provides and how it makes me feel. As a whole, there’s this idea of being subservient to the ocean, and following its rules.

• If we’re talking about an island in which I would be diving a lot from, without getting into details, the island should be as untouched as possible. There should be a minimal amount of manmade structures as much as possible, and if any, it should be only because it is absolutely necessary and with the least impact on the environment. Maybe you could say kampung vibes.