50 SENIOR MILITARY EXPERTS TRAINED

Newly-minted Senior Military Expert (ME) 4 Kwok Kum Loong enlisted in the Navy with just O levels in 1987. Twenty-six years later today, he continues to work on increasing his knowledge, and has emerged the top graduand of the Fifth Military Domain Experts Course (MDEC).

ME4 Kwok was one of the 50 servicemen and servicewomen who received the rank of ME4 at the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Senior Military Experts Appointment Ceremony held at SAFTI Military Institute on 4 Jul.

A great believer in life-long learning, ME4 Kwok had earned two diplomas and a university degree before he completed his MDEC, all while juggling work and family commitments.

The MDEC, which spans up to 49 weeks depending on one's vocation, is a milestone professional course which helps military experts to develop their leadership competency, deepen their military domain knowledge and hone their specialisation skills.

The graduating cohort comprised three from the Army, 28 from the Republic of Singapore Air Force, 15 from the Republic of Singapore Navy, and four from the Joint Service.

The graduands will move on to assume command or staff appointments in their respective professional fields.

As a senior military expert, ME4 Kwok will have more servicemen under his charge, and he hopes to inspire them to better serve the SAF by showing them the purpose of their work.

"We don't have to tell them what to do and how to do it," said the Naval Warfare Systems Engineer with the Naval Diving Unit. "Just by explaining the 'why' - and the purpose, I believe they can propose better solutions."

Guest of honour Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman, in his keynote address, also urged the graduands to focus on becoming good role models and to lead by example.

"As leaders, you have to engage your people to understand their needs and aspirations. This will then allow you to develop them to their fullest potential and lead them well in accomplishing your missions," he said.

The message resonated strongly with another Naval Warfare Systems Engineer - graduand ME4 Devaraja S/O Vinayagam.

He had once noticed a servicewoman under his charge who had not smiled for days and it turned out that she was having difficulty taking care of her autistic son. He counselled her and even made arrangements for her to work on a 9-to-5 shift so that she could take care of her son.

"If I see somebody is behaving differently, I would just approach and talk to them and counsel them," said ME4 Devaraja, who added that the leadership training he went through in the MDEC has equipped him with the interpersonal skills to be an effective Senior ME.

For ME4 Zhuang Yuankai, who graduated from Nanyang Technological University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2011, what made him joined the Air Force instead of commercial aerospace companies were the opportunities to take part in "non-war operations" such as humanitarian assistance missions.

"My job is not ordinary... it is about serving people," said the Sword of Merit recipient.

As for Army engineer ME4 Soh Kim Seng, he is still motivated to serve the SAF after 31 years of service because he gets to work on new weapon systems all the time.

"Over the years I can see the SAF growing, its equipments are getting more advanced and sophisticated. This is one of my motivations for staying with the Force... it is an interesting career," said the Sword of Merit recipient.