COMMANDOS AND SPECIAL FORCES TROOPERS BID FAREWELL TO THEIR CHIEF

Two military jeeps charged onto the parade ground, their brakes screeching as they swerved and came to an abrupt halt. A barrage of gunfire followed as more military vehicles and Commandos and troopers from the Special Operations Task Force (SOTF) stormed the parade square.

As the smoke cleared, the soldiers quickly got into formation, and a fiery blast in the background brought the display to a close.

This was indeed a parade like no other.

At the Change of Command Parade held on 4 Mar at Hendon Camp, soldiers from the Commando Formation and SOTF put up an impressive display of military might as a parting gift to their Chief Commando Officer and Commander SOTF, Colonel (COL) Lam Shiu Tong.

He handed over command of the Commando Formation and SOTF to COL Chiang Hock Woon.

Addressing the audience at the parade, COL Lam encouraged them to look ahead, saying : "The journey of integration and capability development for SOTF has just begun. In the coming years, the task force is likely to see more operation opportunities; and at the same time, several training facilities and new equipment will be coming on-line.



"The future for SOTF promises to be exciting, challenging and rewarding."



He also thanked all in the SOTF and Commando family: "Your self-motivation, self-discipline and self-quest for excellence has made my job as Commander SOTF and Chief Commando Officer an easy, fun-filled and certainly rewarding one."



A Commando Officer since 1987, COL Lam has held appointments such as Head General Staff Headquarters Commando and Commander 2nd Singapore Infantry Brigade (SIB).



His achievements include heading the Home Quarantine Enforcement and Inspectorate Section as part of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) SARS Task Force during the outbreak, when he was Commanding Officer (CO) 3rd Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment.



He is also credited for integrating all the Special Forces in the SAF through the development of Headquarters SOTF, which was inaugurated in 2009.



COL Lam assumed the appointment of Commander 2nd People's Defence Force Command and Commander Island Defence Task Force on 25 Feb.



COL Chiang has been a Commando Officer since 1989, and his previous appointments include CO 1st Commando Battalion, Commander 76 SIB as well as Commander Officer Cadet School, where he spearheaded the LEARNet initiative, an on-line learning system, as part of the Army's training transformation effort.