FIRST S'POREAN CHIEF INSTRUCTOR AT UN MILITARY OBSERVER COURSE

Over dinner once at a German restaurant in Singapore, the chef, who was out mingling with his customers, told this writer: "We Germans love our country and we're very proud of our traditions."

So it was certainly an honour for Mr Deep Singh, and also for the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), that he was appointed the Chief Instructor (CI) of the German UN Military Observer Course (UNMOC) by the German Armed Forces (GAF) United Nations (UN) Training Centre.

A UN military observer is deployed in the field during UN peacekeeping missions to monitor any form of conflicts before reporting to higher authorities for conflict resolution.

"The position of CI is usually reserved for a German military officer," said Mr Deep, who is a branch head at Joint Operations Department (JOD). "For me to be appointed as the CI is a first for Singapore and certainly a significant achievement."

UNMOC was held in Hammelburg (a one-and-a-half hour drive from Frankfurt), Germany from 7 to 25 May this year. The training centre conducts pre-deployment training of UN Military Observers and GAF peacekeeping contingents.

Sometime last year, the GAF requested to the SAF to send an experienced instructor for the conduct of UNMOC.

And who better to send to represent Singapore than Mr Deep, who had previously been in numerous UN peacekeeping missions that have brought him to East Timor (now known as Timor-Leste) and Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa.

The 54-year-old, who retired in 2003 as a lieutenant-colonel, told cyberpioneer that he was appointed the CI on the second day of the instructors' preparatory training.

He said: "I guess having worked in the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) and done tours in Congo and East Timor, that gave me an added advantage.

"But in a way, the appointment also gave me added responsibilities."

The course, which saw participants from Germany, Armenia, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Serbia and Thailand, came down to an exciting close as the trainees took part in an exercise that had about 100 personnel engaging them in various peacekeeping scenarios and situations.

"When I saw my students doing well during the summary exercise, I had a satisfying feeling," said Mr Deep, who is also a teaching staff at the International Institute of Humanitarian Law (IIHL) in San Remo, Italy.

"Eventually, they are going to be deployed in the field as ambassadors of their countries."

The Commanding Officer of the training centre , Colonel Reinhard Barz, was so pleased with Mr Deep's involvement in the course that he penned a letter of appreciation to MINDEF, praising his "professionalism, attitude as well as profound and specialist knowledge".

He also added: "As Chief Instructor, he performed an outstanding part in the organisation of the instructors' preparations and was so very much responsible for the success of the course."

In response to the accolades he received, Mr Deep appreciated the kind words but humbly stressed: "I just want to learn more and share my specialist knowledge and help MINDEF/SAF integrate and network at a professional level."