FLYING HIGH IN IDAHO

In their quest to master the F-15SG, 250 Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) personnel venture to the United States, where training airspace is abundant.

Imagine a 19,000 sq km piece of land approximately six times the size of Singapore - this is the size of the airspace available to the RSAF personnel training at the Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, US.

In order to undergo training and development programmes to master the capabilities of the F-15SG, RSAF personnel comprising pilots, Weapon Systems Officers (WSOs) and ground crew relocated to Idaho with their families in October 2008.

Space to train

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean, who officiated at the inauguration ceremony of the F-15SG fighter detachment on 20 Nov 09, said that detachments in friendly countries like the US help to overcome the severe space constraints of Singapore.

Captain (CPT) Edmund Teo, a WSO, agreed: "The airspace is comparatively bigger than what we have back home and thus...allows us to simulate more realistic ground-based scenarios. As a result, our overall takeaway lessons from training dramatically increase."

CPT Teo's job involves working together with the pilot as a team and managing the F-15SG s host of sensors and weapons. Likewise, F-15SG fighter pilot Major (MAJ) Benjamin Kim said that the bigger airspace

Experience to share

The large, uninhibited airspace was not the only way RSAF personnel benefited from training in Mountain Home.

MAJ Kim said that their US counterparts contributed greatly to his learning experience: "Daily interactions provided opportunities to tap each other s experiences."

"Besides being colleagues, we are friends. Coming from different cultural backgrounds, we take great pride in introducing our way of life to one another. Once, we even set up a 'Fear Factor' corner which was modelled after the famous reality show where contestants competed in facing their fears. This corner comprised century eggs, durians and chicken feet, and in the spirit of good fun, we egged our US counterparts on to sample them," said MAJ Kim.

Home away from home

Halfway across the world from their friends and loved ones in Singapore, the RSAF personnel and their families have managed to adapt as best as they can in Idaho.

Said CPT Teo: "In Singapore, hawker fare is always just a stone s throw away and I took that for granted until I came to Idaho. However, my wife is doing the best she can to help me get over this craving by buying ingredients from the Asian supermarket here."

Citing family support as an important factor which enabled him to pursue his love for flying, he elaborated: "My wife was extremely supportive and even gave up her job and travelled halfway around the world to support my chosen path."

CPT Teo lives in the residential apartments of the air base with his family, which comprises his wife Jessica, and their two children Ariel and Joshua, aged three and two respectively. Some of the crew and their families will be returning to Singapore from March to help set up the new F-15SG squadron.