GOOD TO GO!

A total of 24 personnel - 11 Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) pilots and air crew and 13 civilian technicians from Singapore Technologies Aerospace (Engineering) (STAe) - left for the Gulf on 20 Jun. The detachment is on a three-month deployment to support the reconstruction of post-war Iraq.

During this peace support mission, the RSAF KC-135 long-range jet tankers will provide air-to-air refuelling for coalition aircraft in the Gulf region.

Detachment Commander, Major (MAJ) Sivaraman Rajah said his men are "psyched and raring to go".

MAJ Rajah, who is on his second mission there, revealed some of the preparation work involved in this mission: "Since mid-February, we have gone through a very rigorous and comprehensive programme. Our training covered survival in the warm desert environment, adapting to the climate and conditions there, and tactical training."

Deputy Detachment Commander, MAJ Zakir Hamid, said the men have also been well-prepared physically and psychologically to do a good job.

As this will be his first mission to the Gulf, MAJ Zakir said he is looking forward to operating as part of the coalition forces.

"By working with other forces, we hope to further deepen the ties we have, to improve on the inter-operability and to learn from one another."

As part of Singapore's contribution to the peace support operations in the Gulf, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) has sent four deployments to the region since 2003.

These include two Republic of Singapore Navy Landing Ships Tank, an RSAF C-130 transport aircraft and an RSAF KC-135 tanker aircraft.