HARNESSING THE POWER OF NETWORKS

"We are stronger when we cooperate, compared to doing things alone," said Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General (LG) Neo Kian Hong of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) at the inaugural Joint Warfare Conference, held at the National Convention Centre in Canberra from 12 to 13 Oct.

Organised by the Australian Defence Force (ADF), the two-day conference was attended by senior officials from the Australian Defence Organisation and representatives from countries such as Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States and Vietnam.

LG Neo spoke on The Singapore Armed Forces' Perspectives on Future Joint and Coalition Warfare, while senior military officials from Australia, UK and the US shared their views on the development of joint capabilities in areas such as cyber-defence, logistics, health and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.

In his speech, LG Neo said that the SAF had responded to security challenges such as terrorism, natural disasters and pandemics by transforming itself into a full spectrum, adaptive and resilient force.

This was achieved by harnessing the power of networks in three key areas - regional and international cooperation, organisational innovation and training transformation.

But while networks could be used as force multipliers, they bring about their own set of challenges.

Said LG Neo: "Looking ahead, I believe that militaries have to grapple with an added complexity - how to manage and address the concerns of a generation of people, who are quite unlike the generation before them. They are technologically savvy, well-educated, and have tremendous access to all kinds of information because they are empowered by technology enablers such as the Internet and social media."

LG Neo said that the SAF was strengthening its response to these challenges through an open and inclusive approach towards both external and internal communications.

For example, the SAF created the "Every Singaporean Son" documentary series, which profiled the lives of several recruits during their Basic Military Training Course, to explain what conscription meant to the SAF.

The videos were uploaded onto popular social media platform YouTube. The series quickly gained traction online and was subsequently picked up by the National Geographic Channel and screened worldwide.

In citing these initiatives, LG Neo said the goal was to better connect and communicate with the public. He said: "Militaries cannot be shielded from fundamental shifts which are happening in society. Rather, we could ride on these changes so that the military organisation continues to remain relevant amid a rapidly changing societal landscape."