IN A CLASS OF THEIR OWN

Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu's famous proverb "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" resonates with some 152 Warrant Officers and Specialists (WOSPECs) of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) who have taken their first steps in enhancing their personal and professional growth through the pursuit of a higher education.

They were awarded the local degree, diploma and certificate level study sponsorships under the Continuous Learning Academic Study Scheme (CLASS) at the SAF WOSPECs Continuing Education Awards Ceremony held at The Chevrons on 18 Jan.

Second Warrant Officer (2WO) Lim Lek Chew, a Communications Specialist with the 10 Command, Control, Communications & Computer Intelligence Battalion (10 C4I Bn), who is also the battalion's Regimental Sergeant Major, remembered his first-day jitters as he made that first move to return to school again in 2002 after a six year hiatus.

The Temasek Polytechnic graduate who completed his diploma in Product Engineering under CLASS recalled: "In the beginning, I felt quite stressed out because at that time, it was about six years since I left school. I still remember when I attended my first class and I had to sit for a test, I just blanked out because I couldn't answer the questions, but from then on, I slowly picked up as much as I could."

Today, 2WO Lim is a proud recipient of the CLASS degree award. He will be reading computer science at the National University of Singapore and he is looking forward to creating new programmes to aid in the advancement of the SAF.

For Master Sergeant (MSG) Ahmad Ridwan Bin Ismail, who will be embarking on his part-time Bachelor of Science Degree programme in Logistics and Supply Chain Management at the SIM University, he aspires to be a role model to his juniors.

"It's about inculcating the culture in our guys that learning never stops. It's only with this culture that we'll be able to move forward," said the Transport Leader and Platoon Sergeant with the 1st Transport Battalion.

In order to attract, nurture and retain such talented individuals with the right values, motivation and abilities to steer the 3rd Generation SAF, CLASS was conceived as part of the SAF Continuing Education initiative to promote life-long learning and to maximise the potential of the soldiers in the SAF.

In his address to the award recipients, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen urged the servicemen to continue seeking ways to improve themselves to remain relevant.

"Our servicemen must on their own, want to upgrade their existing skill sets and technical expertise to keep up with the challenges in the SAF and its operational environment," he said.

"We believe that by developing and grooming our people, they will be better equipped to contribute to building a strong and credible SAF."

Dr Ng presented the study awards to 74 servicemen who qualified for the CLASS degree sponsorship, while Chief of Navy Rear-Admiral Chew Men Leong presented the awards to 78 servicemen who qualified for the diploma and certificate level study sponsorship.

With the inception of CLASS in 2001, WOSPECs have been given the opportunity to further their studies in areas related to their job specialisations. Currently, for specialists who demonstrate potential in becoming warrant officers, they can pursue an undergraduate degree programme as early as the end of their second year of service.