IT'S ALL RELATIVE

Family members can inspire and influence one's career choices positively, as PIONEER finds out from speaking to four groups of Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) personnel.

Like fathers, like children

If, when growing up, the Standard Obstacle Course was your playground, then it hardly comes as a surprise that the military becomes your career choice, says the Teos. LTA Michelle Teo's childhood memories revolve around tagging along with Dad to Army camps on weekends, showing how a father's influence can extend into one's adulthood.

PNR: Why did you join the SAF?

LTA Michelle: I signed on because the values in the SAF, such as discipline and professionalism, are things that I believe in and hold dear to me. Second, I'm a sporty person, so I thought being in the military would be quite exciting. Third, I wanted to be a pilot after a good experience at the Singapore Youth Flying Club.

BG Teo: My wife and I didn't actively encourage Michelle to join the SAF. But I think my lifestyle sort of influenced her decision. When she was about 10, she would follow me whenever I went back to camp on weekends, and she would be there clearing the obstacle courses and jogging with my men!

COL (Vol) Teo: Di Kai didn't discuss his decision to join the SAF with me, but at that time, my wife was concerned that he might not be suited for a military career. I told my wife not to worry, because I've seen how the SAF produces great leaders, and in my civilian job, I've recruited many former SAF officers and warrant officers who brought in these good values.

PNR: What are the perks (or challenges) of having family members in the SAF?

LTA Michelle: In fact these days, our family gatherings usually happen at some Happy Hour in the mess!

LTA Di Kai: It can be a challenge at times. There's a greater burden on your shoulders because you have to live up to certain expectations and in a way, you can't afford to fail.

PNR: Is there an SAF culture at home?

COL (VOL) Teo: I'm not a career soldier, but I expect my children to have a lot more self-discipline than others, so it's like what Di Kai said, there's a lot of stress on the children actually!

BG Teo: Yes, when Michelle leaves the house without telling me, she's AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave)! I have high expectations of my children, just like I have high expectations of my men. I also wake my children up at 6.30am on Sundays for morning runs, when most people will be sleeping in, because I expect them to get gold for their Individual Physical Proficiency Test. But the running is not compulsory for my wife!

LTA Michelle: It's not that our house is run like a military camp, but I'm actually grateful that my parents have high expectations of me, because it's helped me become a better person, and excel in what I do.

BG Teo with his wife, Catherine, and Michelle at an NDP media brief at the Esplanade in 2007.

BG Teo with his wife Catherine, son Marc, and Michelle, taking a ride on a raft after the Army Combat Engineers Group Change of Command Parade at Seletar Camp in 2003. He handed over command to then COL Tung Yui Fai.

Lieutenant (LTA) Teo Di Kai, 22 (Son of COL (VOL) Teo)

Project Officer, 35 SCE

Enlisted in 2007

LTA Michelle Teo, 20
(Daughter of BG Teo)

Deputy Operations Officer,
203 Squadron

Enlisted in 2009

Having a brother in the same Army unit is something both 2SG Kiri (left) and 1SG Saravanan consider mutually beneficial.

2nd Sergeant (2SG) Kiri Shankar s/o Sawandra Rajan, 22
(Brother of 1SG Saravanan)

Bravo Company Section Commander,
3rd Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment (SIR)

Enlisted in 2008

1SG Saravanan s/o Sawandra Rajan, 23

Alpha Company Section Commander, 3 SIR

Enlisted in 2004

Tag team

Two is always better than one, according to the brothers who are in the same Army unit. While the older brother has the younger one as company, the younger brother gets to learn from the mistakes made by the older brother, to which 2SG Kiri responded in jest: "Who asked him to join the Army before me!"

PNR: Why did you join the SAF?

1SG Saravanan: My father, who used to be a Regular in the Navy, encouraged me to join the Army during my second year at Simei Institute of Technical Education.

2SG Kiri: Also, both of us were in the National Police Cadet Corps in Yishun Secondary School, and we liked being in uniform groups. We like drills and handling weapons, so that's why we joined the Army.

PNR: What are the perks (or challenges) of having family members in the SAF?

2SG Kiri: As my brother is a more experienced commander than I am, I can always ask him for advice whenever I need help.

1SG Saravanan: For example, before he entered SISPEC (School of Infantry Specialists, now renamed the Specialist Cadet School), I was already an instructor there, so I gave him tips on how to excel in SISPEC. And because I knew his instructors, I told them to tekan him ('to work him hard') as much as possible, so that he'll learn the hard way. In the end, he was awarded the Silver Bayonet for being one of the top trainees.

PNR: What's it like having a brother in the same unit?

1SG Saravanan: Actually, it's quite a coincidence that we ended up in the same unit. I joined 3 SIR just one month after Kiri got posted there. At first, people in the unit thought we were just close friends. It was only about a month later that they saw our surnames and realised we're blood brothers.

2SG Kiri: After they found out that we're brothers, we were asked to choreograph an item for a battalion of recruits to perform at their passing out parade. The performance usually includes some close combat moves like kicks and punches, but we did something different by incorporating urban operations into the display, and the men loved it.

Because it was so successful, our Regimental Sergeant Major asked us to come up with a special performance for the closing ceremony of last year's ASEAN Armies Rifle Meet, and our unit performed it in front of the Chiefs of Army from 10 different countries... I think our unit sees that we work very well together, and by getting us to join forces, the products that we come up with are twice as good.

Major (MAJ) Chew Chun-Chau, 34

Operations Manager, Project Office, Naval Plans Department

Enlisted in 1996

Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Chew Chun-Liang, 34
(Younger by 1.5 hours)

Executive Officer, RSS Stalwart
(He will be taking over as the Commanding Officer (CO) on 4 Oct)

Enlisted in 1996

Seeing double

From the time they were conceived, LTC Chew and MAJ Chew have been inseparable. Besides being in the same primary and secondary school classes, they attended the same course in polytechnic, did their Basic Military Training (BMT) in the same company, and even ended up in the same overseas university.

Today, they are both in the Navy, and share the same passion to serve. Even during the interview, they were finishing each other's sentences. Coincidence? It's probably in the genes.

PNR: Why did you join the SAF?

MAJ Chew: After a recruitment talk during BMT, and through subsequent visits to naval bases, I got a good understanding of what the Navy does and the job scopes it offered, which I thought were interesting. And we studied Electronics and Computer Engineering in Ngee Ann Polytechnic, so we felt we could apply our knowledge to the technology used in the Navy.

LTC Chew: I think it's also our desire to serve that led us to the Navy. Our father was in the Singapore Civil Defence Force and he subsequently volunteered in the Singapore Police Force. He inspired us to serve the country as well.

PNR: What's it like having a twin in the same Service?

LTC Chew: Sometimes we confuse others. When we were both COs of different patrol vessels in the same squadron, there were a few times his quartermaster mistook me for him, and vice versa.

As Chun-Chau's scholarship covered his Master's degree, I came back from Imperial College a year earlier, and attended some of the Route of Advancement courses before him. When he attended the same courses a year later, it was like deja vu for the instructors, because the questions we asked and the answers we gave were similar!

PNR: What are the perks (or challenges) of having family members in the SAF?

LTC Chew: One advantage is that we have our own circle of friends and colleagues. So if you have a good brother who has many friends his friends become your friends. But it's a double-edged sword if he makes any enemies!

MAJ Chew: As Chun-Liang was one of the frigate's pioneer crew, he got to know many DSTA (Defence Science & Technology Agency) engineers during training. So in projects where I have to work closely with DSTA engineers, it's easier for me because they know my brother.

LTC Chew (left) and MAJ Chew feel that being in the Navy together, they are able to understand and relate to each other better.

The twins (right), at age four, celebrating the birthday of their mother, Madam Wan Guat Keow, together with their older brother Chun-How (second from left) and father Yee Kow, at an East Coast Park chalet in 1980.

If not for being featured in this story, (clockwise from left) ME1 Lee, ME3 Sim, 2SG Sim and ME5 Ong would not have realised that they have family members in all three Services of the SAF.

Military Expert (ME) 3 Sim Hock Guan, 53

Principal Staff Assistant, Air Force Logistics Centre, Air Logistics Department

Enlisted in 1977

2SG Jonathan Sim, 20
(Son of ME3 Sim)

Bionix Launched Bridge (BLB)
Section IC, 38 SCE

Enlisted in 2008

ME1 Lee Kok Chin, 26
(Nephew of ME3 Sim)

Air Force Engineer, Air Power Generation
Command, Tengah Air Base

Enlisted in 2004

ME5 Ong Ming Yi, 32
(Nephew of ME3 Sim)

Staff Officer, Plans Branch, Joint Logistics Department

Enlisted in 1998

2SG Sim (second from right) with (from left) his grandmother Madam Ang Swee, mother Madam Theresa Ong, father ME3 Sim and younger brother Jeremy at his SISPEC graduaton ceremony in 2009. He was the proud recipient of the Golden Bayonet Award for being the best trainee.

SAF's 'ambassador'

If you're considering a career in the SAF, talk to ME3 Sim Hock Guan. He's no career coach, but after listening to stories about his experiences in the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), chances are, you'll probably be heading straight for the SAF recruitment centre, like his nephews did after consulting him.

PNR: Why did you join the SAF?

ME5 Ong: After attending a recruitment talk by the Navy during BMT, I went for an interview and was offered an award to study Engineering at a local university. I spoke to my uncle (ME3 Sim) before signing on, and after he shared his experiences in the Air Force, like how he had the opportunity to go to the United States Peace Carvin Programme (fighter detachment), I decided to give it a try.

ME1 Lee: I attended the recruitment talks during my BMT too. Seeing that my uncle, cousins and cousin-in-law (ME5 Ong's sister and her husband were previously technicians in the RSAF) were also in the Air Force, I decided to join the RSAF as a Senior Technician.

ME3 Sim: I didn't realise that I had so much influence on so many of my family members! I didn't persuade them to join the SAF; I just shared my personal experiences and gave them my frank opinion. After all, I didn't want to be held accountable if their careers didn't work out! But I'm very glad to know that they saw something positive in me and wanted to join the same organisation.

PNR: What are the perks (or challenges) of having family members in the SAF?

ME5 Ong: Sometimes, things that affect the SAF bring us together. For example, when the SAF started the MDES (Military Domain Experts Scheme), we came together to discuss the pros and cons of the scheme and how it would affect us. It was good that we got to listen to one another's perspective, and we felt that the scheme would be beneficial to us.

2SG Sim: Since I was young, my dad's been training me to be fit, and we often jogged and played badminton together. (ME3 Sim is an SAF Sports Association badminton player.) As I was already very fit before being enlisted, I felt that National Service (NS) would be a breeze for me, so I was actually looking forward to serving NS.

So far, it's been fulfilling, especially since I was involved in this year's National Day Parade mobile column as the Vehicle Commander for the BLB. On the actual day, I saw how excited and amazed the spectators were when we drove into the heartlands. It made me feel that all the weekends I "burnt" in doing the rehearsals were worth it.

*2SG Sim was probably too shy to mention this, but after the interview, ME3 Sim revealed that his son was a recipient of the Golden Bayonet Award in the former SISPEC for being the best trainee.

PNR: Is there an SAF culture at home?

ME3 Sim: My son and daughter are always complaining that sometimes I relate to them the way an encik (affectionate term for warrant officer) treats his men! For example, I expect the house to be spick and span, and I always emphasise safety. Well, having spent almost my whole life in the SAF, I guess I do apply SAF practices at home unknowingly.

ME5 Ong: Yes, we tend to do that subconsciously. I'm quite safety- and security-conscious. For example, when I run cables at home, I'll make sure they're properly taped down so people don't trip and fall. Also, my wife and I share a laptop, but I have my own log-in account and my own password. Sometimes she'll complain that I don't trust her, but it's really because of how we re trained in the SAF.

Of course, I haven't gone to the extent of telling my kids to keep the house spick and span because I don't think I practise it myself!