KEEPING PIRATES AT BAY A MEANINGFUL TASK: MR WONG

The hangar of the Landing Ship Tank (LST) RSS Endeavour was abuzz with chatter as servicemen from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Task Group deployed to the Gulf of Aden shared their deployment stories with Minister of State for Defence and Education Lawrence Wong.

Mr Wong was on a visit to the task group on 8 Nov where he was briefed on the piracy situation in the Gulf of Aden and the daily operations of the task group.

He also held a dialogue session with members of the task group where he emphasised the importance of the SAF's contributions as part of multinational efforts to safeguard shipping in the Gulf of Aden.

He said: "Your actions will ultimately contribute to the safety, security and sovereignty of Singapore, and that's a high calling and a meaningful task.

Wrapping up his visit, he encouraged the servicemen, saying: "Be assured that all of us in Singapore recognise your efforts and contributions, and we'll continue to cheer you on and be proud of all that you do in the SAF."

The task group, comprising 229 personnel from the Army, Navy and Air Force, and RSS Endeavour with two Super Puma helicopters, was deployed in August this year in support of international counter-piracy operations.

It operates under the ambit of Combined Task Force (CTF) 151, a multinational task force established in 2009 to conduct counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.

The task group conducts area patrols and surveillance, and responds to calls for assistance from ships encountering pirate attacks. On 1 Nov, the task group successfully disrupted two attacks by suspected pirates.

Commanding Officer of RSS Endeavour Lieutenant Colonel Kenny Chen explained the challenges ahead: "The sea state is getting better in the Gulf of Aden, making it a good period for pirates to strike, but our task group is prepared for more action, and our morale is high."

One who remains high spirited is Captain Ng Kehang, who flies the Super Puma helicopter to conduct surveillance in the Gulf of Aden. Considering this deployment as the highlight of his career, he said: "It's been exhilarating so far, seeing all the action here. By showing our military presence here, we hope that pirates will think twice about attacking merchant vessels."

When asked what it felt like to be part of the deployment, weapon combat system operator Military Expert 1 Moganasaravan s/o Rajandran summed it up saying: "As shipping is one of our primary interests in Singapore, what we're doing here is essentially economic defence, so there's a lot of meaning in what we do here."

Prior to this deployment, two other task groups were deployed in April 2009 and June 2010. The SAF also commanded CTF 151 twice, and deployed a Fokker-50 Maritime Patrol Aircraft to support counter-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden.