TECHNOLOGY

Mission man

17 Jul 2017

COL (NS) Soh spent almost three decades in the RSN and he is confident that it is poised to overcome future challenges. In the background is a BOFORS 40mm/L60 twin-barrel gun, used on board the Country-class LSTs as an anti-aircraft gun, which required two sailors to manually aim and operate. These days, shipboard air defence is computerised and automated.

Story by Ong Hong Tat

Photos by Kenneth Lin

During his career spanning almost three decades in the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), Colonel (COL) (NS) Dominic Soh has experienced the joys of incorporating new capabilities into the navy as well as the grief from witnessing death and destruction during humanitarian aid missions.

He joined the RSN in 1979 and has commanded the early County-class Landing Ships Tank (LSTs). In fact, he was the Commanding Officer of RSS Perseverance when the ship was deployed to Palembang, Indonesia, to aid in the recovery of the ill-fated SilkAir flight MI 185 that crashed on 19 December 1997.

"It was an immensely sad time for me and the crew," said COL (NS) Soh, who returned from the mission just in time for New Year's Day.

There, the crew supported diving operations in the search for the fallen aircraft. Conditions were tough; the waters were murky and there were natural predators such as crocodiles in the area. "The crew kept their focus and all returned safe." Subsequently the ship was also deployed to East Timor (now Timor Leste) in 2000, in support of the Australia-led International Force for East Timor (INTERFET).

"That was about the time that the RSN recognised the usefulness of these ships (LSTs) and we began to work on designing the next-generation Endurance-class LSTs." The first of the 141m-long Endurance-class LSTs was launched in 1998, and they were significantly larger (yet faster) than their predecessor County-class LSTs.

In time, the Joint Multi Mission Ship (JMMS) will replace the ageing Endurance-class LSTs. These new ships will be heavily automated and capable of supporting multiple embarked helicopters.

"The JMMS' capabilities will help the RSN maintain (its edge) and expand the kind of roles that the RSN can take on, especially in terms of humanitarian aid mission." During his time in the RSN, COL (NS) Soh also led the team who designed the capabilities housed in the Changi Command and Control (C2) Centre. The Changi C2 centre houses several entities designed for national and international collaboration to boost maritime security.

"One thing I learnt from being in RSN: We all have to support one another or we will never muster enough strength to meet the challenges we face, being a small navy and country."