MOVING FORWARD AS MILITARY EXPERTS

For Military Expert 4 (ME4) Desmond Chong Wai Kit, leadership qualities were his most important takeaway from the Military Domain Expert Course (MDEC), which spans 49 weeks and consists of two phases.

He said: "It is important to reassure my men in situations where they are unsure of themselves... I need to give this reassurance and trust, and with that, I believe it will give them that motivation to take on even the most difficult task ahead."

For his outstanding results in the course, ME4 Chong was one of the MEs who received the Sword of Honour from Acting Minister for Social and Family Development and Senior Minister of State for Defence Chan Chun Sing at the 4th Senior Military Experts Appointment Ceremony held at SAFTI Military Institute on 18 Jan.

In his keynote address, Mr Chan emphasised the importance of MEs in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) leadership corps of Officers, Warrant Officers and MEs, as they possess deep technical competencies and innovation leadership.

Addressing the graduands, he said: "The mark of our success is not our ability to solve yesterday's problems. The mark of our success is our ability to pre-empt tomorrow's challenges."

He also urged the MEs as well as all SAF officers to "keep learning and innovating to stay ahead in order to fulfil the SAF's mission" and safeguard the future of Singapore.

The MDEC is a professional milestone qualification course which helps MEs to develop their leadership competencies, deepen their military domain knowledge and hone their specialisation skills.

At the ceremony, a total of 31 servicemen attained the rank of ME4 after completing the MDEC. The graduating cohort comprised nine military experts from the Army, 13 from the Republic of Singapore Air Force, four from the Republic of Singapore Navy, and five from the Joint Service.

Fellow graduand ME4 Jasdeep Singh Bajaj was proud and delighted to achieve the rank of ME4, and attributed his decision to sign on as an ME to his passion for both the military and engineering.

The Air Force Engineer said: "There were ups and downs (during my course) but that built my character and taught me the competencies required in the Air Force, and also the competencies to lead the men in my unit."

ME4 Debbie Phua Yee Lei, who was a Sword of Honour recipient in the 2nd Senior MEs Appointment Ceremony, felt that the MDEC had equipped her with important skills to take on more leadership roles in the SAF.

Previously a Battalion Workshop Officer managing a platoon of technicians that oversee the maintenance of Leopard Tanks, and now System Manager (Leopard Main Battle Tank) with Headquarters Maintenance & Engineering Support, ME4 Phua said: "Apart from the essential technical skills learnt, such as systems management, I have learnt that as a leader, I have to not only earn the respect and trust of my men, but also to take care of their welfare and morale."

Leaving a piece of advice for aspiring ME4s, she has this to say: "Don t be afraid to fail because if you are, then you will never dare to try... and always strive to make changes in areas that have never been explored."