MR WONG VISITS COMBAT SERVICE SUPPORT COMMAND

It was a trip down memory lane for Minister of State for Defence and Education Lawrence Wong when he visited the Combat Service Support Command (CSSCOM) at Kranji Camp 3 on 28 Sep.

Besides being briefed by commanders on the organisation, capabilities and operations of CSSCOM, he also viewed static displays at the Ordnance Engineering Training Institute, which reminded him about his experience as a national serviceman.

Mr Wong was first shown the capabilities of a Battalion Casualty Station (BCS), which works like a mobile Intensive Care Unit in the battlefield.

"This is a far improved BCS from what I remember," Mr Wong remarked, adding that the medical facilities available to combatants during his national service days was much more basic.

He also learnt about some of the innovations by the CSSCOM and Army Engineering members of the Weapon Locating Radar teams deployed to Afghanistan since 2009, such as improving the durability of their equipment to withstand the harsh weather conditions and high operating tempo there.

Mr Wong was also briefed on the latest changes to personnel equipment, such as the new Physical Training attire and sports shoes, which are lighter and more permeable than their predecessors.

Other displays that Mr Wong viewed included a Leopard Armoured Recovery Vehicle, a Water Purification Unit and a Turret Training Simulator, which helps trainees to practice operating a Leopard tank turret and to diagnose any technical faults.

He concluded his visit with a trip to the CSSCOM cookhouse, where he had lunch and interacted with Operationally-ready National Servicemen (NSmen) from the 2nd General Support Transport Battalion (2 GSTB), who were at Kranji Camp 3 for their In-Camp Training.