NURTURING THE FUTURE OF THE SAF SPECIALIST CORPS

Against the backdrop of the setting sun, the freshly-minted third sergeants tossed their berets into the sky to the rousing cheers of family, friends and instructors on the spectator stand. This heart-warming sight was the grand finale of the Specialist Cadet Course (SCC) Graduation Parade at Pasir Laba Camp on 27 May.

Some 1,123 graduands of the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF's) third SCC put up a spectacular parade to mark the end of months of tough and rigourous training.

For the first time since he assumed the appointment of Chief of Army, Brigadier-General (BG) Chan Chun Sing graced the event as the reviewing officer. He presented Golden Bayonet awards to 23 Distinguished Honour Graduates. Together with 85 Honour Graduates, they make up the top 10 per cent of the graduating cohort.

In his address to the graduands, BG Chan urged the newly-appointed third sergeants to strive to be good role models and to care for their men, while developing their own areas of expertise. BG Chan reminded them of the importance of being technically and tactically competent and highlighted the uniqueness of the specialist role in the SAF.

"As specialists, you will have the privilege of spending more time with your men and hence, you are the crucial link between the soldiers and the Army leadership," he said. "Caring for your men does not mean being soft to them but to accord them the first class training that is tough, realistic, but safe."

Cadets at the three Specialist Cadet Schools (SCSs) undergo a 22-week SCC which aims to develop the leadership and combat competencies of the trainees and transform them from privates to third sergeants.

The cadets first experience an eight-week foundation term where they hone their leadership capabilities; develop useful skills such as critical and creative thinking, personal mastery as well as crisis management; and polish their soldiering fundamentals.

This is followed by a 12.5-week professional term where cadets acquire specific vocational training at their respective training institutes and undergo war fighting competency training in areas such as combat life saving and chemical defence.

The final phase of their training is a combined arms term where cadets return to their SCSs for peer-to-peer sharing and learning of their experiences garnered during their professional term.

Instructors at the SCC look to groom cadets into strong and fit leaders through developing their instructional competencies and engaging them in self-directed physical training.

An instructor at one of the SCSs, First Warrant Officer (1WO) Lim Ser Wei saw great potential in his cadets. "As facilitators, we coach them and share with them on how we do certain things. We treat them as commanders. We want them to learn how best to accomplish their tasks in the most effective and efficient ways," 1WO Lim told cyberpioneer.

The Platoon Commander added: "All of them have lived up to expectations. They have trained hard and are ready to lead. I'm proud to say that they make the grade!"

For Combat Medic, Specialist Cadet (SCT) Muhammad Danial Bin Dzulkafli, the training he went through was a life-changing experience.

"I've learned to sharpen my leadership skills and have become more confident. My friends and I, we went through the tough training and exercises but at the end of the day, we can smile and enjoy the fruits of our labour knowing that we have put in our best efforts to accomplish our goals," said the Distinguished Honour Graduate who will be heading to the SAF Medical Training Institute as an instructor.

"What awaits us is the next journey in our NS life. Each of us will encounter our own challenges but with the training and the courses we went through, we will be competent in our work."

With tough training follows close team bonding among the cadets.

"The most rewarding part of the course is that you build a lot of friendships or what we call brotherhood. When people are tired but they still offer their help to you, that's when you know you can trust them and that's where you build real friendships," shared SCT Hensa Nanthakumar, an Infantry soldier and recipient of the Golden Bayonet award.

Echoing his sentiments was Bridging Engineer, SCT Ang Yi Yang who believed that the excellent camaraderie gave him the drive to push on. He recounted, "Throughout the course, we encouraged one another, spurred each other on and this helped a lot especially when we were very tired during and after training."