PEOPLE
OFFICERS GRADUATE FROM TOP MILITARY COURSE
14 Sep 2007
If you aim to top any course, the most important ingredient to success has to be The Wife.
So said Major (MAJ) Lim Lit Lam, MAJ Eddie Tan and MAJ Adrian Toh, who emerged as top students of the 38th Command and Staff Course (CSC).
In separate interviews, all three officers thanked their wives for their unwavering support during the course, which was conducted in three phases over 37 weeks.
"I really appreciate my wife for holding the fort at home," said MAJ Lim, who is from the Army. "Her support has been crucial in this period of time."
Agreeing was Republic of Singapore Navy's MAJ Tan, who felt that with his wife putting in more effort to take care of their child, he could concentrate fully on his readings and other course work.
MAJ Toh, from the Republic of Singapore Air Force, was thankful that his wife Lynda "voluntarily takes care of the children every night", which gave him a few more hours to do his course work.
Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean presented certificates to 125 officers who graduated from the CSC at the Istana on 12 Sep.
The CSC is a milestone course that prepares officers from the three Services to assume mid-level command and staff appointments in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).
Addressing the graduands, Mr Teo said: "The knowledge and skills that you have developed will be invaluable to the SAF s transformational journey.
"The full potential of the third-generation SAF capabilities can only be realised if we have the right people to conceptualise and create this third-generation SAF; and to creatively deploy and use these capabilities to derive the maximum benefits."
Besides 109 SAF officers and one Singapore Police Force officer, another 15 military officers from various countries like Australia, Brunei, Canada, Malaysia, and the United States also graduated from the course (see story below)
"Having international officers in the course allowed us to interact with them and learn about their experience in military operations," said MAJ Toh.
In sharing their wealth of experiences, they also gave a different perspective in the conduct of operations, said MAJ Tan.
"SAF officers learnt a lot from them, as many of them have had first-hand experience in peacekeeping, counter-insurgency and even commanded troops during conflicts," he said.
The CSC also allowed the officers to better understand how each of the other Services work and operate.
As MAJ Lim put it: "An Army officer like me don't usually get taught formally on how my friends in the Navy or Air Force work, and the CSC is one big step for us officers to move towards one SAF."
This CSC saw the largest ever number of international officers attending.
cyberpioneer caught up with MAJ Harsh Vardhan Singh from the Indian Army, MAJ David Gowdy from the Canadian Army and MAJ Heru Setio from the Indonesian Army.
cyberpioneer: How did you all find the CSC and how different is it from the ones you have back home?
MAJ Singh: The Indian Staff College doesn't have a command element in the course and when you come here, you get a wider spectrum of things to do, wider subjects to cover and wider horizon to reach out for.
MAJ Gowdy: I found quite a unique element here. (It) was the focus on organisational learning, which we don't do in Canada and the focus on leadership development.
MAJ Heru: For me, I found new perspectives from the SAF and the SAF Command and Staff College. I've been to the staff college in Indonesia but here, I learnt new knowledge, new models and security studies.
During the course, you've seen how the SAF operates. What do you think of the SAF?
MAJ Singh: The first thing that comes to mind when you see an SAF soldier is his physical fitness and agility. It's phenomenal and to top it, he has the edge of technology, giving him the additional impetus which is very important.
MAJ Gowdy: In the first month of the course, when we look at transformation, we talked about spirit and system. So it's not about getting a Main Battle Tank, it's about the soldier in that tank and I felt that was quite significant. Two words come to my mind dynamic and proud. We attended the SAF Day Parade in July and seeing the contingents out there was inspiring.
MAJ Heru: I'm impressed with the rapid development of the SAF from 1965 till now and the transformation from first-generation to the third-generation. And also the quick development of the organisation and the equipment.
So said Major (MAJ) Lim Lit Lam, MAJ Eddie Tan and MAJ Adrian Toh, who emerged as top students of the 38th Command and Staff Course (CSC).
In separate interviews, all three officers thanked their wives for their unwavering support during the course, which was conducted in three phases over 37 weeks.
"I really appreciate my wife for holding the fort at home," said MAJ Lim, who is from the Army. "Her support has been crucial in this period of time."
Agreeing was Republic of Singapore Navy's MAJ Tan, who felt that with his wife putting in more effort to take care of their child, he could concentrate fully on his readings and other course work.
MAJ Toh, from the Republic of Singapore Air Force, was thankful that his wife Lynda "voluntarily takes care of the children every night", which gave him a few more hours to do his course work.
Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean presented certificates to 125 officers who graduated from the CSC at the Istana on 12 Sep.
The CSC is a milestone course that prepares officers from the three Services to assume mid-level command and staff appointments in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).
Addressing the graduands, Mr Teo said: "The knowledge and skills that you have developed will be invaluable to the SAF s transformational journey.
"The full potential of the third-generation SAF capabilities can only be realised if we have the right people to conceptualise and create this third-generation SAF; and to creatively deploy and use these capabilities to derive the maximum benefits."
Besides 109 SAF officers and one Singapore Police Force officer, another 15 military officers from various countries like Australia, Brunei, Canada, Malaysia, and the United States also graduated from the course (see story below)
"Having international officers in the course allowed us to interact with them and learn about their experience in military operations," said MAJ Toh.
In sharing their wealth of experiences, they also gave a different perspective in the conduct of operations, said MAJ Tan.
"SAF officers learnt a lot from them, as many of them have had first-hand experience in peacekeeping, counter-insurgency and even commanded troops during conflicts," he said.
The CSC also allowed the officers to better understand how each of the other Services work and operate.
As MAJ Lim put it: "An Army officer like me don't usually get taught formally on how my friends in the Navy or Air Force work, and the CSC is one big step for us officers to move towards one SAF."
Foreign CSC students give thumbs-up to SAF
This CSC saw the largest ever number of international officers attending.
cyberpioneer caught up with MAJ Harsh Vardhan Singh from the Indian Army, MAJ David Gowdy from the Canadian Army and MAJ Heru Setio from the Indonesian Army.
cyberpioneer: How did you all find the CSC and how different is it from the ones you have back home?
MAJ Singh: The Indian Staff College doesn't have a command element in the course and when you come here, you get a wider spectrum of things to do, wider subjects to cover and wider horizon to reach out for.
MAJ Gowdy: I found quite a unique element here. (It) was the focus on organisational learning, which we don't do in Canada and the focus on leadership development.
MAJ Heru: For me, I found new perspectives from the SAF and the SAF Command and Staff College. I've been to the staff college in Indonesia but here, I learnt new knowledge, new models and security studies.
During the course, you've seen how the SAF operates. What do you think of the SAF?
MAJ Singh: The first thing that comes to mind when you see an SAF soldier is his physical fitness and agility. It's phenomenal and to top it, he has the edge of technology, giving him the additional impetus which is very important.
MAJ Gowdy: In the first month of the course, when we look at transformation, we talked about spirit and system. So it's not about getting a Main Battle Tank, it's about the soldier in that tank and I felt that was quite significant. Two words come to my mind dynamic and proud. We attended the SAF Day Parade in July and seeing the contingents out there was inspiring.
MAJ Heru: I'm impressed with the rapid development of the SAF from 1965 till now and the transformation from first-generation to the third-generation. And also the quick development of the organisation and the equipment.
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