SAF BEEFS UP COMMANDERS COURSE - OFFICERS EQUIPPED TO OPERATE IN NEW ENVIRONMENT

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) has beefed up its command and staff course with lessons on new strategic issues and operational areas that are becoming increasingly important to the military.

The revised curriculum aims to equip SAF officers with the required know-how to lead troops for a myriad of missions in today s dynamic and complex strategic environment.

A first batch of 115 officers has completed the revamped syllabus of the course. They received their certificates from Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Defence, Dr Ng Eng Hen, at a graduation ceremony held at the Istana on 7 Sep.

The course graduates include 11 officers from several foreign armed forces and an officer from the Singapore Police Force.

Topping the class this year are Army Lieutenant-Colonel (LTC) Gerard Koh, Navy Major (MAJ) Raymond Ong and Air Force MAJ Benedict Ang.

So how has the revamped course prepared these leaders for their future roles and missions?

Increasingly, you ll find that the SAF is going to operations other than war, like humanitarian assistance missions, said MAJ Ang. These are fairly new areas as far as the SAF is concerned. So the SAF officer will be put in situations which will require him to think out of the box, to think creatively, and yet at the same time, to be very aware of the mission of the SAF.

It is therefore very timely for mid-level SAF officers to attend this course, where complex issues like the challenges of command and leadership in these scenarios are covered.

Agreeing was LTC Koh: The third-generation SAF officer needs to be a warrior, an innovator, a humanitarian, a peacekeeper, a manager and definitely, he needs to be a leader all rolled into one neat package.

This course has helped me to see things from a joint perspective, that means how the Army, Navy and Air Force can work together for such missions, he said.

While it is all well and good to talk of multiple roles and missions, MAJ Ong felt that values were just as important. I thought what was particularly useful to me was the module on leadership values, he said.

As officers, we are expected to uphold the values of the military. It is very easy to expound values. But every now and then, it is useful to be reminded why you are doing certain things, to reflect upon the values that you hold and why you hold them dearly, he added.

The nine-month course conducted by the Singapore Command and Staff College prepares officers for senior leadership positions in the SAF.