SAF PERSONNEL RECOGNISED FOR CONTRIBUTIONS IN OVERSEAS DEPLOYMENTS

"There was this lady who came in with her leg already amputated below the knee, and her bones were all shattered due to the impact of her wounds," recounted ME4 Lum E Von when asked to describe a memorable patient she had treated when deployed to Tarin Kowt, the provincial capital of Oruzgan, Afghanistan, from December 2009 to March this year.

She was a member of the 13-man medical team deployed to a Dutch-led field hospital in Tarin Kowt, as part of Singapore's contribution to the multinational stabilisation and reconstruction efforts there.

The medical team provided emergency medical support, primary healthcare, pre- and post-operative medical care to ISAF personnel and Afghan locals at the field hospital. In total, the medical team attended to more than 2,500 patients and over a hundred emergency cases.

"We had to steel ourselves and clean up her wounds. However, after weeks of rest and plenty of strong antibiotics, this lady patient was able to move around by herself in crutches," added ME4 E Von. "It was heart-warming for the nurses to see her recover well."

In recognition of the contributions of Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) personnel such as ME4 E Von, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean presented the Overseas Service Medal (OSM) to 85 recipients at a ceremony on 19 May at Headquarters Medical Corps in Nee Soon Camp.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Teo commended the medal recipients on displaying professionalism and commitment in carrying out their missions. He also highlighted that Singapore's contributions to the wide range of overseas missions in support of multinational peace and security operations reflected the SAF's operational readiness, and underscored the broadening of activities the SAF now undertook to promote peace and stability in the region and beyond.

Mr Teo said, "While the SAF's primary mission must still be the defence of Singapore's sovereignty and territorial integrity, we remain committed to contributing to international security operations as these too can affect the vital interests of Singapore."

Among the recipients were 37 personnel deployed to Afghanistan, which included 17 members of a Weapon Locating Radar (WLR) team deployed for the first time in an overseas mission. The team operated from a Dutch-led base in Tarin Kowt, Oruzgan, from September 2009 to January this year. The WLR team provided early warning for rocket attacks and enhanced the force protection measures for the International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) personnel at the base.

The other medal recipients included a three-man Winter Deployment team which facilitated the delivery and distribution of humanitarian aid donated by the SAF in the Bamiyan province in Afghanistan from October 2009 to May 2010.

Although she was the also the first female SAF personnel deployed to Afghanistan, ME4 E Von credited her ability to accomplish the tasks assigned to the rigorous pre-deployment training and support from her colleagues that she received.

When asked about her biggest take-aways from her stint in Afghanistan, ME4 E Von said, "To be able to bring in the operational lessons which I had learnt to my role as an instructor here in the SAF Medical Corps. Also, I now better appreciate and understand how forces from other countries function."

The OSM was also awarded to 48 members of the Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 command team who supported the multinational counter-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden (GoA).

Led by Rear-Admiral Bernard Miranda from the Republic of Singapore Navy, the CTF 151 command team coordinated efforts to successfully thwart pirate attacks and implemented steps to ensure better interoperability and information exchange among the partner navies operating in the GoA.

Said Major (MAJ) Noel Chen, a future operations planner who was part of the CTF 151 command team, "We worked very well with our multinational counterparts in our efforts to stem piracy operations. The importance of maritime trade routes also mean that international counter-piracy efforts continue to remain relevant and necessary."

From 23 Feb to 4 Apr, the SAF-led CTF 151 further assumed the role of coordinator for the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) in the GoA, coordinating resources from across the multinational naval forces and independently-deployed navies to combat piracy in this operational area.

For the period of the SAF's tenure, the number of pirate attacks throughout the GoA and Somali basin dropped by 26 percent compared to the same period last year.

19 May 10 - 85 SAF Personnel Honoured for Contributions in Afghanistan and Gulf of Aden