SAF TO AWARD FIVE OVERSEAS SCHOLARSHIPS

Being a soldier has always been the childhood dream of Officer Cadet (OCT) Seah Jun Hao. He now has the opportunity to live his dream as both an Army officer and a Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship (SAFOS) scholar.

OCT Seah, who will be heading to the Imperial College London to read Aeronautics, was one of the five recipients of this year's SAFOS. Through his service as an SAF officer, OCT Seah aims to nurture more leaders and make a difference to people's lives.

"I want to instill in my men a positive attitude that will allow them to go far in their life journey even beyond National Service," he said.

The other four recipients of this year's SAFOS were: OCT Joshua Goh Koon Leong, OCT Sharon Tan Xin Hui and OCT Tay Jian Hua from the Army; and Midshipman (MID) Soh Kah Loke from the Republic of Singapore Navy.

The SAFOS is awarded annually to outstanding service personnel who have excelled in their studies and co-curricular activities, and performed well in the officer cadet course.

Second in prestige only to the President's Scholarship, it was started in 1971 by then Minister for Defence Dr Goh Keng Swee. Former SAFOS scholars include Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean.

When asked how he plans to contribute to the SAF during his military career, OCT Goh told cyberpioneer: "I want to inspire my men to feel a commitment to defence and love for Singapore."

MID Soh shared OCT Goh's ambition: "I want to be a motivational leader and remind the people under my command what they are truly defending, and help to keep the fire in them burning."

These five scholars will be receiving their certificates of award and ceremonial swords from Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean at a ceremony to be be held at the Istana on 17 Aug.