AIR POWER STARTS WITH US

That was the message plastered across every banner at the Air Power Generation Command's (APGC's) first anniversary celebrations on 26 Feb at the Marina Barrage.

APGC is one of the five new functional Commands that make up the restructured Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF). Inaugurated last year, APGC was set up to ensure the quick and continuous turnaround of all RSAF aircraft.

With the new Command structure, all four air bases which previously operated individually - Changi, Paya Lebar, Sembawang and Tengah - were brought under the control of APGC to tighten coordination, prioritise their launch of aircraft and fulfil their missions with increased efficiency.

On the Command's achievements in the past year, COL Tan Kah Han, Commander APGC, noted: "APGC has synergised the four bases together and I am able to divert resources to where they are necessary. The Command has done a lot and I think this is significant for the Air Force because we have been wanting to do this (develop a more centralised command) for quite some time."

"It is not just about the cohesion that it offers. It is bringing all the functionalities and air bases together. The Command can use Tengah's resources to support Changi if necessary" he explained.

APGC's success was evident when it conducted the Alternate Runway Exercise on 30 Nov last year. Within 48 hours, it had transformed Lim Chu Kang Road into a runway for F-16 and F-5 fighter jets and an E2C early warning aircraft to take off and land on.

The exercise involved close coordination with several air force units like the Field Defence Squadron which helped to secure the exercise area, and the Flying Support Squadron which acted as as a coordinating body as it watched over the exercise from the Mobile Air Traffic Control tower.

Said COL Tan: "I think the Alternate Runway Exercise was a success because we were able to work as one. It was not an air base to air base effort, but an APGC effort."

"The ability to gel all our people together, the ability to bring the engineers, air traffic controllers and force protection people together and move them to think as one has probably been one of our most significant achievements in the last year," declared COL Tan.


Above all else, APGC has instilled in its people a shared vision and a common goal. Instead of disparate elements making up part of the Air Force, they are now one united people under the umbrella that is APGC.

As part of their anniversary celebrations, 2,400 APGC personnel at the event blew hard into their kazoos (device that modifies the sound of a person's voice by way of a vibrating membrane) simultaneously, and made it into the Singapore Book of Records.

"I see APGC growing from strength to strength, for the simple fact that we have people, regulars, Full-time National Servicemen and Operationally Ready National Servicemen, who are fervently dedicated to our cause," concluded COL Tan.