NATIONAL DAY AWARDS FOR 646 PERSONNEL

In 2014, Military Expert (ME) 3 Sivaraja S/O Subramaniam received an urgent notice to help prepare the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) mine-countermeasure vessel RSS Kallang to join in the search and locate mission for the missing AirAsia flight QZ8501.

But the Chief of Auxiliary Systems from the Maritime Security Task Force took it in his stride, got the ship ready at short notice and even took time to allay the worries of his engineers.

The 44-year-old recalled: "The crew had a lot of unanswered questions - they had no idea what they were going to find or when they would return. So I talked to them and assured them that everything was going to be fine."

A single parent, ME3 Sivaraja believes in exposing his 16-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter to his job. He brings them to family days and open houses so that even when he was working late, his children will know that he was doing something meaningful for the country.

When asked if he wants his son to sign on, ME3 Sivaraja said: "The choice is up to him. But knowing that he will go through National Service (NS), learn the values of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and defend the nation, this is something that I'm really proud of."

For his dedication to duty and service, ME3 Sivaraja received the Efficiency Medal (Military) at the National Day Awards Investiture from Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen on 17 Nov. He joined 645 others from the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and the SAF who received National Day Awards this year.

Operationally Ready National Servicemen were also honoured with awards. One such recipient was Colonel (COL) (NS) Lim Jit Mee, who received the Long Service Medal (Military).

Fifteen years ago, COL (NS) Lim extended his NS to assist his friend, a Regular in the SAF, in setting up a new NS unit. He has not looked back since. In fact, he just extended again for another three years!

"I feel like I still have a lot more to give and share with my men," said the Deputy Commander of the Divisional Artillery in Headquarters Armour.

"When I see how my men can apply what they've learnt to actual situations, it gives me a sense of satisfaction and this makes me want to carry on."

The owner of paintbrush manufacturing company J I Trading & Manufacturing Pte Ltd is also an Honorary Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to the President and enjoys meeting people from all walks of life.

"Serving as an ADC is very interesting. Not only do I get to interact with other ADCs from the Home Team, I also meet heads of state, diplomats and grassroots people who make my role very meaningful and enjoyable," explained the 52-year-old father of three.

"This is also another reason why I choose to extend my NS cycle."

For Defence Executive Officer Loo Mui Lian, receiving the Commendation Medal was a huge honour. But what kept her in this job for almost 18 years was the sense of fulfilment she gets from helping people during socio-civic and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions.

In 2015, Ms Loo was deployed for Ops Surya Bhaskara Jaya where she assisted surgeons to perform surgeries for the Indonesian villages on board an RSN vessel.

"When the villagers left the ship, they kept on shaking our hands to thank us. Some of them even had tears in their eyes. That touched me a lot, 'cos I felt that our contribution actually goes a long way in changing their lives," recalled the Senior Medical Training Nursing Manager in Medical Training Section from the RSN's Medical Doctrine and Training Branch.

The 49-year-old is in charge of the medical training for both medical and non-medical personnel within the navy.

A total of 92 Commendation Medals, 119 Efficiency Medals and 448 Long Service Medals were given to both military and non-military personnel by Dr Ng and 2nd Minister for Defence Ong Ye Kung at the Ministry of Defence.

At an earlier National Day Awards ceremony officiated by President Halimah Yacob on 5 Nov, both Chief of Air Force Major-General Mervyn Tan Wei Ming and Chief of Staff - Joint Staff Brigadier-General Lim Tuang Liang were awarded the Public Administration Medal (Gold) (Military).