SAF ANNOUNCES GOLDEN JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) is turning 50, and it's pulling out all the stops to make this the most memorable birthday celebration.

And what better place to unveil the SAF50 celebration plans than at Dempsey Hill, former home of the Central Manpower Base?

During a media event held on 22 Jan at Unplugged The Live Music Room, Colonel (COL) Roland Ng, Director, Nexus and SAF50 co-secretariat, unveiled the SAF50 tagline - "Our SAF : Giving Strength to Our Nation".

The tagline was created after extensive consultation with Ministry of Defence and SAF personnel, pioneers, National Servicemen and Full-time National Servicemen and their families, as well as the larger Singaporean public.

"One consistent theme that came up (during the consultation) was 'strength' - the SAF derives strength from the support of our people. And at the same time, the SAF also gives strength to the nation to provide for its security and stability," said COL Ng.

An activity-packed year

Kicking off the year-long festivities is SAF50@Vivo, a large-scale event held at VivoCity from 12 to 15 Feb. There, Defence Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen will officially launch the SAF50 celebrations on 12 Feb.

Describing the event as a combined open house, Military Expert (ME) 7 Andy Tay, Commander Naval Logistics Command and Co-Chairman of SAF50@Vivo, said: "This time around, we are having a tri-service event. The Navy, together with the Army and Air Force, will be bringing our military assets and capabilities to VivoCity."

Visitors can look forward to getting up close to military hardware such as the Super Puma helicopter, the Heron unmanned aerial vehicle, the Protector unmanned surface vessel and the SPYDER air defence system. They can also try their hand at some of the simulators, such as learning to fly an F-16 aircraft or shooting targets with naval gunnery.

And of course, there is the perennial favourite - the Navy ship visit. This year, Landing Ship Tank (LST) RSS Endurance, one of the Navy's largest ships, will be docked at the VivoCity Promenade. About 25,000 tickets will be available for public balloting, and ship visitors will also have the chance to ride on a Fast Craft Utility launched from the well-dock of the LST.

Members of the public can ballot for the LST visit tickets on the Republic of Singapore Navy Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/singaporenavy) from 16 Jan.

According to ME7 Tay, SAF50@Vivo will feature many firsts for visitors, including a peek at the rarely-seen naval submarines. Visitors will be able to climb on board a scaled replica of the latest Archer-class submarine's conning tower, and take a look at a life-sized model of the heavy-weight torpedo fired by the submarines.

"This is the first time that some parts of the Singapore Navy submarine capability will be shown to the public," said ME7 Tay.

Our SAF story

One of the highlights of SAF50@Vivo is the SAF50 exhibition, an interactive and experiential display that will showcase the real-life stories of the men and women who have contributed to Singapore's defence over the last 50 years.

COL Ng expressed his hopes that the stories will touch Singaporeans, both in and out of the uniform: "First, we hope that the stories will help (people) understand the SAF better, because these stories provide a perspective of the SAF that has never been presented before.

"Second, through SAF50, we (wish to) show our appreciation to the pioneers for laying down the foundation of the SAF. We also hope that the current generation of servicemen feel appreciated and motivated to continue contributing towards building a strong SAF.

"Finally, we hope that Singaporeans, through understanding the SAF better, understand that they themselves contribute to building a strong SAF and will continue to provide their support."

Other SAF50 activities include a roving exhibition that will travel to various locations across the island from February to August, as well as a "Thank You" card movement where the public can write messages to SAF servicemen and women.

For more information on SAF50, visit www.SAF50years.sg.