SAF BRINGS AFGHAN OPS EXHIBITION TO HEARTLANDS

It is not every day you see military vehicles in the HDB heartlands, much less the desert-hued ones used by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in its Afghan operations. A travelling exhibition is currently making its first stop at the Toa Payoh HDB Hub.

There, Singaporeans will get to see a slice of the recently concluded SAF operations in Afghanistan. Besides trying on the desert fatigues donned by troops there, visitors can get up close with the Multi-purpose Tactical Vehicle and up-armoured transport vehicles used during the SAF's six-year mission in the war-torn country.

Some of the soldiers involved in those missions are also on hand to share their stories of operating in Afghanistan and how they worked around dangers such as rocket fire from insurgents. One such "ambassador" is Military Expert (ME) 3 Mazlan Bin Mohd Khalid.

"Everyone made a lot of sacrifices for this deployment," said the 45 year-old. For example, his loved ones had to cope with less family time and his unit had to release him for pre-deployment training. ME3 Mazlan was deployed in Afghanistan in 2008 for three months as part of a medical team to provide emergency treatment to soldiers and Afghan locals.

"It's a good thing that we have this exhibition now to show Singaporeans what we did there. It lets them have a taste of what we went through," he said.

One of the visitors, Donald Thaver, said: "It's very impressive. I'm proud of our boys. "The 69 year-old served in the SAF from 1961 to 1963 under then-Lieutenant Winston Choo, who later became the SAF's first Chief of Defence Force. "The SAF has really come a long way (from my time)."

Named "Supporting the Peace and Reconstruction of Afghanistan", the exhibition was officially launched by Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen on 10 Aug.

Besides sharing the SAF's experiences in Afghanistan with the public, the exhibition is also a way to give back to all the SAF personnel who were deployed, said Brigadier-General (BG) Desmond Tan, Chief Guards Officer. He is overseeing the organisation of the exhibition.

"We felt that it's a good time to inform the public that the SAF was in Afghanistan to stabilise the country and bring peace and aid to the Afghan people. It's also a form of recognition and gratitude to the people who were deployed," said BG Tan. He was deployed to Afghanistan in November 2009 to July 2010 and served as the National Contingent Commander overseeing the entire SAF operations there for the period.

The exhibition will remain at the Toa Payoh HDB Hub till 11 Aug, before travelling to Choa Chu Kang (7 to 8 Sep), Orchard Road (21 to 22 Sep) and Tampines (28 to 29 Sep). Thereafter, the exhibition will move to the Army Museum for public viewing till the end of 2013.