SAF TO ROUND UP AFGHAN DEPLOYMENTS BY JUNE

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) will conclude all its deployments in Afghanistan by June this year, said Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen at the Overseas Service Medal (OSM) Presentation Ceremony held at Pasir Laba Camp on 8 Feb. This is because the primary mission of handing over the security of the area to the local Afghans has been accomplished.

During the ceremony at which 54 servicemen who had served in Afghanistan and Timor-Leste were presented with the medal, Dr Ng said that Singapore has played its part in the global fight against terrorism. Since 2007, the SAF has sent over 470 servicemen and women to Afghanistan to support the multinational reconstruction and stabilisation efforts in the region as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

Dr Ng said that the SAF's efforts, combined with those of the coalition forces, have enabled the local Afghan security forces to be more proficient and self-reliant. "The ANSF (Afghan National Security Forces) is therefore on track to take over full security responsibility for Afghanistan from the ISAF progressively. And this is what we want We want to help the local people regain back their country and run it themselves."

This June also marks six years of SAF operations in Afghanistan, one of its longest periods of overseas deployments. Describing these years as meaningful yet dangerous, Dr Ng said: "As Minister (for Defence), I recognised fully that we were sending our boys, our men and women in uniform into harm s way. I would receive regular reports about IEDs exploding, suicide bombings each report underscored the risks that existed every day for our soldiers there."

Dr Ng said that despite the risks, the SAF has done very well in preventing the export of terrorism from Afghanistan and preparing the Afghans for self-governance.

3rd Warrant Officer (3WO) Aloysius s/o Joseph was one of the servicemen who received his OSM at the ceremony. Part of a five-man team of Military Institutional Trainers (MIT) who partnered the Australian Defence Force (ADF) in Oruzgan, Afghanistan to train Afghan National Army (ANA) commanders to detect and identify IEDs, the 37-year-old learnt the basics of the local language so he could communicate more easily with the Afghan soldiers.

Over his five-month deployment from June to December last year, the combat engineer from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit of the 36th Battalion, Singapore Combat Engineers, conducted four such courses for close to 120 ANA commanders.

Describing his working relationship with the Australian forces as a smooth one, 3WO Aloysius said that his foreign partners were impressed with the SAF soldiers' professional and efficient work ethics and were confident to let the SAF take the lead in conducting the training. "They said 'We will be stepping aside because we know you have the knowledge to conduct the training,'" said 3WO Aloysius.

Another OSM recipient was Major (MAJ) Cai Dexian who was deployed for six months from April to October last year. He served as Executive Officer to the Director of Operations of the Kandahar region, which is located in southern Afghanistan.

In that appointment, he helped allocate resources to security and reconstruction operations that involved about 10,000 coalition and Afghan troops.

For his contributions, the 29-year-old was awarded the United States Bronze Star Medal. MAJ Cai was the first SAF soldier to be awarded the military accolade given out by the US military to individuals in recognition of their bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the US Armed Forces.

On receiving the award, MAJ Cai said: "I had a very large head-start as I had a lot of institutional knowledge from the SAF colleagues who had been there before me. That helped me add value to my work."

During the ceremony, Dr Ng also announced that the SAF had completed its contributions towards the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) with the completion of the UN mandate for that mission in December 2012.

MAJ Syariman Bin Elendrus, who served in Timor-Leste as an Operations Officer in the UNMIT HQ, had his wife to thank for being able to complete his 14-month stint with peace of mind as she single-handedly took care of their two young daughters.

"Without the support of my wife, things would have been much tougher. She's really independent! I was getting worried as I did not know if she still required me back home!" the 38-year-old said with a laugh.

Nine-year-old Syamayne Bte Syariman was certainly glad to have daddy back at home as this meant family time together could now resume. When asked what she thought her father did overseas, she said: "Create peace for the country."

The 54 medal recipients comprised:

• A 10-man team of MITs who trained the ANA at the Kabul Military Training Centre Artillery School.
• Two five-man teams of MITs who partnered the ADF in Oruzgan to train ANA commanders to detect and identify IEDs.
• Two six-man Imagery Analysis Teams who provided imagery interpretation and analysis support for multinational troops operating in Oruzgan.
• Two officers who were deployed in Timor-Leste at the UNMIT HQ.

Six years in Afghanistan

Singapore s contributions in Afghanistan in support of the multinational reconstruction and stabilisation efforts in the region first started in May 2007 with the deployment of a five-man dental team which set up a dental clinic and provided dental services to the local Afghan population.

Operating as part of the International Security Assistance Force, a 43-nation, 86,000-strong coalition mandated by the United Nations, the SAF went on to contribute expertise such as Construction Engineering Teams who oversaw the construction of infrastructure such as a regional health training centre and Imagery Analysis Teams which provided imagery interpretation and analysis support for multinational troops.

Click on the infographic below for an expanded view of key SAF deployments in Afghanistan.