SAF Recognises Its Best Units

For the first time, RSS Tenacious has won the Best Fleet Unit Award, given for excellence in naval warfare, at the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Best Unit Competition. Winners were announced on Monday (Jun 29), but the awards will be presented by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen at the SAF50 Parade on Wednesday.

RSS Tenacious was sent to the Gulf of Aden for more than three months last year on an anti-piracy mission. They said part of the challenge was in integrating individuals – some of whom were not Navy personnel – into an effective force.

RSS Tenacious on high alert. Red lights turn on, and personnel have to wear anti-flash gear in case explosions or sparks go off in the event of an attack. (Photo: Loke Koke Fai)

“Over there, we had to deal with bad seas, strong winds and high temperatures,” said RSS Tenacious’ Commanding Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel (LTC) Ho Jee Kien. “Because it’s in the Middle East, the temperatures there can go as high as 41 degrees, which meant we had to be very cautious about our operations and the safety of our people. Therefore we have to integrate them, work together as one, to ensure that those people who are not so accustomed to the frigate and our way of operation, became a part of us, and became family.

“Part of the crew came from outside of the Navy, so I think the first thing we had to do was to integrate everyone,” said Operations Officer 1, Major Xing Yongzhi. “We had to acclimatise them to life on board the frigate, and we had to step up training progressively in order to ensure that people functioned first as a component, then as a ship, and then as an entire task group level.”

The Best Combat Unit Award once again went to the 1st Commando Battalion. The award was its 29th since the competition started in 1969, and its 12th straight win.

On the bridge of the RSS Tenacious, CO LTC Ho Jee Kien seated rightmost. (Photo: Loke Kok Fai)

“The pressure is always going to be there,” said the batallion’s Commanding Officer, LTC Alvin Tjioe. “I think everybody, every soldier in the unit – commanders included – we have certain expectations about where the unit is going, and how we want the unit to turn out.

“But the real question is what do we do with this pressure. In the 1st Commando Battalion we turn this pressure into something positive. We want it to drive us, to continue to motivate us, to break new ground, and to really perform at a very high level. For us it’s all about consistency. Consistency in our performance, consistency in the effort that we place in what we do.”

LTC Tjioe said that maintaining these standards can be particularly challenging, as many in their ranks are National Servicemen, not seasoned career soldiers: “The world is constantly evolving – new threats are starting to emerge. So as an armed forces and especially as commandos, we need to be able to keep ourselves current, we need to be able to keep ourselves operationally ready at all times.”

According to Weapons Specialist, CFC Sanjieve Segaran, that can be as simple as following the commando values they have been taught – honour, discipline, daring, initiative, courage and esprit de corp.

“I think most importantly, it’s esprit de corp – doing it with your buddies, you just want to deliver the best and not accept any mediocre standards,” said CFC Sanjieve. “For any outfield missions, you know that when your buddy falls out, or is injured, we still have to carry on the mission. We have to leave no man behind. The whole detachment takes on the load – we carry our buddy along, fight the mission and finish it.”

And while they may not fly the latest in fighter technology, the pilots and ground crew of 144 Squadron managed to edge out the competition flying the F15 and F16 jets with their F5 fighters.

Men of 144 Squadron. (From left) Senthil Kumar Jayaraman, CPT Lim Yu He, LTC Tsai Hong Pin, CPT Muhammad Iskandar. (Photo: Loke Kok Fai)

Said their Commanding Officer LTC Tsai Hong Pin: “The aircraft ultimately is just a platform that the air crew or the pilots operate in. It’s the consistent performance of the people on the ground that enabled us to win the award. As long as we train the people well, enforce the standards, and make sure we take care of their professional development, I think these are also key factors.”

“Being in an operational squadron, we maintain a high level of readiness,” shared pilot and Intelligence Officer, Captain Muhammad Iskandar. “And in order to maintain this high level of readiness, each of our air crew has to make certain sacrifices in terms of time – leisure time, time with their family, friends. They’re most likely on duty over the weekend and public holidays.”

144 Squadron pilot CPT Lim Yu He doing a pre-flight inspection of the aircraft. (Photo: Loke Kok Fai)

“In order to ensure mission success, on top of all these sacrifices we make, we need to operate as a team,” he added. “Our ability to come together as one despite adversity is what makes us special. We’re able to understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses. We’re able to cover for each other, and ensure that we put our best foot forward in times of need. That is what makes us special.”

The squadron said it is also crucial to pay attention to routine and mundane activities like checks and logging.

On Monday evening, Dr Ng highlighted some of the winning units on his Facebook page and noted the addition of four new award categories. He said it will be a proud moment for the units when they are given their awards on SAF Day.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com