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Home > Journals > 2008 > Vol. 34 No. 1 > Commitment to Defence: Preparing Our People for a First Class Air Force
Commitment to Defence: Preparing Our People for a First Class Air Force
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by LTC Chang Kim Sai, MAJ Ian Tan & CPT Anandan Mugam

"Transformation, even with its strong technological focus, does not displace the man at the heart of warfare; hardware can never substitute for heartware. Motivating soldiers to serve and fight in the defence of our nation is always a particular leadership challenge."

Minister for Defence,
Mr Teo Chee Hean, at the 6th National Service Command and Staff Course Graduation Ceremony, 10 Nov 05

The 3rd Generation RSAF and the 3rd Generation Airman

The 3rd Generation (Gen) RSAF is envisioned to be an Air Force characterised by its integrated-ness1 with the other Services, as well as by its ability to conduct the full spectrum of operations from peace to war. However, to achieve the successful transformation into a 3rd Gen RSAF, there is a parallel need to develop the 3rd Gen Airman, as it is the people that make any organisation. The RSAF's People Development framework, under the ambit of CARDINAL, has been built around this fundamental aim. Through CARDINAL, the RSAF aims to nurture and cultivate, in all airmen, the three 'C's of Competency, Core Values and Commitment. With these aims in mind, the RSAF's initiatives have been categorised into the three key thrusts of 'Developing Professionals', 'Realising Potential' and 'Engaging the Heart'. It is notable that the RSAF's People Development efforts are progressing in line with the wider SAF's aims of nurturing First Class People in a World Class Organisation and engaging our People towards stronger commitment and greater excellence.

With the key thrusts of 'Developing Professionals' and 'Realising Potential', the RSAF will develop a 3rd Gen Airman who is steeped in vocational skills. Moving forward to the 3rd Gen RSAF, he will continue to display the depth in knowledge and vocation-specific skills that he acquires as part of his training and education. This will allow him to meet the challenges and complexities of the operational environment of the future. However, this is not all. The 3rd Gen Airman will be versatile enough to understand and appreciate operational considerations and the language spoken by his counterparts in the Army and the Navy. He will have an understanding that extends beyond his own vocational domain, allowing him to bridge existing gaps between operations, logistics and manpower, for instance. At the same time, he will be sensitive to broader political considerations and strategic imperatives. To achieve this desired end-state, initiatives have been put in place (and are well under way) to equip the airman with the requisite competencies, skills and core values.

To develop the 3rd Generation Airman, it is imperative to cultivate and inspire every single airman to be committed to the RSAF, to be part of the team and to be willing to go the extra mile to help the organisation succeed.
However, the RSAF's efforts will not stop there. Having the right Competencies and being grounded in the Core Values will only amount to having 'World Class People'. These 'World Class People' have to come together as a team, with a sense of common purpose and commitment, to create a 'First Class Air Force'. This is where 'Engaging the Heart' comes into play. To develop the 3rd Gen Airman for the 3rd Gen RSAF, it is imperative to cultivate and inspire each and every single airman to be committed to the RSAF, to be part of the team and to be willing to go the extra mile to help the organisation succeed. In fact, looking at the 3 'C's, Commitment is arguably the most important 'C' that the RSAF must cultivate. It is important to note here that being committed to defence is distinct from being committed to the organisation - an airman can still be committed to the notion of defending the nation without necessarily possessing commitment towards the organisation. CARDINAL (and this essay) will focus on nurturing what Porter et all term as Organisational Commitment, that is, "the acceptance of the goals and values of the organisation, a willingness to exert considerable effort on behalf of the organisation and a desire to maintain membership in the organisation".2

The motives of this essay are two-pronged. Firstly, it will discuss three avenues through which commitment can be fostered in an airman - Creating a Positive Experience, Fostering Two-way Communication and Strengthening Team Spirit. Secondly, the essay will propose that the success of the RSAF's People Development initiatives depends very much on the efforts of the RSAF's Commanders, i.e. 'middle-echelon' officers such as Squadron Commanders and Branch Heads. These officers, in their day-to-day interaction with their subordinates, represent the very 'face' of the organisation. Hence, they play a significant role in inspiring the kind of commitment that is desired in the 3rd Gen Airman.

Commitment in the Military Context

Before proceeding further, it is important to make a mention of existing literature on the concept of Commitment in the military context. Given the intangible nature of Commitment, it is not surprising that conclusive academic research has been limited. Available research though, has cited beliefs, values, organisational knowledge, need for affiliation, experience, perceptions of superiors' behaviour, duration of service, prevailing economic conditions, strategic vulnerability, level of domestic and regional stability, conscription and workplace environment as factors that influence an airman's level of commitment. Also, given the complexity in measuring empirically the level of a serviceman's commitment, it is equally difficult to devise plausible means to increase that commitment to a desirable level. Despite this, the SAF has invested substantial resources to study this issue. MINDEF's Applied Behavioural Sciences Department (ABSD) helps the organisation to gain an understanding of the commitment of servicemen. Recent studies conducted by ABSD point to some interesting and enlightening conclusions. For example, one study3 examined the concept of 'Organisational Enculturation?', which refers to the processes by which an organisation inducts newcomers to align their beliefs and values with its own. From the perspective of the individual airman, it refers to the processes in which newcomers acquire cultural knowledge, make sense of that knowledge and internalise (or reject) the organisational beliefs and values as part of their self-concept. Another study4 has revealed that servicemen who reported having positive experiences and having superiors who engaged in pro-organisational behaviour, showed an increase in their collectivism. Furthermore, there was a significant overall decrease in the recruits' individualistic beliefs and values. This bodes well for the RSAF's efforts to foster commitment in the airman.

Fostering Commitment by Engaging the Heart

Creating a Positive Experience

This essay suggests that an airman's level of commitment is very much influenced by his experience in the workplace.5 A positive experience entails providing work that is meaningful enough for the airman to develop what Allen and Meyer refer to as 'Affective Commitment', which refers to 'an identification with, an involvement in and a emotional attachment to the organisation'.6 It may seem a given that an organisation needs to create a positive and meaningful work experience if it is to foster commitment in its people. However, this is not so straight-forward in the military context. To foster commitment, the RSAF must help the airman understand the importance of his role, adjust to the requirements and rigours of military life, place the right airman into the right job, and develop and motivate him. The very nature of military duty entails hard work, varying work environments and sacrifice. However, if an airman is to be focused on his tasks and contribute to the success of the RSAF's mission, it is imperative that the organisation creates a work experience that he finds meaningful.7 The essay suggests that one way of creating meaningful work is to increase the airman's confidence, esteem and conviction to want and dare to do things and take on challenges.8 The airman must feel motivated enough for him to want to influence his immediate environment. This can be brought about by focusing on the non-vocational aspects of an airman's development, beyond his vocational skills. With regards to this, the RSAF has put in place initiatives to create differentiated development strategies for each individual, taking into account his strengths, needs and areas for improvement.

Fostering Two-way Communication

Communicating with subordinates is perhaps one of the most important (and most difficult) tasks of a Commander. However, by fostering open Two-way communication and feedback, a commander can engage an airman's intellect and emotion and foster commitment in the process.9 An airman will feel motivated (and committed) to an organisation if he knows and believes that his superiors are trying their best to look out for his best interests. To achieve this, basic yet important methods of engagement such as Commander/CO dialogue sessions, Commander's visits at the workplace and regular interviews, will be further reinforced under CARDINAL. Going further, the RSAF will explore means to use these sound ideas more effectively to listen to what the airman wants and to show him that his Commanders are sincerely concerned about his needs, welfare and aspirations. This has become extremely important because as argued by T. Wyatt and R. Gal, "[with] youth becoming better educated and more sophisticated, [they] are no longer going to see themselves as compliantly executing orders. They will examine carefully the sources of the military legitimation before furnishing the unconditional commitment that is the backbone of the military fighting spirit".10

Moving forward, the 3rd Generation RSAF will also need to foster greater camaraderie between the Services; whereby the airman is not only committed to the Air Force, but to the SAF and his fellow airmen too.
Strengthening Team Spirit

This essay posits that by strengthening team spirit, an organisation can foster 'Normative Commitment', which refers to commitment based on a sense of obligation to the members of the organisation.11 In the 1st and 2nd Gen RSAF, the organisation successfully developed 'Team Excellence' as a necessary condition (and Core Values) to meet mission demands. During this period, a culture of interaction and mutual understanding between different vocations was forged. Moving forward to the 3rd Gen RSAF, not only will it be important to continue building 'Team Excellence' amongst the various vocations, the RSAF will also need to foster greater camaraderie between the Services. Ultimately, the RSAF aims to create the kind of environment whereby the airman is not only committed to the missions of the Air Force but is 'normatively committed' to the SAF and his fellow airmen too. The Commander's role in strengthening Team Spirit will be discussed in greater detail in the next section.

The Role of Commanders

The RSAF's Commanders (as Squadron Commanders, Branch Heads and the like) have in their capacity, several attributes and strengths through which they can determine the success (or failure) of the RSAF's People Development efforts.12 In fact, this section of the organisational hierarchy is probably the best equipped to achieve this difficult yet necessary task.

Firstly, Commanders have the advantage of 'visibility'. Commanders, through their daily personal interaction with their subordinates, represent the very 'face' of the RSAF. They must optimise this valuable exposure to promote, explain and implement the RSAF's People Development efforts to inspire the kind of commitment that is desired (and required) in the 3rd Gen Airman. Starting from the unit as a whole, moving down to teams of airmen and further down to each individual, Commanders are in the best position to establish means of constant dialogue to explain and clarify key policies, to address concerns, to understand motivations and expectations and even to seek consultation and solicit ideas. No system or policy is perfect and Commanders, with their knowledge and experience, are best able to explain and clarify organisational rationale and constraints to their airmen. Ultimately, in spite of the RSAF's high operational tempo, Commanders should take advantage of the 'personal' time they have with their airmen, to communicate, to get into their personal lives, to show them that the RSAF cares for them and to convince the airman that his commitment plays a huge part in determining the success of the RSAF.

It is important for Commanders to impress upon their airmen the importance of 'Team Excellence' and how the success of the RSAF depends largely on airmen functioning well in their teams.
Secondly, a Commander's motivational abilities and knowledge of his airmen are crucial in strengthening team spirit. Commanders play a very large role in fostering esprit de corps within the unit, such that each airman will feel that he belongs to a cohesive team with a common sense of purpose and belonging.13 The RSAF's People Development framework proposes measures through which Commanders can foster bonding not only between airmen but across the various levels of the unit hierarchy. As stated by D. Henderson, "common attitudes, values and beliefs among soldiers in a unit can promote individual commitment to the unit, its leaders and the mission of the unit".14 It is important for Commanders to impress upon their airmen the importance of 'Team Excellence' and how the success of the RSAF depends largely on airmen functioning well in their teams.

Thirdly, Commanders are endowed with vast resources. They can reinforce existing measures, such as induction programmes for newly posted-in personnel, Unit Cohesion Days and team-building activities to galvanise their airmen and inspire confidence and commitment. In addition to that, they are accorded the necessary mandate and authority to use their creativity and discretion to formulate strategies that will foster commitment in their subordinates.

At this juncture, it is important to note that the RSAF's leaders have been fostering commitment in their airmen since the inception of the Air Force. What has changed now is that the RSAF's People Development framework provides a systematic and robust structure to aid Commanders in their efforts. However, even with the framework, it is important for Commanders to seek greater effectiveness and efficiency in operations and administrations simultaneously. The main challenge when transforming into the 3rd Gen RSAF, will be ensuring that operational readiness is not compromised. To this end, the organisation has streamlined existing procedures and processes to create the capacity to undertake expanded operational demands as well as pushing forward with the transformation. The RSAF's Commanders play the most important role in creating this capacity.

Conclusion

The fundamental building block of any partnership is the appreciation and achievement of mutually shared goals and priorities. For the RSAF to transform into a 3rd Gen RSAF, committed airmen are the key. Over the years, the RSAF has taken extensive efforts to engage its airmen. The new People Development framework will provide the robust structure that would tie all these efforts together. However, to be truly successful in reaching out to our airmen, matters of the heart cannot be the responsibility of a few departments within MINDEF/SAF. The RSAF's Commanders will play the most important role in strengthening commitment.

Endnotes

1 The 3rd Gen RSAF is envisioned to be an Integrated Force that will decisively influence the land and maritime domains. Please see the article, "Building an Integrated Force", for further details.
2 R. Mowday, R. Steers and L. Porter, "The Measurement of Organisational Commitment", Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 14, 1979, pp224-247.
3 Charissa Tan, MAJ Lim Beng Chong and LTC Star Soh, "Understanding Attitudes Towards National Defence and Military Service in Singapore", Applied Behavioural Sciences Department, MINDEF, Singapore, 2003.
4 LTC Star Soh, "Applications of Psychology in HR and Training in a Conscript Army", Applied Behavioural Sciences Department, MINDEF, Singapore.
5 L. Hrebiniak and J. Alutto, "Personal and Role-related Factors in the Development of Organisational Commitment", Administrative Science Quarterly, 17, 1972, pp555-572.
6 N. Allen and J. Meyer, "Affective, Continuance and Normative Commitment to the Organisation: An Examination of Construct Validity", Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 49, Academic Press, 1996, pp252-276.
7 L. Porter, R. Steers, R. Mowday and P. Boulian, "Organisational Commitment, Job Satisfaction and Turnover among Psychiatric Technicians", Journal of Applied Psychology, 59I, pp603-609.
8 J. Hackman and G. Oldham, "Motivation Through the Design of Work: Test of a Theory", Organisational Behaviour and Human Performance, 16, 1976, pp250-297.
9 R. Steers, "Antecedents and Outcomes of Organisational Commitment", Administrative Science Quarterly, 22, 1977, pp46-56.
10 T. C. Wyatt and R. Gal, Legitimacy and Commitment in the Military (Greenwood Press, USA, 1990), px.
11 N. Allen and J. Meyer, "Affective, Continuance and Normative Commitment to the Organisation: An Examination of Construct Validity", Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 49, (Academic Press, 1996), pp252-276.
12 R. Liden, R. Sparrowe and S. Wayne, in G. Ferris (Ed.), "Leader-Member Exchange Theory: The Past and Potential for the Future", Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, pp47-119, (Greenwich, JAI Press, 1997).
13 G. Salancik, in B. Staw and G. Salancik (Eds.), "Commitment and the Control of Organisational Behaviour and Belief", New Directions in Organisational Behaviour, pp1-47, (Chicago, St. Clair Press, 1977).
14 D. Henderson, "Commitment and Obedience in the Military: An Israeli Case Study", Armed Forces and Society no. 11, 1985.

LTC Chang Kim Sai is currently a Branch Head in Air Operations Department. A Weapon Systems Officer (ADA) by training, he was formerly the Commanding Officer of 18 Divisional Air Defence Artillery Battalion and a Staff Officer in Air Plans Department. LTC Chang is a recipient of the SAF Merit Scholarship and he holds a Master of Engineering (Honours) in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from University College London, U.K.
MAJ Ian Tan is currently an Officer Commanding in 112 Squadron. A Pilot by training, he was formerly a Staff Officer in Air Plans Department and a Squadron Pilot in 121 Squadron. MAJ Tan is a recipient of the SAF Merit Scholarship and he holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from University of Michigan, U.S.A.
CPT Anandan Mugam is currently the RSAF History Researcher/Writer in Air Manpower Department. A Weapon Systems Officer (C3) by training, he is a graduate of the Australian Defence Force Academy and was formerly a Controller in HQ Air Force Operations Group. CPT Anandan is a recipient of the SAF Military Training Award and he holds a Bachelor of Arts (Second Class Upper Honours) in Economics from University of New South Wales, Australia.
Last updated on 17 Jun 2008
 
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