Senior Commanders,

Graduates of the 20th SAF Senior Military Expert Course,

Ladies and gentlemen,

INTRODUCTION

It is my pleasure to be speaking with you today.

To the 86 newly appointed Senior Military Experts, congratulations on achieving a significant milestone. Today's ceremony marks the end of your training, and it heralds a new beginning. From this day on, you will be entrusted with the heavy responsibility of leading our men and women to maintain the SAF's edge across a wide range of domains, such as engineering, intelligence and cyber. I trust that you will discharge this responsibility with utmost dedication.

COVID-19 AND THE NEW NORMAL

2020 has been a tough year for Singapore and the world. Across the globe, many nations are still battling the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic. The human and economic costs of this disease have been staggering. We are thankful that the situation here in Singapore appears to be stable, but the fight is not over and we must not be complacent. The true test is whether we, as a country, can ultimately emerge from this crisis not only intact, but stronger.

The SAF and the wider defence community has played and will continue to play a crucial role in our nation's road to recovery and beyond, contributing in different ways to Singapore's fight against COVID-19.

Our Military Expert Corps has taken on central roles in many of these initiatives. The SAF engineers worked alongside their Defence Technology Community counterparts to develop technological solutions to combat the spread of COVID-19. Our servicemen and women were deployed in operational roles in support of Whole-of-Government efforts to contain the virus – some of them are amongst the graduates of the 20th SAF Military Domain Experts Course. For example, ME4 Chew Hwee Chin and ME4 Crystal Loh, among others, were deployed to assist in coordinating swab operations. We also have ME4 Jonathan Lim, who served in the Forward Assurance and Support Team (FAST) in the dormitories. In fact, not only did ME4 Lim volunteer to extend his deployment by a month, he also put his technical skills to good use by writing software that helped to automate some of the processes in the dormitories.

There were many other Military Experts who answered the call of duty, ensuring that the SAF's critical security operations could carry on without interruption despite the COVID-19 crisis. Their vigilance and professionalism meant that we could dedicate our time and resources to combating the pandemic with the assurance that our borders, both physical and digital, were being safeguarded.

Whether in supporting national efforts against COVID-19, or in keeping critical security operations going, our Military Experts and the rest of our men and women in the SAF have risen to the occasion. This resilience, tenacity and adaptability that they have displayed is testament to the quality of training in the SAF.

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing, other security threats have not diminished. The threat of terrorism is now endemic in many parts of the world; cyber-attacks have increased as more people and businesses are working from home; online disinformation, at times spread out of ignorance and at times out of malice, has sowed discord and undermined trust in many societies. Times of crisis such as these present opportunities for would-be aggressors to take advantage of the situation to do us harm. At the geopolitical level, the outlook for the region and the world remains uncertain. Undercurrents of tension and mistrust between countries can resurface. Hence, even as we continue to put our collective resources towards keeping COVID-19 at bay, the SAF must remain focused on its primary mission of defending Singapore. It is therefore important that milestone courses, such as this Military Domain Experts Course, can continue safely and without compromising the high training standards, so that we can generate new batches of officers, senior experts and specialists to take up the mantle of protecting Singapore.

MORE THAN A DECADE OF MDES, AND BEYOND

Since the introduction of the MDES scheme, our Military Experts have utilised their deep expertise across a wide range of domains to reinforce the SAF's defence capabilities.

Over the years, we have also recruited talented mid-career professionals who have enriched the SAF with their experiences. One such individual is ME4 Devaraj Chandramoorthi. His passion for military service drove him to make a career switch to join the SAF as a Senior Military Intelligence Expert even though he had completed his training at a law firm and passed his Bar examinations.

Others have joined us as Senior Military Experts under the Expertise Conversion Scheme. As an example, ME4 (NS) Chua Rong Yue was appointed a nursing officer in the 3rd Combat Support Hospital under this scheme, in recognition of his medical expertise. For ME4 Chandramoorthi, ME4 (NS) Chua, and many others like them, the opportunity to lend their expertise in service of defence of our country was a calling that they could not turn down.

CONCLUSION

The months and possibly years ahead will continue to be challenging, as the world grapples with the aftermath of COVID-19. The impact of the pandemic on our geopolitical and security environment will be long-lasting. In the face of this new context, together with an expanding range of security challenges, it is paramount that the SAF remain alert and nimble, so that it can respond not only to the threats of today, but also those of tomorrow.

As Senior Military Experts in your respective fields, you will be expected to lead and motivate those under your charge, doing your utmost to bring the SAF forward. I am confident that you will be able to thrive in your new roles and live up to the challenges ahead.

I would also like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation to the family members and loved ones of our graduates. Thank you for being their pillar of strength and support throughout their journey.

Once again, my heartiest congratulations to all the graduates of the 20th SAF Senior Military Expert Course. I wish you all the very best in your leadership journey ahead. Thank you.