A total of 96 servicemen and women, comprising 20 from the Singapore Army, 21 from the Republic of Singapore Navy, 38 from the Republic of Singapore Air Force and 17 from the Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I) Community, were appointed as Senior Military Experts (MEs) today. In light of the COVID-19 situation, the graduands received their ceremonial swords and scrolls at decentralised ceremonies.

Addressing the graduands in a recorded video during the ceremonies, Senior Minister of State for Defence Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman commended the thousands of personnel from the SAF and wider defence community for answering the call of duty in the fight against COVID-19. He said, "Our Military Experts corps were at the heart of many of these efforts. The SAF Medical Corps, including our Military Medical Experts, deployed to provide primary healthcare services at dormitories and community care facilities. Engineers in the SAF also worked with the Defence Technology Community to design and deploy technological solutions, such as Mobile Swab Stations, which made it quicker and safer to carry out swabs."

Dr Maliki said that new and unexpected challenges will present themselves, and the SAF must adapt to the new post-COVID normal and remain effective against emerging threats from non-conventional domains. He said, "Senior Military Experts like yourself will be at the forefront of these changes. You will be asked to apply your expertise and professionalism across many different situations and challenges, to exercise leadership and judgment to move the organisation and our people along the correct trajectory…Military Experts like yourself must strive to develop better and sharper solutions in your respective domains, and in so doing, enhance the SAF's operational effectiveness and capabilities."

The appointment ceremonies marked the completion of the Military Domain Experts Course, which trains MEs to assume roles in the SAF where in-depth expertise in areas such as engineering, intelligence, military medicine and cybersecurity is required. The training conducted during the course developed and honed the MEs' leadership competency, military domain knowledge and specialised skills. The newly-appointed Senior MEs will move on to assume command or staff appointments in their professional areas.