Minister of State for Education and Manpower Ms Gan Siow Huang inspected the 53rd Specialist Cadet Graduation Parade at Pasir Laba Camp this evening. A total of 795 graduands, comprising 656 from the Singapore Army, 34 from the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), 57 from the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) and 48 from the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS), graduated as Specialists and Military Experts of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).

Addressing the graduands at the parade, Ms Gan emphasised the importance honing and building capabilities to ensure a strong and credible SAF to defend Singapore from evolving security threats. She said, "New types of threats have grown in sophistication and scale. The SAF must meet evolving challenges, to safeguard Singapore against both conventional and unconventional security threats. Capabilities are being strengthened to deal with an expanded range of security threats. The establishment of the fourth SAF Service, the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS), is timely and necessary. The DIS will integrate the SAF's capabilities to defend against attacks in the digital domain, and dedicate efforts towards realising the full potential of digital technology."

Ms Gan also underlined the important roles the Specialists and Military Experts play as future leaders of the SAF. She said, "As the men and women under your charge will look to you for guidance and leadership, aim to be a role model for them, and anchor your actions to maintain high standards of operational readiness through rigorous training, remember to lead with empathy. Care for your people, and ensure that the necessary measures are in place to ensure their safety and well-being. By so doing, I am confident that you and your teams will achieve mission success and uphold training standards."

The graduation parade marked the completion of the Specialist Cadet Course for graduands from the Singapore Army, the RSN, the RSAF and the DIS, where they have trained under rigorous and realistic conditions to sharpen their respective vocation expertise. The newly graduated Specialists and Military Experts will go on to assume command, training and staff appointments in the SAF. Present at the parade were senior SAF officers, as well as families and friends of the graduands.