Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen presented the Overseas Service Medal (OSM) to 47 Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) personnel at a ceremony held at the Ministry of Defence this afternoon. This was in recognition of their contributions to the international counter-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden (GoA).

Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Dr Ng emphasised the need for Singapore and the international community to support international efforts in maintaining the safety and security of key sea lanes. Dr Ng said, “It is quite clear that this waterway is critical to all countries and that the sea lines of communication in the GoA remain free for navigation; and the international community needs to find effective and lasting solutions to counter piracy, which includes dealing with the problem at source in Somalia where the pirate ships spring from. In the interim, militaries from many countries have combined our efforts against piracy.” Dr Ng also commended the medal recipients for displaying high levels of commitment, professionalism and competence in carrying out their missions.

Reaffirming Singapore’s commitment to the international counter-piracy efforts in the GoA, Dr Ng also announced that the SAF has accepted an invitation to fill the post of Deputy Director of Operations in the 29-nation Combined Maritime Forces Headquarters which oversees Combined Task Force (CTF) 151.

The OSM recipients served in the command team of CTF 151 between March and June 2013. There were no successful hijacks in the GoA during their command tenure. This is the third time that Singapore has led CTF 151. The CTF 151 disrupts piracy in the GoA by conducting counter-piracy operations alongside naval forces from the European Union Naval Forces Somalia (EU NAVFOR), the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) as well as navies from other countries assigned to protect vessels operating in the GoA.

Guests present at the ceremony included family members of the medal recipients, Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General Ng Chee Meng, Chief of Navy Rear-Admiral Ng Chee Peng, Chief of Air Force Major-General Hoo Cher Mou, Director Military Intelligence/Chief Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence Rear-Admiral Joseph Leong, along with other senior officers from the SAF.