Speech by Second Minister for Defence, Mr Chan Chun Sing, at the 7/14 SAF Senior Military Expert Appointment Ceremony

Good evening
Ladies and gentlemen,
Distinguished guests,
Families of all the graduates.

First of all, let me congratulate all of you. Before I commence, may I invite all the family members who are here with us tonight to stand. First and foremost, for all the people who are sitting down in uniform, may we remind ourselves that they are the reason we are here in uniform. They are also the reason for our success and our achievements. So, may we acknowledge all our families.

Please be seated.

Thank you to all of you (family members), because all of you are also part of the SAF. The SAF without your contribution and without your support will not be what we are today. Without your support behind the scenes, the men and women of the SAF would not be able to achieve what they have been able to do - not just for themselves and families - but for our country, for all these years.

Next, I would like to remind all the graduates today that you are not just a technical expert. Today is a milestone where you will continue your journey as part of the leadership of the SAF. The SAF has a strong and capable leadership corps, comprising of the Officer Corps, the Warrant Officer Corps and the Military Expert Corps. Each corps is important in your own ways to contribute to the overall capability of the SAF. You must never forget that you are part of this leadership corps.

Just a few moments ago, all of you received your swords and certificates of appointment from the Chief of Navy and myself. It is a symbol of your authority, it is also a symbol of your responsibility.

Since some years back, not just the Officer Corps and the Officer Cadets that are graduating received their swords, so too were the Military Experts 4, and the Senior Warrant Officers. This is a commitment and recognition by the SAF of their leadership potential, and we expect no less from you in the years ahead. Lead your men with conviction and with heart. Take care of them through thick and thin, in good times and in bad. There will be many challenges ahead of you, and we will never be able to know what will happen in the future. You may be called upon to undergo operations in which you have never been trained before. You must never fear, or shirk your responsibility to take care of your men to the best of your ability under your charge.

The final point that I would like to share with you tonight, and that is my main message, is that for all of you who are wearing uniform today, to neverstop trying new things, and to continue to innovate for your men and for your mission.

Let me start by sharing with you two stories.

Once upon a time, when I was a commander of a division responsible for urban operations, one day, in the middle of an exercise, I asked my fellow commanders, why were they not setting their exam questions in an urban environment? Why were all our training conducted in a non-urban environment when we know that in operations, we will have to do much of it in an urban environment? One junior commander told me, Sir, we can't conduct test in an urban environment because we did not have the answers to the questions that we would set. I was disappointed because we don't need to find the answers to the questions that we already know. The doctrine of today is written by the blood, sweat and tears of the people before us. They were suitable for the last operation; they served as a guide for the future operations, but they were not the guarantee of success for the future operations. In order for us to be successful, we have to keep innovating and to be ready for the next operation, and not the last.

On a more positive note, let me share with you the second story of how our people performed in Operations Blue Ridge, our operations in Afghanistan. When we deployed our radar system there some years back, the suppliers told us that the usual lifespan, with the usual set of spares, will last no more than one year in any normal environment. They were not sure of the operating parameters of the radar in a harsh desert environment in Afghanistan. After nine months of continuous operations, we received notice that we would have to extend the operations by another three months. It was beyond the capability expected of the radar system. But our people, many of them are military experts, did not shy away from this and did not come back to tell us that it cannot be done because that was not what the suppliers had built this system for. Instead, in the deserts of Afghanistan, they tried, they innovated, they created new solutions to the problems that they found. They overcame it, they extended the operation lifespan of the radar by another three months, beyond the expectations of what the suppliers had planned for. And just before they were about to complete the operations, they were once again called upon to further extend their mission in-theatre. Once again, none of them flinched, none of them were afraid, and they continued to innovate and make sure that the machine was ready for the mission.

This is the kind of spirit that we expect from our commanders; this is the kind of spirit we expect from our leaders. While we may not have been trained for certain operations, while the system may not have been designed to fulfil the operational specifications of the operations, we will never shy away from innovating. We will always continue to innovate to make sure that the SAF is ready for the next mission and not just the last. If we continue to maintain this spirit within the SAF and have this deep in our DNA in the SAF, I have every confidence that the SAF will rise to the occasion year after year, mission after mission, and surprise everyone and exceed the expectations that we have upon us.

So I call upon you all, as leaders of the SAF, to continue to innovate, to never let the unknown challenges stop us, but to always pleasantly surprise everyone watching us, that we will surpass the mission. For all those people who have supported us all these years, and for all the family members who are here, we will never fail them in our mission.

Thank you very much.