SAF Honours Its Best Units

Commandos from the Army's 1st Commando Battalion (1st Cdo Bn) undergoing a training exercise. 1st Cdo Bn has clinched the Best Combat Unit award for an unprecedented 30th time and for the 13th consecutive time.

The Army's 1st Commando Battalion (1st Cdo Bn), the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN)'s RSS Vigour and the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF)'s 140 Squadron (SQN) have clinched the Best Combat Unit, Best Fleet Unit and Best Fighter Squadron awards respectively in this year's Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Best Unit Competition. In total, 17 active and 11 National Service (NS) units are recognised for being the best in their respective formations. President Tony Tan Keng Yam and Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen will present the awards to the winners at the SAF Day Parade on 1 July 2016 at the SAFTI Military Institute.

For the 13th consecutive year, the Army's 1st Cdo Bn has garnered the top honours at the SAF's Best Combat Unit competition, chalking up an unprecedented 30 wins since the introduction of the competition in 1969. Trained to operate deep within enemy territory, the SAF Commandos are renowned for their proficiency in specialised operations such as airborne operations, reconnaissance and raid missions. The Commanding Officer (CO) of 1st Cdo Bn, Lieutenant-Colonel (LTC) Alvin Tjioe Jin Kiat, said, "1st Cdo Bn performed well over the past year and I attribute the success to being focused on a few key fundamentals and doing them really well. We emphasised on building soldier fitness, honing combat skills through challenging and realistic training like two-sided exercises, maintaining morale and discipline, and grooming strong leaders throughout the chain of command. With these cornerstones in place, 1st Cdo Bn was able to push new boundaries and pursue our desired standards."

The RSN's Victory-class Missile Corvette RSS Vigour has won the Best Fleet Unit award this year and is RSS Vigour's third award in total, having clinched the award previously in 2001 and 2002. The stalwart of the RSN fighting ships, the recently upgraded RSS Vigour demonstrated high operational readiness and excellent naval warfare competencies through its participation in numerous operations and exercises, such as Exercise CARAT with the United States Navy and Exercise Singsiam with the Royal Thai Navy. CO of RSS Vigour, LTC Wong Chng Tong, attributed the achievement to his crew's professionalism and strong sense of commitment towards their mission. LTC Wong said, "The officers and crew of Vigour have been committed in achieving our mission and have done very well in all our deployment this year to clinch the award. In particular, we successfully deployed the ScanEagle UAV concurrently with the Barak missile live firing. This is the first time this was done and we set new operational standards for the MCV."

This is the 13th time the RSAF's 140 SQN has won the Best Fighter Squadron award, which extends the squadron's lead as the fighter squadron with the most number of wins. 140 SQN last won the award in 2010. The squadron operates the F-16C/D multi-role fighter aircraft, which is armed with advanced avionics and modern weapon systems for carrying out a wide spectrum of air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. Besides maintaining a high state of operational readiness to defend Singapore's skies, 140 SQN also actively participates in several multilateral exercises such as Exercise Pitch Black with the Royal Australian Air Force and other international participants to sharpen its combat skills. Commenting on the squadron's success, CO of 140 SQN, LTC Tan Hwee Roy, said, "People are at the heart of everything we do. While we possess advanced weaponry and technology, what gives us the edge are the quality, commitment and teamwork of every airman and woman in 140 SQN. This year's win is a great reward for the effort that everyone has put into every aspect of their work."

The annual SAF Best Unit and Best NS Unit Competitions were introduced in 1969 and 1993 respectively to recognise units which have excelled in the areas of combat readiness, operational proficiency and administrative excellence. The units are assessed based on a rigorous and comprehensive evaluation process over the past year. The competitions also serve to enhance mission excellence, professionalism and camaraderie among servicemen in the SAF units.

More Resources

Fact Sheet: Winners of Best Unit Competition 2016

Crew of the RSN's Victory-class Missile Corvette RSS Vigour operating in the ship's Combat Information Centre. The RSS Vigour has won the Best Fleet Unit award this year having demonstrated high operational readiness and excellent naval warfare competencies.

The RSAF's 140 Squadron has won the Best Fighter Squadron award for the 13th time. The squadron operates the F-16C/D multi-role fighter aircraft, which is armed with advanced avionics and modern weapon systems for carrying out a wide spectrum of air-to-air and air-to-ground missions.