Speech by Minister for Defence Mr Chan Chun Sing at the Goh Keng Swee Command and Staff College Graduation Ceremony on 23 October 2025

Good evening to all of you.

I am going to say three things – three thank-yous, and three beyonds.

First, there are three groups of people I would like to thank.

First, I would like to thank all the foreign officers who have joined us in CSC – for your friendship, and for enriching the lessons and learning experiences of our Singapore graduates. Thank you very much for your participation, and we hope you remain friends of Singapore forever. Thank you.

Second, I would like to thank the family members who are here with us, and those who are not able to be with us today. To all the graduates, you will agree with me that without their love and support, you would not be here. They are also the reason you have worked so hard – not just for this course, but in defending our country. Thank you to all the spouses and family members for joining us here tonight.

Third, I would like to thank all the Directing Staff (DS) of CSC. Often, you are the ones who are neglected. I thank you because you are the ones who have inspired the next generation. Being a DS in CSC is not an easy task. It is not just about the transmission of knowledge that is important; it is even more important to transmit the values, ethos, and confidence that we have in the SAF, to overcome any obstacles and challenges that come our way. Thank you to Commandant and all the DS of CSC.  Thank you very much for your service.

In your moment of graduation, I would like to encourage you to think of the three beyonds. I hope that as you graduate, you will remember to think: beyond here, beyond now, and beyond me.  Let me explain.

Beyond here. The SAF, like any armed forces in the world, does not operate in a vacuum; we operate in context. And in today’s context, the world has become a more dangerous and difficult place, especially for small nations like Singapore. I have always said that Singapore would like to make a positive and constructive contribution to the global peace and security order. But in a world where there are sharp contestations among powers – big and small, in Singapore, and in the SAF – we have our work cut out for us.

In order for us to be relevant and value add to global peace and security, we will need to make sure that we understand deeply how the world is, rather than how we wish the world to be. We will need to spend time and effort to build relationships with the rest of the world, and to understand how the military must operate within context.

It is also beyond here, because in Singapore, the military operates as a whole of society. We operate in context, and we must rise to the occasion to meet the evolving challenges and evolving aspirations of our population.

When Singapore goes into operation, the entire nation goes into operation. It is not just about leading the SAF; it is about leading the entire country to overcome challenges and accomplish our mission. So today is not the end of your learning. Today is the start of your learning, or the continuation of your learning journey, to better understand the world, to understand the context that we operate in, so that we can find creative ways to build bridges and value add, even in a fragmenting world. That is our first task: to think beyond here.

Second, we need to think beyond now. It is very good that all of you have done well in CSC. But I would say that whatever CSC has taught you is what we know today and what we have learned from the blood, sweat and tears of generations of servicemen and women who came before us. What we have been able to achieve by learning from yesterday is no guarantee, and neither is it a success formula for tomorrow's challenges. Never answer yesterday's question with yesterday's answer. Never answer today's question with yesterday's answer. Our job in the SAF and MINDEF is to keep thinking ahead and make sure that we ask tomorrow's questions ahead of time, to find those answers ahead of time, before the threats and challenges emerge. That is why, as you graduate from CSC, you have to think beyond now.

Third, as you graduate from CSC and take on your Command and Staff responsibilities, you have to think beyond me. Let us never define success by how well we do for ourselves, or how well our unit does. Let us define success by asking ourselves, and challenging ourselves – whether we can unleash the potential of those whom we work with.

In Singapore, we pride ourselves, over generations, on defining success by not how well we do for ourselves in this generation, but by how well we enable the next generation to do even better than us. In the SAF, you will have the chance to lead men and women from across the entire spectrum of society. Our job is not just to lead those who are fittest or most willing; our job is to lead everyone, regardless of their background, and appreciate their diverse talents so that we can together, we can build the most effective team in service to our nation. 

If I may suggest, from my own command experience – if we put ourselves ahead of our unit, or the men and women we serve, we will not get very far. As usual, if we take care of the men and women who serve with us, they will take care of the mission - not just for today, but for the future. That is why, beyond CSC, we must never think about ourselves first.

Service in the SAF is a calling –a call to duty, and a call for us to reach higher. When we reach higher, we seek to uplift the people around us so that we can bring together the most effective team with the diverse talents across all walks of society. They may be servicemen and women with us; they may be civilians and international partners whom we have to work with. As Commanders of the SAF, we must always put the men and women before us, and the mission last. When we get the order right – taking care of the men and women, we will never fear that we will not accomplish the mission.

On this note, I congratulate all of you for successfully completing CSC. I wish you every success, and I look forward to working closely with you in the defence and service of our nation. 

Let us always remember, as you graduate today, to think beyond here, think beyond now, and think beyond me. If you can do this, we will be successful for many more years to come and we will have the chance to celebrate SG100 and beyond.

Thank you very much.

More Resources

289 Leaders Graduate from the Goh Keng Swee Command and Staff College