Senior Minister of State for Defence Zaqy Mohamad officiated at the 27th Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Senior Military Experts Appointment Ceremony at Temasek Club this evening. A total of 193 service personnel, comprising 17 from the Singapore Army, 31 from the Republic of Singapore Navy, 79 from the Republic of Singapore Air Force and 66 from the Digital and Intelligence Service were appointed as Senior Military Experts (MEs) during the ceremony. This is the largest cohort of Senior Military Experts to be appointed since the inauguration of the Military Experts Scheme (MDES) in 2010.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Zaqy highlighted the important role that MEs play in the development of new capabilities to overcome emerging threats and their primary responsibility to uphold the SAF’s credibility and readiness in defending Singapore. He said, “Recent conflicts have illustrated the importance of building competencies in key military domains, such as Cybersecurity, Digital, and Intelligence. To this end, our military experts play pivotal roles in the development of new capabilities to overcome emerging threats. Integrating advanced technologies into increasingly complex systems-of-systems requires deep expertise and engineering acumen. A strong core of engineers and system experts is crucial in maintaining and advancing the SAF’s warfighting capabilities.” 

Mr Zaqy also highlighted the important role that MEs play in enhancing the SAF’s operations through innovation. He said, “The drive to innovate and push boundaries has always been a key enabler for the SAF to overcome our constraints and achieve our mission outcomes. The deep expertise and specialised knowledge of our military experts are of paramount importance here. To tackle the challenges ahead, we must continue to strengthen our expertise core and scale the spirit of innovation.” 

The appointment ceremony marked the completion of the Military Domain Experts Course, which trained MEs to assume roles in the SAF where in-depth expertise in areas such as engineering, intelligence, military medicine and cybersecurity is required. The course developed and honed the Senior MEs’ leadership competency, military domain knowledge and specialised skills. The newly appointed Senior MEs will move on to assume leadership or staff appointments in their professional areas.

Also present at the ceremony was Chief of Defence Force Vice Admiral Aaron Beng, senior SAF officers as well as families and friends of the graduates.