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DAY ONE AND THE FIRST SIX WEEKS
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SEVEN
The demonstrations went off well and the Instructors gave a good account of themselves as
they charged uphill, shooting live rounds. There was a tea break before the official opening
ceremony in the Institute Auditorium which also doubled as the company auditorium in
SAFTI, and was air-conditioned. The key personnel of SAFTI, the Instructors and trainees
had already assembled there. The programme was kept simple. All the guests were seated on a
raised stage at the front of the auditorium. On the wall above their heads hung a Singapore flag
and rolled up next to it was the newly created SAFTI banner. Director, SAFTI’s introductory
remarks were a summary of the steps taken to set up SAFTI, covering the hard work of the
PWD, the selection and training of the Instructors and the selection and distribution of the
first intake of recruits. He gave due credit to the staff of MID and warmly acknowledged
the sacrifices all had put in. He then ushered Dr. Goh to the lectern. It was clear that Dr.
Goh had done some serious research in the characteristics of armed forces historically and in
current times. He talked about those in Europe, without naming them, in medieval times that
had descended to hilarious ritual battles instead of actual combat. He referred to the period
before the warring states in China when chivalrous warlords would not allow their generals to
engage opponents at their most vulnerable, but wait for them to be fully prepared. Alarmingly,
for the new recruits, he recounted how all male Spartans were automatically enrolled in the
regular army and slaves were responsible for economic activity. The alarming part was when
he said that the coming-of-age ritual for a Spartan male was a public flogging and to be put
to death if he showed the slightest anguish. To the recruits’ relief, he rejected all these models
and talked of tough training and intelligent generalship as the preferred hallmark of the SAF.
Director, SAFTI then moved to the floor of the auditorium and Dr. Goh joined him. Captain
R. Ramachandra, Adjutant, SAFTI, marched up to Dr. Goh, saluted and handed him a pair of
the newly designed SAFTI formation sign, saluted again and stepped aside. Director, SAFTI
removed his existing formation signs depicting the crescent and five stars used by the SMF
and MID from his sleeves and handed them over to Captain Ramachandra. Dr. Goh then
pinned on the sleeves of Director, SAFTI the crossed torch and scimitar device that all service
personnel posted to SAFTI would be required to wear henceforth. The rolled up banner of the
first SAFTI flag was unfurled on the auditorium wall behind the guests on the stage. It depicted
the SAFTI crest in colour, which comprised the crossed torch and scimitar framed by two
laurels and a scroll emblazoned with the acronym SAFTI. Dr. Goh then proceeded to unveil
the plaque commemorating his official opening of the institute. And so, SAFTI was born.
Director, SAFTI then invited Mr. Lee to the lectern to address the audience. His off-the-cuff
speech was brief and to the point. He acknowledged that his presence had been unplanned but
that he was pleased to be present at such a historic occasion. He had wanted to see for himself
how things were going in SAFTI. What mainly motivated his visit seemed to have been reports
on the lack of resolution by recruits. Mr. Lee had been apprised of the agitated responses
of the recruits to their initiation into military life and the larger than expected numbers who
wanted to back out of the programme. He addressed this obliquely when he mapped out
the demands of the profession and the importance the Government placed on Singapore’s