The 12th Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) and 5th ADMM-Plus were held in Singapore on the 19th and 20th October respectively. This is the second time that Singapore has chaired the ADMM, a meeting that serves as a key Ministerial-level platform in the regional security architecture, promoting strategic dialogue and practical cooperation between ASEAN and its partners. With the successful conclusion of another ADMM, let us not overlook the hardwork of our servicemen that made it possible!

As soon as the Defence Ministers and delegates arrived in Singapore, they were welcomed by the staff from the team involved in Airport Operations. Being a liaison officer from the Airport Operations Team, 3SG Aditya Ananda from 16th Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence Battalion (16 C4I Bn) was responsible for facilitating the arrival and departure of foreign delegations from their respective country's Ministries of Defence. "This involves coordinating with a multitude of other parties such as transport, immigration and airline staff, in order to get the delegation in and out of Singapore as efficiently as possible," he shared.

Explaining the focus of their planning process, 3SG Aditya noted that the main focus was to ensure that all knowledge of the procedures at arrival and departure points were standardised to make everything was as efficient as possible. "Personnel at every level are required to know such procedures so that in the event of any contingencies, we will be able to deal with the situation," he continued.

Recounting the planning process before ADMM, 3SG Aditya spoke of the meetings held with liaison officers, liaison managers and operation executives, where they run through every possible scenario that could occur during the facilitation of the delegations, hence allowing the team to plan for contingencies.

3SG Aditya Ananda, 16 C4I Bn

For LCP Muhammad Syu'aib Bin Yusoff from 1st Transport Battalion (1 TPT Bn), he was appointed as the Transport Desk Overall-in-Charge (OIC). "My role as a Transport Desk OIC is to ensure that my team and I are able to meet the dynamic demands of day-to-day transport operations. We also link up both the drivers and the delegates' officers, as well as relay information regarding the routes and drop-off locations of the VIPs to the drivers," he explained.

With Defence Ministers from the various ASEAN countries participating in this year's ADMM, it was no easy feat to coordinate the various transport arrangements to ensure a smooth flow of events. "One of the difficulties we experienced was the tracking of movements of the vehicles," expressed LCP Syu'aib. "The task was important as it allows us to account for the locations of the delegates and inform the teams at the destination for them to make preparations to receive the delegates." 

Due to the complexity of arranging transport for a large number of delegates, prior planning was required. "During our planning phase, we had briefings together with Airport Operations, Roving Team and Ops Room, allowing us to be familiarised with our roles and how they are interrelated," shared LCP Syu'aib. "We were then given a dry run, which gave us the opportunity to execute our plans and iron out any remaining details."

LCP Muhammad Syu'aib Bin Yusoff, 1 TPT Bn

The Transport Desk Team hard at work coordinating transport arrangements.

In the event of medical contingencies during ADMM, Our Army's medics are on standby to provide medical coverage to delegates, their family members and other staff members, from daily medical consultations to dealing with any form of medical emergency. 

CPT (DR) Kegan Lim from the Army Medical Services (AMS) shared about the preparation done in light of ADMM, as well as their standard operating procedures, saying "routine emergency drills are carried out daily within the medical post to prepare us for any medical emergency that might arise. In the event of an emergency, the Medical Team will be activated to move to the casualty site. Life-saving equipment and medicine will be carried along together with other medical assets, and immediate first aid will be rendered to the casualty. If the casualty's condition is deemed severe, this would warrant evacuation to the nearest tertiary hospital via ambulances on standby."

CPT (DR) Lim also spoke of how the medics' training back in their unit prepares them for ADMM. "Back in our unit's medical centres, familiarisation and emergency drills are carried out daily to equip our medics with life-saving knowledge and skills. Our medics are also deployed daily for medical coverage both within the medical centre and out in the field which make them more efficient and competent when dealing with medical emergencies."

CPT (DR) Kegan Lim, AMS

Our medics preparing equipment for usage in case of emergencies.

For LTA Syed Ahmad Alwi Bin Syed Abdullah from the 3rd Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment (3 SIR), his role as the Hosted Meals OIC was to ensure that all the multilateral meals hosted by Singapore run smoothly. "Initially, we had much to learn, although our previous experience from planning for the ASEAN Defence Senior Officials Meeting gave us a head start," he said. 

Being in charge of hosted meals, LTA Syed and his peers had to know at the tip of their fingers the events that would occur at a particular time. "The main concern was knowing where the ministers would come from and the location they would be heading to next. This helped ensure seamless transition of events for the ADMM to run smoothly and for the ministers and delegates to have the best experience."

LTA Syed Ahmad Alwi Bin Syed Abdullah, 3 SIR

The Singapore Army would like to thank our servicemen for their effort in planning and organising the 12th ADMM, and hope that all participants have had a meaningful and fruitful time in this year's iteration of ADMM.

Written by: PTE Teo Hao Yu
Photography by: REC Nicodemus Kee