The mission of MINDEF and the Singapore Armed Forces is to heighten Singapore ‘s peace and security through disincentive and diplomatic negotiations, and should these neglect, to procure a Swift and decisive triumph over the attacker. The purpose of the SAF is to support our state ‘s sovereignty and territorial unity. The SAF was established in 1967, with the purpose to construct up our ain state ‘s armed forces to discourage any attacker act on our place land. ‘If you, who are turning up, make non understand that you have to support this, so in the terminal, we will lose. Other people will come, thwack you down and take over. ‘ – Mr Lee Kuan Yew in 1967 ( 1.In Defense mechanism of the Singapore Oasis: First Call-Up Since Independence ) . This statement underscored the importance for our people to understand the demand for national defense mechanism against and menaces or attacker. Since so, the SAF embarked on the preparations that purposes was n’t spelt out clearly and the intent at that point of clip is to rapidly set up a armed forces to confront any menaces. The challenge for the SAF in the old ages to come will therefore besides be in researching how it can be farther enhance and keep its relevancy as an establishment of nation-building as the Singapore civil order evolves and reinvents itself with the passing of yet another coevals. This is an ageless challenge as the SAF undergoes deconstruction and Reconstruction to keep its relevancy and raison d’tre to maintain Singapore safe, independent and unafraid good into the distant hereafter. ( Of Contending Spirit and Flaming Sword: Contemplations on Our Will and Where withal to Survive, Defend and Die for an Island in the Sun We Own Called Home )
Agree
The military operations that SAF has prepared for will non be the 1s that SAF has to confront. I agree on this statement to a certain extent because the operations that SAF faced during recent old ages, or instead from 1986 since the collapsed of HOTEL NEW WORLD, proved that the challenges that SAF faced will non be the conventional menaces that SAF had trained for. I would wish to take this chance to name down the few cardinal events that SAF was involved but yet the preparation that SAF had embarked on were non sufficient to prosecute these operations.
The prostration of the Hotel New World was a fatal event which took topographic point in 1986. This catastrophe called for a speedy response and aid from the SAF. Given the engineering available and developing given to our soldiers at that clip, I believe there were limited things that the SAF can supply. I agree on the fact that the SAF responded rapidly and was the first few to get at the scene to supply assistance to the casualties but were the soldiers trained to manage this sort of state of affairs at that point of clip? It remains questionable until now. What was taught to the soldiers at the point of clip was excessively conventional to manage this sort of state of affairss. Merely the SAF medical squads were sent into the catastrophe country to render medical AIDSs to the casualties and other back uping elements on standby ( choppers were on standby to evacuate casualties to infirmary ) . I believe the use of equipments and manpower were non to the full utilized as most of the studies merely reported on SCDF utilizing the heavy machines and equipments to deliver casualties who are trapped under. I agree on the point the SCDF should be the first and first response to domestic catastrophes, but SAF at that point of clip should besides be all ready to help in deliverance operations.
Operationss Flying Eagle was a presentation of SAF capableness to render aid to neighbor in demand. This is a really important, a major deployment for us. ‘We have ne’er done anything on this graduated table before, so we are forcing the bounds of what we have done antecedently. ‘ PM Lee Hsien Loong ( 3 ) . The integrating of different services proved to be a ‘joint ‘ operation and required a batch of coordination. The human-centered assistance to the Indonesia showed adulthood in SAF ‘s adaptability to manage these sort of state of affairs. Swift and decisive actions shown by SAF were extremely applaudable and was besides a show of capablenesss to other states on the promotion of engineering that SAF is shiping on. Operationss Flying Eagle had displayed a more punctilious and good organized SAF in planning, but the implicit in inquiry that was left unreciprocated was that if our soldiers are truly trained in managing this sort of state of affairs. I agree that the conventional warfare which our soldiers are equipped with let them to expose a good sense of response and rendering assistance to the people in demand, but do they truly know the purpose behind the operations and why are they making so. A batch of times, soldiers being obedient soldiers, tends to follow orders, but my return on this is that the most of the soldiers do non understand the purpose of the operations from the political point of position and the how this operation will impact the SAF in the hereafter.
After Operation Flying Eagle, there was a important addition in experience sharing from those deployed, and besides inclusion of HADR faculties in classs such as Tri-Service War Fighting Course. I believe the SAF is still in the procedure of instilling the importance of HADR operations, operations other than war into classs. And with the purpose of advancing the instruction of OOTW, I believe SAF will be able to manage such state of affairs in a more systematic manner and with the soldiers understanding the operations and purpose of the ‘bigger image ‘ .
Disagree
On the other manus, I am more prone on differing this statement. I do hold my base on both holding and disagreeing, but my sentiments will be more prone to differ. The conventional manner of contending still remain critical in preparation in the SAF. Mentioning back to the first statement of the essay, the primary mission of the SAF still require the conventional war contending accomplishments to fend off any beginning of disincentive. The conventional warfare will go the foundation of a soldier before he/she takes on new preparation or acquisition of new accomplishment to cover with different sort of menaces. The conventional warfare applies throughout all the services in the SAF and? ? ? ?
The philosophies and Tacticss, Technics and Procedure ( TTP ) that SAF is utilizing are easy germinating as the menaces are besides germinating into ‘3rd Generation ( 3G ) menaces ‘ such as terrorist act, natural catastrophes and cyber menaces, therefore the demand for us to alter the manner we train and fight. As a signal officer by career, IKC2 is a common slang among the signal officers. New engineerings are ever at the frontline of of all time altering philosophies and the manner we fight. The Power of Knowledge is the nucleus drive force that is impeling this rapid transmutation of Web 1.0 to the current Web 2.0 ( coming of societal networking ) . Beyond this, it will go on to authorise even greater degrees of information and societal connectivity in an emerging web call Web 3.0 ( intelligent Web ) . This typtifies the interconnection of the cognition economic system and the mutualities of an progressively complex environment. This in bend has changed all facets of life, including how we live, how we work and how we fight. Improvement in engineering have ever had an immediate impact on warfare. The art of war seldom remains inactive. Even in the kingdom of irregular warder, the tactics of Islamic extremist who rely to a great extent on the Internet, cellular telephones and satellite telecasting – all which hardly exist in 1980- showed merely how much things have changed ( 5.Integrated Knowledge-Based Command & A ; Control ) .
OODA cringle was a of import rhythm in the IKC2 construct and the SAF. The faster OODA cringle was instrumental in presenting a faster velocity of bid. The purpose of accelerating this OODA cringle is to present much more efficaciously than the adversary and make more clip for faster determination devising and better battleground direction. A faster OODA allow faster sensemaking, which pivot on the ability to carry on a scope of cognitive, psychological and societal procedure faster than the enemy to let information processing, understanding the state of affairs, job resolution and determination devising which was the key to the mission success as the 3rd Gen SAF hinges on this rhythm.
Operationss other than war ( OOTW ) was besides portion of SAF secondary mission. The SAF foresee a go oning demand for conventional military competency into the close hereafter, but missions win which the usage of minimum force is the regulation instead than the exclusion are expected to turn in importance. Proficiency in OOTW requires a much greater and slightly different set of accomplishment sets than traditional warfighting. In this context, the SAF is developing new preparation programmes for little unit leaders. The procedure of educating and fixing a professional SAF capable of managing a broad spectrum of operations anticipates an addition in OOTW. These work forces will necessitate to cook to go “ peacekeepers, good will embassadors and victors of Black Marias and heads. The ground why SAF is concentrating on OOTW is because there are more challenges in front which the SAF is confronting other than prosecuting in hot war. To make so, SAF have already instill some of the lessons of HADR, ASO and PSO in their preparations to further fix the soldiers from managing these state of affairss. These preparations will include a batch of possible scenario based preparation to heighten the pragmatism of preparation.
ASO-Area security operations are designed to protect specific critical and vulnerable assets or terrain from enemy observation and direct fire. They can affect escorting friendly convoys ; protecting critical points such as Bridgess, bid and control installings, or other key and vulnerable sites ; or take parting in protection of big countries such as landing fields. They are usually performed when conventional security or combat operations are non appropriate to the state of affairs. The lookout platoon may execute country security operations as portion of a larger force or as an independent platoon mission.
My personal experience affecting Area Security Operations will be Ex Voyager. As portion of the guards unit, we were trained to manage ASO. Talking from personal experience, the preparation that was given to us was merely sufficient to manage basic state of affairs. Area Security Operations came approximately after the IRAQ War in which SAF sees a demand to manage the state of affairs in the Area of Operations ( AO ) after the war. From puting up Operating bases to patrolling of KINs, soldiers were seen professional in managing the scenarios. I would state SAF is still in the procedure of altering its philosophy and instructions to manage these operations other than the hot war.
Decision
In decision, I believe SAF ‘s readying for military operations is easy skewed towards the types of challenges that SAF is confronting other than hot war. With the conventional warfare as the foundation skillset, I believe the SAF is able to manage the OOTW smoothly and tactfully. Traveling frontward, the following ‘in ‘ thing that SAF will be shiping on will be the 4th coevals warfare ( 4GW ) . ‘The SAF is an armed force shaped around the construct of triumph through state-to-state warfare ; in other words, it is the exact sort of military force that 4GW theory predicts will be uneffective in a 4GW playing field. Even as a affair of safeguard, so, the SAF would make good to see how it could fix for this new behavior of war. ‘ ( 4 ) With the development of warfare, from the Gallic Revolutions to the War on Terrorism, SAF will hold to undergo extremist alteration to farther prepare themselves for the types of warfare that are germinating. Warfare has been through 3 coevalss before it evolve into the province that it is now. Anticipating the types of warfare SAF have to develop is critical in managing the types of state of affairs SAF is traveling to take on. And in other to fit effectivity, we will necessitate to benchmark our Armed Forces with other Armed Forces. Without traveling through war, SAF can ne’er mensurate its effectivity and wargaming can ne’er be accurate in mensurating the graduated table. Therefore, benchmarking with Armed Forces who have been through war will be a good gage to see where SAF stands.