By upholding quality in the standards of discipline, training, dedication and leadership, the Singapore Armed Forces Training Institute (Safti) has played a key role in keeping Singapore safe and secure, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday.

Speaking at the 101/15 Officer Cadet Course Commissioning Parade, which took place as Safti commemorated its 50th anniversary, Mr Lee noted that when Singapore’s first batch of officer cadets started training, they were all volunteers — as conscription had not started — and the facilities were still being built.

But beyond the improvements in facilities and training over generations, what has transformed the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) into a modern fighting force that is well-respected internationally despite the Republic’s size limitations is the ethos and spirit that Safti-trained officers have passed on to their trainees, as well as later cohorts of regulars and NSmen, said Mr Lee.

At the first commissioning parade in 1967, the late founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew had said: “What we lack in numbers, we will make up for in quality: In standards of discipline, training, dedication and leadership.”

This has enabled the SAF to perform its duties and keep Singapore safe and secure, said Mr Lee to the 547 cadets commissioned yesterday and their families.

Mr Lee also paid tribute to the pioneer batch of 140 officer cadet recruits, of whom about 70 pioneers and instructors were present yesterday. The batch were all volunteers because the National Service system had not started at the time. Safti’s first director was Brigadier-General (Retired) Kirpa Ram Vij, who called the first batch of officer cadets “handmade”, as the SAF was feeling its way forward with the help of Israeli advisers.

“The first batch knew what was at stake and were conscious of their heavy responsibility,” said Mr Lee.

Fifty years ago, there was no Safti Military Institute and the instructors of the first Officer Cadet School course were themselves trained at Jurong Town Primary School, said Mr Lee. Then came the move to Safti’s Pasir Laba Camp, where the first batch of officer cadets began training even as the facilities were being constructed.

Today, Safti Military Institute is a key institution of the SAF, producing and training the SAF leaders of today and tomorrow, said Mr Lee. From only two infantry battalions 50 years ago, the SAF is now tri-service and 3G, with the latest equipment, technology and tactics and the Army, Navy and Air Force fighting together as one, he said.

Before the parade, Mr Lee unveiled at the institute’s headquarters a mural of images showing the first batch of SAF officers. Measuring 6m by 2m, the mural is a collage of snapshots of Safti at Pasir Laba in 1966 and 1967. It also includes the images of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, former Deputy Prime Minister Goh Keng Swee and BG (Ret) Kirpa. Mr Lee said the images speak of the indomitable spirit of Singapore’s pioneers and will inspire future generations to uphold the spirit to lead, inspire and overcome.

Among the officers commissioned yesterday were Sword of Honour awardee and best physical trainee Laura Lee Gui Ping, and Sword of Merit awardees Jack Koh and Muhammad Khalid Mohamad Sukri, who was also the parade commander.

Ms Lee, 21, is an Air Force regular and was inspired to sign on after watching Total Defence skits at the age of nine. She found out more through seminars during her junior college days, but a space became available only when she was in her first year of studying Sports Science and Management at Nanyang Technological University last year. Despite the delay in application and her mother being initially uncomfortable with the idea, she forged on. Her father, who served in the Air Force during his NS days, was supportive. Ms Lee excelled as the only female in her ground-based air defence course and was among the 20 female cadets commissioned yesterday.

Mr Koh, 19, said the course enabled him to step out of his comfort zone and be more assertive when needed. Through experiences such as Team-building Week — or “Hell Week” — in the Navy’s combat diving course, he also learnt to persevere.

Mr Khalid, 23, was in Specialist Cadet School and went to the Second Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment (2SIR), before commanders decided to send him to Officer Cadet School. He extended his full-time National Service to become an officer, and said being able to defend his country and protect his family was the “greatest honour”.

Source:
courtesy of TODAY

by Neo Chai Chin

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