Recognising Our Best

armywww.mindef.gov.sg/army newsIssue No. 190 JULY 2011 pulse of our army Singapore and US host 2 NSmen Reaffirm Commitment 9 PACC VII / PAMS XXXV NCC Turns 110! 12 Best Unit Competition Recognising Our Best armynews pulse of our army Prime Feature www.mindef.gov.sg/army Singapore & US host PACC VII / PAMS XXXV Story by Jonathan Chan and Jared Yeo / Photography by Matthew Tan scope of PACC VII, and set the First held in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1978 with nine member stage for a fruitful conference. countries, this year's PAMS saw some 26 Asia-Pacific armies LG Wiercinski was speaking in attendance. Speaking at the opening ceremony, MG Terry on behalf of General Martin E. said, “Over 35 years, PAMS has emerged as the premier Dempsey, Chief of Staff of the forum in the region for promoting security cooperation Army, United States Army. Dr in an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect. The goal Ng also shared his thoughts is to walk away with an increased understanding of our and reflections in a keynote neighbours, their unique situations, and to communicate address, afterwhich he sym- our own perspectives to others in a professional setting.” bolically opened the conference by lighting up the PACC The seminar focused on how the Asia-Pacific land forces VII / PAMS XXXV logo. should train and develop their capabilities to conduct multilateral security co-operations to deal with security chal- In his address, Dr Ng said, lenges in the 21st century. “In 1999, when PACC was inaugurated, few could have For the first ime in PAMS' history, a Table-Top Exercise Dr Ng (centre) officiating at the opening of PACC VII envisaged the security envi- (TTX) was also held. BG Yeo explained, “The exercise will ronment and challenges we focus on multilateral security cooperation in the event of “Building land forces capacity through multilateral secu- face today. Basking in the after-glow of the end of the Cold War a pandemic and natural disaster. It will focus on determin- rity cooperation” is the theme for the 7th Pacific Armies Chiefs then, many were optimistic for a golden age of peace and tran- ing the land force contributions in the form of command, Conference (PACC VII) and the 35th Pacific Armies Management quility, or at least wars limited to a few regional hot spots and control and logistics, addressing existing initiatives that are Seminar (PAMS XXXV), which were officially opened on 28 July outbreaks of ethnic and sectarian violence. Instead, post 9/11, available regionally to support land forces in operations.” at the Pan Pacific Hotel. Co-hosted by the armies of Singapore Iraq, Afghanistan, the Arab Spring, Libya, piracy in the Gulf of and the United States, the conference and seminar ended on 31 Aden and the continuing export of weapons of mass destruction, July and 1 August respectively. the hard reality is that the security landscape today is marked by threats which are increasingly transnational and complex, too PACC VII large for any single country, no matter how large and equipped, to shoulder the burden.” Officially opened by Minister for Defence, Dr Ng Eng Hen, this year's PACC is the largest held so far, attended by 24 army It was very obvious that all PACC participants share chiefs, with China and Laos participating for the first time. common concerns and objectives with regards to current PACC VII aimed to promote the sharing of views on emerging global security issues. LG Wiercinski highlighted signifi- global security challenges and serves to strengthen defence cant challenges to global security, including the prolifera- and security ties amongst participating countries. tion of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, regional conflicts, civil wars, international terrorism, humanitarian crisis and refugees, and threats in the cyber domain. He said, “I suggest that the future will also require a greater BG Yeo (left) and MG Terry planting the PAMS flag to mark the start of PAMS XXXV commitment to interoperability; that is, the ability to plan and integrate, to share information, and to leverage the different strengths of various civil and military agencies. He added, “The TTX will establish some understanding, This ability to bring people together to solve problems is through the involvement of various non-governmental a unique capability that we, as military professionals, bring organisations (NGOs) in the discussion, so we can better to these difficult challenges.” understand the communication linkages between the military and the NGOs on the ground. It is important to identify MG Ravinder concurred, “As many countries would not countries who have developed niche capabilities or exper- possibly have the capacity nor the capability to deal with tise so that we can look into forming functional groupings non-traditional security challenges alone, multilateral coop- in dealing with specific issues that will be discussed. This eration is necessary to address such challenges. Concerted TTX should open up possibilities for greater regional and COA MG Ravinder (right) interacting with the Command Sergeant Major of the United multilateral cooperation is vital to tackle these problems international cooperation in the area of humanitarian assis- States Army Pacific, Command Sergeant Major (CSM) Frank M. Leota before they are transmitted across national borders. This tance and disaster relief.” is where I believe multilateral dialogue and cooperation This is not the first time that PACC was held in Singapore. will play an integral role in dealing with non-traditional To end PACC VII / PAMS XXXV on a high and memorable In 1999, Singapore co-hosted also with the United States, security challenges.” note for the participants, the organisers had organised various the inaugural PACC with the theme “Changes confronting programmes for them to better appreciate Singapore. They Armies in the 21st century”. Subsequently, five PACCs, held PAMS XXXV included the opportunity to catch the National Day Parade biennially, were hosted by Malaysia, Republic of Korea, 2011 Preview and a programme for the spouses of participants Thailand, Australia and Japan. On that same morning, PAMS XXXV was officially opened to visit tourist attractions around Singapore. by BG Yeo See Peng, Commander 6th Singapore Division In their opening addresses, Chief of Army, MG Ravinder and Major General (MG) Micheal J. Terry, Commanding Singh and Lieutenant General (LG) Francis J. Wiercinski, General, 8th Theater Sustainment Command, United Commanding General, United States Army Pacific, outlined the States Army (on behalf of LG Wiercinski). Participating delegates of PAMS XXXV 2 JULY 2011 Prime Feature Every Soldier a Leader Story by Jonathan Chan, Photography by Matthew Tan Chief of Army (COA) MG Ravinder Singh engaged the local pleasure to serve alongside. Rarely do you find officers of Tough New Generation media on 27 July to update on the progress on our Army's such competence, poise and professionalism. Thank you 3rd Generation transformation. for sending your best. It is making a difference in Southern COA also addressed some concerns raised over the Afghanistan.' ” calibre of our new generation of soldiers arising from recent incidents. He explained, “The new generation of Our 3rd Generation Army Today One of the two officers soldiers are confident, smart and learn faster. They are mentioned by COA is MAJ just the right type of soldiers we need for this Army to Goh Pei Ming, a Staff offi- develop and transform. I'm sure we all recognise that the cer from General Staff. He soldier whose maid was carrying his backpack is not rep- shared, “On my part the let- resentative of the entire Army. The fact that society has ter was a recognition of my taken issue with this incident shows that they have high hard work but more impor- expectations of the Army and this is heartening to note.” tantly, it spoke very well of our Army and showed that Following the media brief, COA interacted with Armour we are able to benchmark NSmen who were back for their training. He joined them ourselves favourably against in the turret crew trainer to get a first-hand experience the other international MAJ Goh is glad that his service in on how this simulator has enhanced their training. Afghanistan has testified to the quality forces. That gave me a sense of our Army's people and their training of confidence in the way we are training in our Army and our ability to defend this country.” COA also shared another snippet to illustrate his belief that our Army is progressing well, “In the past year, 357 NSFs chose to extend their service. This is about two percent or 1 in every 50. To me, this is a testament to our soldiers' dedication and a reflection of the Army's success in engaging them.” Among those who extended their service was LCP (NS) Wong Jing Yong an ASA from 38th Battalion Singapore Combat Engineers. Present at the media brief, he shared, “Being involved in the organisation of this year's NDP to celebrate our nation's birthday is a rare and valuable experience. At the same time the experience has also given me many useful skills in people relations and management. During the media brief, COA touches on various key issues relating to our 3rd Generation Army This will certainly be useful to me in the future.” COA also mentioned CFC (NS) Muhd Rafie Bin Ahmad as Speaking to the media, COA said, “The 3rd Generation another outstanding serviceman who personifies dedication Army is designed to operate in a complex, typically urban and commitment (read about him in 'Supporting Exercise COA experiencing first-hand the realism of simulator training environment. It is about precision warfare which involves Panzer Strike 2011' on page 5 of this issue).

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