By Jermyn Chow, The Straits Times, 11 Oct 2012
ROCKHAMPTON (Australia) - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday joined hundreds of Singapore soldiers undergoing the biggest unilateral exercise overseas, and paid tribute to the men who have protected Singapore for the past 45 years.
He singled out operationally ready national servicemen (NSmen), many of whom have jobs, families and other things to worry about. "For them to spend 20-odd days overseas continuously like this for the country, I think we owe them something," he said at Exercise Wallaby in the Australian state of Queensland.
PM Lee, who is on an official visit to Australia, told reporters that Singapore has "not done badly" in maintaining the commitment to NS, more so when the Republic has been blessed with 45 years of peace.
PM Lee, who is on an official visit to Australia, told reporters that Singapore has "not done badly" in maintaining the commitment to NS, more so when the Republic has been blessed with 45 years of peace.
He reminded Singaporeans to continue to remember "to sweat because that will save you blood during any conflict".
"I think that is tremendously important," he added, noting that maintaining the spirit and commitment of Singapore's national servicemen is not easy.
All Singaporeans - from political leaders to parents - will have to support these citizen soldiers and believe in the importance of national service.
"They have to have that understanding and that pride and that support for their kids," he said.
He spent two hours at the exercise, the biggest overseas drill involving soldiers from the Singapore Armed Forces. Men and machines had been put through their paces in the past two weeks before yesterday's live firing.
He was accompanied by his wife Ho Ching, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Defence and National Development Mohamad Maliki Osman, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Community Development, Youth and Sports Sam Tan, as well as other MPs.
He spent two hours at the exercise, the biggest overseas drill involving soldiers from the Singapore Armed Forces. Men and machines had been put through their paces in the past two weeks before yesterday's live firing.
He was accompanied by his wife Ho Ching, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Defence and National Development Mohamad Maliki Osman, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Community Development, Youth and Sports Sam Tan, as well as other MPs.
PM Lee, a former army general, also got behind the wheel of the made-in-Singapore Terrex and drove it on the training area's sandy plains.
After the 10-minute ride, Ms Ho, one of the passengers in his vehicle, got everyone laughing when she quipped: "I am about to give you a speeding ticket."
PM Lee also spoke to some of the 400-plus servicemen involved in the exercise. Two-thirds are full-time national servicemen and NSmen.
Asked what could be done to get Singaporeans more committed to the NS rite of passage, he said national servicemen will have to be well-led and recognised to ensure they can find their NS stints worthwhile.
"You train them well, tough, but it is a good use of their time, and at the end of it, even if they don't come to that conclusion immediately, over five, 10 years, as they grow older, they say that was a defining point in my life, and then they will support their kids when their kids do national service."
An exciting visit to Exercise Wallaby at Rockhampton and Shoalwater Bay today. This was my first visit, though the SAF...
Posted by Lee Hsien Loong on Wednesday, October 10, 2012
PM watches war games live
Annual drill takes place in area of Queensland four times size of S'pore
By Jermyn Chow, The Straits Times, 11 Oct 2012
Annual drill takes place in area of Queensland four times size of S'pore
By Jermyn Chow, The Straits Times, 11 Oct 2012
ROCKHAMPTON (Australia) - Thirty years ago, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was an army general holding talks with Australia aimed at allowing Singapore's fledgling armour troops to train in Rockhampton, Queensland.
Yesterday, he set foot in the Shoalwater Bay Training Area for the first time to catch a glimpse of high-tech war games showcasing a modernised or Third Generation (3G) Singapore Armed Forces.
More than 400 soldiers and airmen and their war machines - the friendly "blue" forces - hammered the "red" enemy fighters.
The SAF personnel showed how they fought as a unified force using "sensors" such as unmanned aerial vehicles, and "shooters" including Apache attack helicopters and Leopard main battle tanks.
Their attacks marked the finale of the first of three phases of Exercise Wallaby, Singapore's biggest and most complex set of unilateral overseas war games.
PM Lee said being able to train in sprawling grounds is valuable for troops, who get to fire their weapons and practise their manoeuvres on unfamiliar terrain.
Making its debut in the Wallaby series of exercises was the SAF's latest armoured infantry vehicle, the Terrex.
The eight-wheelers demonstrated how they can deliver troops quickly while keeping them protected. And even though the vehicles can hit speeds of 105kmh, they travel here within the 30kmh safety limit. During night training, the speed limit is halved.
The Terrex was among the made-in- or modified-in-Singapore technologies and war machines that were put to the test in Exercise Wallaby. They included Skyblade III mini unmanned aerial vehicles, Leopard 2SG main battle tanks and the sophisticated suite of communications gadgets dubbed the Advanced Combat Man System.
PM Lee said it is useful for Singapore to be able to develop its own equipment to suit its requirements.
Even if the Republic needs to buy equipment off-the-shelf, it knows what it is getting, so it can modify, upgrade and improve it "to fit our needs".
"So it is part of our capability," PM Lee added. "It is not just brawn, but also the brain and the technology and the know-how."
But while the SAF is arming troops with the most advanced equipment, PM Lee said what matters most is the soldiers' commitment to Singapore's defence.
"The most important thing is the soldiers themselves have to have that spirit to want to serve, to want to fight, to know that it is a very serious business and Singapore security depends on that."
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