Riggers undergo training conducted by the SAF master rigger and this is "benchmarked against the United States Federal Aviation Administration (US FAA) standards", says Chief Commando Officer, Colonel Simon Lim.
Channel NewsAsia, 12 Jan 2016
The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) fully employs parachute riggers, particularly for key operations and training, while the parachute packing function has been outsourced to Singapore Technologies, the SAF said on Tuesday (Jan 12).
Chief Commando Officer, Colonel (Col) Simon Lim said this in a Facebook post responding to an original post written by one Leslie Ang made on Jan 10, purporting that the parachutes are being packed by China contractors. The post had gained traction online, and had been shared more than 900 times.
Channel NewsAsia understands the confusion could be due to the acronym PRC in the post. Mr Ang concluded that it meant the People's Republic of China, but instead, it stands for Pasir Ris Camp, where some riggers are based.
Channel NewsAsia, 12 Jan 2016
The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) fully employs parachute riggers, particularly for key operations and training, while the parachute packing function has been outsourced to Singapore Technologies, the SAF said on Tuesday (Jan 12).
Chief Commando Officer, Colonel (Col) Simon Lim said this in a Facebook post responding to an original post written by one Leslie Ang made on Jan 10, purporting that the parachutes are being packed by China contractors. The post had gained traction online, and had been shared more than 900 times.
Channel NewsAsia understands the confusion could be due to the acronym PRC in the post. Mr Ang concluded that it meant the People's Republic of China, but instead, it stands for Pasir Ris Camp, where some riggers are based.
"In order to optimise our resources, we have outsourced the parachute-packing function to Singapore Technologies (ST) – a reputable local company," added Col Lim.
Many of the members of staff packing the parachutes are former riggers from the Commando Formation and all are "trained and competent in their roles", he added.
Col Lim said that the training undergone by the riggers is conducted by the SAF master rigger and "benchmarked against the United States Federal Aviation Administration (US FAA) standards".
Col Lim added that the master rigger certifies ST's staff to pack the parachutes and "closely supervises" the packing process.
"ST has been packing parachutes for us since 2010, and there have been zero parachute reliability issues," said Col Lim.
"THERE IS NO ROOM FOR ERROR"
In a Facebook post on Tuesday night, the SAF shared what the parachute packing process is like.
"THERE IS NO ROOM FOR ERROR"
In a Facebook post on Tuesday night, the SAF shared what the parachute packing process is like.
"Each parachute is packed by one packer and one checker in which there are no changes in personnel throughout the packing process. The Singapore Technologies (ST) staff only assume the packer role while the checker will always be an SAF Rigger," the SAF said.
It added that at the end of each stage of the packing process, the packer would call for a check by a SAF Rigger, who ensures that the parachute is packed correctly. The Riggers also conduct safety inspections at each stage before allowing the packer to proceed to the next stage of the packing process.
Certified Master Rigger 3WO Shirley Ng also related the importance of her task in the Facebook post.
“There is no room for error. Their (the soldiers) lives depend on us. Every check is critical, and every parachute is inspected at each stage of the packing process before proceeding to the next," she said.
"I have 100 per cent confidence in the parachutes that we (the soldiers) jumped with," she added.
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