Introduction

Singapore

Building a capable SAF, Sheena Tan, Cyberpioneer News, Ministry of Defence, 30 June 2010

Having reviewed the SAF’s deployments in Afghanistan, [Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean] Teo announced that institutional trainers will be deployed to Afghanistan starting this September. These trainers will work with the Australian Defence Force to do Artillery training for troops in the Afghan National Security Forces in an institutional environment. The deployment of the 21-man Weapon Locating Radar team in Oruzgan province, Afghanistan, which has been deployed since September last year, will be extended to the end of this year to continue to provide early warning for rocket attacks on the base in Oruzgan. In addition, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle task group comprising 52 men, will be deployed to Oruzgan for three months, from August to November this year. The task group will provide surveillance and security to the armed forces operating in the province, and they will be operating from within the base in Tarin Kowt. Mr Teo also announced that the current deployment in Bamiyan province in Afghanistan will conclude when the engineering team completes the construction of a comprehensive clinic in end-October this year. This is due to more civilian groups taking over the role of providing medical care in Bamiyan.

85 SAF Personnel Honoured for Contributions in Afghanistan and Gulf of Aden, MInistry of Defence, 19 May 2010,

In recognition of their contributions to the Singapore Armed Forces’ (SAF’s) overseas missions, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean presented the Overseas Service Medal (OSM) to 85 SAF personnel at a ceremony held this evening at Headquarters Medical Corps in Nee Soon Camp. Among the recipients were 37 personnel who had been deployed to Afghanistan as part of Singapore’s contribution to the multinational stabilisation and reconstruction efforts there. These included 17 members of a Weapon Locating Radar (WLR) team deployed for the first time in an overseas mission. The team operated from a Dutch-led base in Tarin Kowt, Oruzgan, from September 2009 to January this year. The WLR team provided early warning for rocket attacks and enhanced the force protection measures for the International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) personnel at the base. In addition, a 13-man SAF medical team provided emergency medical support, primary healthcare, pre- and post-operative medical care to ISAF personnel and Afghan locals at the field hospital in Tarin Kowt from December 2009 to March 2010. In total, the medical team attended to more than 2,500 patients and over a hundred emergency cases. The other medal recipients included a three-man Winter Deployment team which facilitated the delivery and distribution of humanitarian aid donated by the SAF in the Bamiyan province from October 2009 to May 2010. Also receiving the medals were two SAF servicemen who served as National Liaison Officers in Kabul and Kandahar as well as two other servicemen who served in the National Support Element. These servicemen provided logistics and liaison support for all SAF personnel deployed in Afghanistan.
Medals were also given to 48 members of the Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 command team who supported the multinational counter-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden (GoA). Led by Rear-Admiral Bernard Miranda from the Republic of Singapore Navy, the CTF 151 command team coordinated efforts which successfully thwarted pirate attacks and implemented steps to ensure better interoperability and information exchange among the partner navies operating in the GoA. During its tour of duty, the CTF 151 command team also introduced new initiatives which built on existing procedures to enhance CTF 151’s counter-piracy efforts. These included improvements to the Task Force’s procedures to detect and deter piracy acts, and a new exercise to improve the proficiency, readiness and inter-operability of Task Force units. From 23 Feb to 4 Apr 2010, the SAF-led CTF 151 further assumed the role of coordinator for the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) in the GoA, coordinating resources from across the multinational naval forces and independently-deployed navies to combat piracy in this operational area. For the period of the SAF’s tenure, the number of pirate attacks throughout the GoA and Somali basin dropped by 26 percent compared to the same period last year.

ISAF

Singapore, Troop numbers and contributions, ISAF [as of August 2010]

Current Troop Contribution:  30
Presence in Afghanistan:

• ISAF Command Headquarters
• Regional Command South