Singapore Army


The Singapore Army is the service of the Singapore Armed Forces tasked with land operations. It is the largest of the three Services. The Singaporean army is primarily a conscript army that, in the event of national exigencies or war, morphs itself from peacetime to wartime by mobilising almost all of its combined combat power by calling up operationally-ready military reservists.

History

Two infantry regiments formed the nucleus of the Singapore Army. These were established pre-independence, in anticipation of self-rule following British decolonisation. The First Singapore Infantry Regiment was formed in 1957, under British auspices. The Second Singapore Infantry Regiment followed in 1963. After a fraught merger with the Federation of Malaya and subsequent separation in 1965, newly independent Singapore formally established its army by passing the Singapore Army Bill in December 1965.
In 1972, Parliament passed further legislation to reorganise and consolidate the armed forces' disparate commands and administrative functions.
The Army celebrated its 60th Anniversary in 2017.
Military Deployments
The stated mission of the Singapore Armed Forces is to deter armed aggression, and to secure a swift and decisive victory should deterrence fail. The Army is also tasked with conducting peace-time operations to further Singapore's national interests and foreign policy. These range from disaster relief to peacekeeping, hostage-rescue and other contingencies.
The Army views technology as a force-multiplier and a means to sustain combat power given Singapore's population constraints. Jointness across three branches of the SAF is integral to the Army's warfighting doctrine. Joint operations undertaken with the Navy and Air Force include amphibious landings and critical disaster relief operations in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.
The Army has a technically proficient, relatively well-educated draftee pool and officer corps reflective of the population at large, and has sought to leverage this to ease its transition into a more sophisticated, networked fighting force.
Combat readiness is a linchpin of Army policy, and military exercises up to divisional level are conducted many times yearly, simulating full-spectrum operations, up to and including full-scale war. Divisional war games are a combined arms, tri-service affair involving the Republic of Singapore Navy and Air Force. Because training space is limited in Singapore—artillery fire would quickly traverse the island—some military exercises are conducted overseas. Reservists periodically train abroad, their units regularly evaluated for combat readiness. The Army also trains bilaterally with some host nations, and military exchanges are frequent. Training is billed as "tough, realistic and safe," with a premium on safety, given the sensitivity of military deaths in a largely conscript army.
Following the Revolution in Military Affairs, and in tandem with modernizing its weapons systems, the Army is forging a transition to a more network-centric fighting doctrine that better integrates the Air Force and Navy.

Structure

The Army is headed by the Chief of Army. In the past, the Army was head by the Deputy Chief of the General Staff. Assisting him are the Chief of Staff, General Staff and Commander, TRADOC. There are six branches of the General Staff, a National Service Affairs Department dealing with National Service issues, and an Inspectorate. The six branches handle manpower, intelligence, operations, logistics, planning and training respectively. Each department is headed by an Assistant Chief of the General Staff. Also advising the Chief of Army are the Senior Specialist Staff Officers of the various formations.

Chief of Army

The position of Chief of Army is held by Major-General Goh Si Hou while Melvyn Ong promoted to Chief of Defence Force.
Years in officeCOAVocation
1990–1990Boey Tak Hap
1990–1992Ng Jui PingArtillery
1992–1995Lim Neo ChianCombat Engineers
1995–1998Han Eng JuanArmour
1998–2000Lim Chuan PohInfantry
2000–2003Ng Yat ChungArtillery
2003–2007Desmond KuekArmour
2007–2010Neo Kian HongGuards
2010–2011Chan Chun SingInfantry
2011–2014Ravinder SinghSignals
2014–2015Perry LimGuards
2015–2018Melvyn OngGuards
2018–presentGoh Si HouArtillery

Combat Arms

The Army consists of seven Combat Arms, from which are derived Divisional and Non-divisional units:
These are bolstered by Combat Service Support Units comprising the following:

Combined-Arms Divisions

The Army's main organizational components are its Combined-Arms Divisions, of which there are three active:
the 3rd, 6th and 9th Divisions. They include both active and reserve units that are operationally ready, all subject to mobilization orders in the event of war.
3rd Singapore Division consists of the following subordinate units:
Under the Division-National Cadet Corps affiliation scheme, NCC West District is affiliated to the 3rd Division.
6th Singapore Division consists of the following subordinate units:
Under the Division-NCC affiliation, NCC Central District is affiliated to the 6th Division.
9th Division/Infantry consists of the following subordinate units:
Organisation:
Under the Division-NCC affiliation, NCC East District is affiliated to the 9th Division/Infantry.

MINDEF Reserve (MR) NS Divisions

2 People's Defence Force
2 People's Defence Force is responsible for homeland security, including that of key civilian installations and infrastructure. 2 PDF is also responsible for the coordination and secondment of military resources to civilian agencies in the event of a civil emergency.
Organisation:
21st Division
25th Division

Non-Divisional Units, some appended to the General Staff

Photo gallery