BRIEF ON SINGAPORE'S SAFTI MILITARY INSTITUTE

Transcription

1 BRIEF ON SINGAPORE'S SAFTI MILITARY INSTITUTE MISSION The mission of SAFTI Military Institute is to develop a corps of SAF officers to lead in the defence of Singapore and to safeguard its independence and sovereignty. SAFTI Military Institute builds upon the former Singapore Armed Forces' Training Institute (SAFTI)'s tradition of providing professional, rigorous and disciplined training for Army, Navy and Air Force officers. Through its tri-service training, SAFTI Military Institute aims to forge common bonds and commitment among fellow officers and to build an integrated SAF. BRIEF HISTORY OF SAFTI MILITARY INSTITUTE SAFTI Military Institute derives its name from the former Singapore Armed Forces Training Institute whose acronym -SAFTI -became a household word amongst Singaporeans in the years following its establishment on 14 February 1966 at Pasir Laba Camp. The retention of the term 'SAFTI' - no longer as an acronym but as a name in itself-for the Military Institute, reflects our close links with the old SAFTI. Our traditions of excellence, discipline and tough training started there, and they remain today, as part of our heritage.

2 The old SAFTI had many commendable and distinct goals, all conceived and designed to build and forge a modern, strong and capable SAP. However, by the 1980s, as the SAP expanded rapidly, SAFTI's training facilities were no longer sufficient to cope with the increasing demands of officer training. At the same time, as the SAP came of age; there was a growing recognition of the need for greater integration in the training of officers from the three Services. Hence, the construction of the SAFTI Military Institute, and its official opening on 25 August SAFTI MILITARY INSTITUTE TODAY Today, SAFTI Military Institute conducts courses for the education and training of officers from the Arrrty, Navy and Air Force. It occupies an 88 hectare site along Upper Jurong Road, between Pasir Laba Camp and Jurong Camp, and just south of the Nanyang Technological University. It has a built-up area of about 120,000 square metres. The education and training of officers are done at three main levels as represented by the Officer Cadet School, the SAF Advanced Schools, and the Singapore Command and Staff College. These schools, and their Army, Navy and Air Force components, had different beginnings at different locations, but they now function as part of/a cohesive and unified whole within SAFTI Military Institute. SAFTI therefore mirrors the SAP's progress in getting our officers to think and to operate jointly. Closely supporting the schools in their education and training missions are the Instructional Technology Centre, the Military History and the SAFTI Library.

3 The SAFTI Military Institute provides an ideal environment for moulding cadets into officers. Army, Navy and Air Force officers spend time together at the Institute, absorbing core values, developing a common spirit, and acquiring a common purpose. Here, national service and regular officers from the Services earn their commissions. At key points in their careers, whether as national Service or regular officers, they will return to further their military education and professional development. Each time, they will renew their ties with SAFTI Military Institute and reinforce the values they had acquired as officer cadets. Each time, they will revitalise themselves with the spirit of their forebears - the pioneers who created history and tradition when they blazed the SAFTI trail in The Structure of SAFTI Military Institute Institute Headquarters Service Support Unit Instructional Technology Centre Officer Cadet School SAP Advanced Schools Singapore Command & Staff College Army Officers Advanced School Naval Officers Advanced School Air Force Officers Advanced School

4 ith 9'" ARF HEADS OF DEFENCE UNIVERSITIES/COLLEGES/INSTITUTIONS MEETING The Structure of SAFTI Military Institute Headquarters Deputy Commandant Commandant's Office Manpower Curriculum Department Liaison Information Technology Army Curriculum Navy Curriculum Air Force Curriculum Centre of Leadership Developmeht Military History OFFICER TRAINING Tri-Service Training. The modern battlefield requires us to operate jointly as an integrated system, complementing one another to enhance each other's capabilities. Hence, SAFT! Military Institute trains officers from the Army, Navy and Air Force. The common values, ideals, and sense of purpose acquired here will provide the foundation for an integrated and cohesive SAF.

5 9 TH ARF HEADS OF DEFENCE UNIVERSITIES/COLLEGES/INSTITUTIONS MEETING Tri-Level Training. All levels of officer training from the junior level at Officer Cadet School, to the intermediate in SAF Advanced Schools, to senior command and staff level at Singapore Command and Staff College, are centralised at SAFTI Military Institute. The curriculum is carefully tailored to meet the various requirements at each level, with no gaps or unnecessary overlaps. The curriculum is therefore a solid and integrated whole, yet meeting the demands at each level of training for a strong foundation in professional military knowledge and leadership skills. Four Pillars of Training. The training provided by SAFTI Military Institute will enable SAF officers to successfully and effectively implement MINDEF's mission of enhancing Singapore's peace and security through diplomacy and deterrence. The curricula at various levels in SAFTI emphasise the following areas of training: a. Operational Military Knowledge. Officer cadets are equipped with the basic understanding and application of battle doctrines, tactics and skills as a small fighting unit. Training at the intermediate and senior levels will progress to combined arms and integrated warfare doctrine, strategy, tactics and skills at the Battalion, Brigade and Division and the Air Force and Navy equivalent levels. b. Military Technology. Officer cadets will be given an overview of the weapon systems they can expect to employ and deploy. They will then graduate as intelligent users at operator level to analysers at the intermediate and senior levels. At these levels, they will be able to contribute, from the users' point of view, towards equipment and weapon purchase, modifications and upgrading. At the senior levels, officers will be taught the importance of operational - analysis in the military environment and the impact of technology on force structures and military strategies in future wars.

6 9 m ARF HEADS OF DEFENCE UNIVERSITIES/COLLEGES/INSTITUTIONS MEETING c. Leadership Development and Values Inculcation. Students are trained and educated so that they have the leadership, character and knowledge essential for service as SAP officers. Officer cadets will be imbued with the common values and attitudes as enshrined in the Officers' Creed and the SAP Core Values. At the intermediate level, leadership training progresses to development of field leadership while at the senior level, they are trained to handle more complex organisation issues and to direct others how to lead. d. Strategic Studjes. Officers will be imbued with an understanding of the geopolitical environment within which the SAF operates. At the junior level, officer cadets are taught the fundamentals of military history and national education. In the intermediate courses, officers will be imparted an awareness of the strategic concepts and assumptions underlying regional security issues. At the senior level, officers are given a framework to perceive Singapore's geopolitical and security environment. OFFICER CADET SCHOOL Officer Cadet School (OCS) comprises ten Army Wings, a Midshipman Wing and an Air Wing. Its mission is to train selected young men and women to be officers in the SAF. The Officer Cadet Course is made up of a Tri-Service Term, a Service Term, and a Professional Term. The Tri-Service Term provides common training for all, forging bonds and imparting leadership skills before the officer cadets progress to the Service Term. In the Service Term, the cadets train within their respective Army, Midshipman and Air Wings to acquire the knowledge and skills pertinent to their Services. They then progress to the Professional Term where the midshipmen and infantry cadets continue to train at Officer Cadet School while the Air Force cadets and those in the Support Arms of the Army leave to train at their respective specialist

7 schools. This marks the final phase of officer training, following which the cadets come together again at SAFTI to participate in the Commissioning Parade. SAP ADVANCED SCHOOLS The SAP Advanced Schools comprise the Army Officers' Advanced School (ADAS), the Naval Officers' Advanced School (NAS) and the Air Force Officers' Advanced School (AFAS). Its mission is to train a corps of Army, Navy and Air Force Officers to hold intermediate level command and staff appointments in the SAP. The co-location of these advanced schools at SAFTI Military Institute under xhe SAP Advanced Schools HQ (SAS HQ) created an environment for close links at the middle-management level. Though respective service HQs determine the professional content of their own advanced courses, the SAS HQ is able to promote integration and common SAF objectives. Pooling instructors from each service also facilitates crossservice instruction in specialist subjects and improves curriculum development across the board. Army Officers Advanced School (AQAS). AOAS' role is to train Army Officers to assume Company level Command and Battalion Staff appointment. AOAS conducts the Company Tactics Course, the Advanced Infantry Officers Course and the Battalion Tactics Course which train Army Officers in tactical skills needed to operate at the company and battalion levels. h- Naval Officers Advanced School (NAS). NAS, an ISO 9001: 2000 certified establishment, trains naval officers to hold shipboard appointments. NAS conducts three levels of course. The Naval Junior Officers' Course qualifies naval officers to be Navigating and Communication Officers onboard ships. The next higher level courses are collectively known as the Specialisation Course, which qualifier naval officers to hold specialised appointments onboard RSN ships. The Specialisation courses conducted include the Anti-Submarine Warfare Officers' Course, Weapon Officers'

8 9 m ARF HEADS OF DEFENCE UNIVERSITIES/COLLEGES/INSTITUTIONS MEETING Course, the LSI Operations Officers Course and Mine Hunting Officers' Course. The highest naval professional course conducted is the Naval Warfare Officers' Course that qualifies naval officers as Principal Warfare Officers onboard RSN ships. Air Force Officers Advanced School (AFAS) The mission of Air Force Officers Advanced School (AFAS) is to train a corps of professional Air Force and SAF officers to hold intermediate-level command and staff appointments. It conducts the Tri-Service Staff Course to equip SAF officers with the knowledge and skills to prepare them for Major-grade appointments in the Formations, Services' HQs, Joint Staff and MINDEF. AFAS also conducts the Air Force Advanced Officers' Course that provides Air Force officers with the professional knowledge required to assume middle echelon command and staff appointments. Other courses conducted include the Air Liaison Officers' Course and the Helicopter-Planners Course to prepare officers to assume specific roles in the Air Porce and the SAF. SINGAPORE COMMAND AND STAFF COLLEGE The mission of the Singapore Command and Staff College (SCSC) is to train Army, Navy and Air Force officers to assume senior level command and staff appointments in the SAF. It is here that middle ranking and senior SAF officers acquire the knowledge and expertise needed for command and staff appointments in MINDEF, the Army.'-the Navy and the Air Force. As the highest level of officer training in SAFTI Military Institute, SCSC provides a rigorous and demanding learning environment to stimulate critical thinking and in-depth analysis. SCSC runs the Command and Staff course which is a tri-service course to develop the professional knowledge and skills of Army, Navy and Air Force officers to prepare them to assume LTC grade appointments in the SAF and MINDEF. Another course conducted is the command and staff course for National Service officers.

9 INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY CENTRE The mission of the Instructional Technology Centre is to establish and maintain a high standard of instruction in the SAFTI Military Institute and the SAP. It comprises the SAP Film Unit and the Instructional Design and Development, both of which possess modern and extensive facilities to make teaching and learning both effective and enjoyable. The centre also focuses on the development of teaching skills in SAFTI. INTEC also possesses advanced equipment and expertise for the production of training film and videos. It has four computer aided instruction (CAI) classrooms which can accommodate up to 40 students each, enabling lessons and tests to be conducted. There is a total of 160 computers and a control centre delivering courseware for all levels of training. Students can access CAI courseware through the personal computers in their study and accommodation rooms. CENTRE OF LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT (CLD) The Centre of Leadership Development was formed on 18 Dec 2002 with the goal of establishing a permanent structure that will facilitate system-wide leadership development in the SAP. The CLD organises regular seminars and conferences on leadership in Singapore and in the SAP, and forms strategic partnerships with local and foreign institutions to collaborate on research and development in the area of leadership and leadership development in Singapore and in the SAP. Currently, CLD is engagedjn several major research projects to develop and implement leadership competencies in the SAP as well as a number of experimental projects. Pioneering work of the research projects has begun in ADAS and will continue in OCS.

10 TRANSFORMATION The strategic and operating environments of the SAF have changed dramatically since the late-80s/early-90s when the initial operating concepts and structure for SAFTI Military Institute were developed. The security environment, post- September 11th, is decidedly more uncertain and unpredictable than in living memory. The decisiveness of the military victory in Iraq suggests that future wars are going to be fought in ways very different from the past. In our transformation vision, SAFTI Military Institute will be a leading institute for military education of officers, for specialising in imparting core war-fighting skills, while also developing more allrounded military leaders - effective in times of uncertainty and possessing a wider span of operating capability. SAFTI Military Institute will provide the SAF officer with world-class and constantly relevant facilities. We will inspire each individual to learn, grow, and prepare to adapt to new challenges. We will provide them with the space and opportunities to discover and develop professional passions, innovation and creativity. Within the next two years, SAFTI Military Institute will be better positioned to produce officer-leaders for the 3rd Generation SAF - leaders who are firmly anchored on a strong values system and who possess a clear understanding of the SAP's mission and purpose. They will be more joint/integrated, more adaptive, more selfaware, self-managing and better in personal mastery. INTERNET WEB-SITE For more information on SAFTI Military Institute, please visit its internet website at 10