SAF in 2015 – Proud of their achievements
By Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Defence30 Dec 2015 (via Facebook)
As Minister, I believe that it is better for others and the public, rather than myself, to praise the SAF for their efforts – it’s more authentic and less self-serving. But 2015 was an exceptional year with many challenges for the SAF. Through it all, the SAF performed very well and I am very proud of the men and women who served.
SG50 called for high-impact events such as the Republic of Singapore Air Force's aerial display at the Marina Bay area over the Jubilee Weekend and NDP 2015 – the biggest ever staged which brought generations of Singaporeans together. There were also unexpected events which the SAF had to respond to – the most significant was the passing of our founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, for which the SAF took charge of the week of national mourning. Our servicemen and women in uniform gave of their best and went beyond the call of duty in performing their duties through tears and pouring rain, at the vigils and funeral service, handling hundreds of thousands of mourners at "Camp Padang", the 21-gun salute, the fly- and sail-pasts, and keeping Singaporeans safe at the event – my heart swelled with pride.
On top of this, the SAF had to respond to the Nepal earthquake and the burning peatlands in Indonesia. Early this year, the SAF also had to help search for, and it eventually did locate, the missing AirAsia flight QZ8501 on 14 Jan in the Java Sea. Through it all, we continued to train hard and keep up the tempo of our usual activities.
I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the men and women of the SAF who gave of their best this SAF50 year and achieved all that was expected of us. Well done!
Here’s a short video of the MINDEF/SAF highlights of 2015.
- Ng Eng Hen
Source: Ng Eng Hen FB
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