Singapore Army
| Singapore Army | |
|---|---|
| Tentera Singapura (Malay) 新加坡陆军部队 (Chinese) சிங்கப்பூர் தரைப்படை (Tamil) |
|
Singapore Armed Forces Crest
|
|
| Founded | 12 March 1957 |
| Country |
 Singapore |
| Type | Army |
| Size | 72,000 (active, including 35,000 conscripts) 350,000+ (reserve) |
| Part of | Singapore Armed Forces |
| Motto(s) |
Yang Pertama Dan Utama (Malay) (First and Foremost) |
| Engagements |
Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation, Iraq War Operation Enduring Freedom (as part of NATO-led ISAF) |
| Commanders | |
| Chief of Army | Major-General Melvyn Ong |
| Notable commanders |
Winston Choo Mancharan Singh Gill Ng Jui Ping Lim Neo Chian Han Eng Juan Lim Chuan Poh Ng Yat Chung Desmond Kuek Neo Kian Hong Chan Chun Sing Ravinder Singh Perry Lim |
| Insignia | |
| Flag |  |
The Singapore Army is the service of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) 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 war, mobilises most of its combat power by calling up military reservists.
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 (1 SIR) was constituted in 1957, under British auspices. The Second Singapore Infantry Regiment (2 SIR) 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 (the Singapore Armed Forces Act) to reorganise and consolidate the armed forces' disparate commands and administrative functions.
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 (non-commissioned and commissioned) 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.
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Wikipedia