Being a member of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) prepared MAJ Chester Lim Youjia well for his deployment in Afghanistan, where he trained Afghan National Army (ANA) commanders to detect and identify improvised explosive devices.
MAJ Lim led a two-man team of Military Institutional Trainers (MITs) deployed in Oruzgan, Afghanistan, from October last year to February this year. He said the deployment had helped in his personal and professional development, adding: "The entire journey was memorable to me."
In recognition of his contributions towards the SAF's overseas deployments in support of the multinational stabilisation and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan, MAJ Lim, along with 42 other SAF personnel, was awarded the Overseas Service Medal. Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen presented the medals to the recipients at a ceremony held at Pasir Laba Camp on 7 Jun.
In his speech, Dr Ng said: "As a small nation with limited resources, Singapore is very mindful to contribute within our means. But while our contributions may be small, compared to some of the larger militaries, they are in niche areas where we have the expertise and where we can make a significant operational difference to the overall coalition effort."
Dr Ng added that the SAF deployments supported "the larger multinational effort to prevent extremists from using Afghanistan as a base to export terrorism to the rest of the world, including Singapore".
He said: "The SAF has also benefited professionally from each successive deployment, our servicemen gaining useful operational experience that sharpens the entire SAF." He noted that the servicemen had performed well in their overseas deployments, and in doing so, had enhanced the SAF's reputation as "a professional outfit and a reliable partner".
To prepare themselves for their tasks in Afghanistan, the SAF personnel had to undergo pre-deployment training which consisted of medical training, survival training and chemical defence.
MAJ Lim highlighted one major difficulty he faced during his deployment: "There was a language barrier and we had difficulties trying to communicate with the Afghan soldiers. Even in the presence of translators, the conversations were long and fragmented.
"To circumvent this problem, we conducted more practical lessons so that the Afghan instructors could learn through first-hand experience, and not so much the theories."
Military Expert 3 (ME3) Ashok Kumar, who provided operational and logistic support, such as planning and coordinating flight arrangements, was appreciative of the Family Engagement Programme that the SAF had arranged for personnel deployed in Afghanistan.
"The SAF gave us much support in keeping us in contact with our families. The Family Liaison Officers made me feel reassured, as there was someone there for my family should they encounter any problems."
Fire Support Instructor, Staff Sergeant (SSG) Muhammad Bukhari Bin Suhaimi, who was deployed as part of the MIT in Kabul, shared about the invaluable cultural exchanges he had with the ANA, and the good working relations with the Australian Defence Force personnel.
"Being a Muslim, I was able to understand the Afghan culture and traditions; hence I was able to interact with them more effectively," he added.
Other medal recipients included National Contingent Commander Colonel (COL) Lee Wei Cheng who provided in-theatre command and control for SAF personnel in Afghanistan; two teams of 10 MITs deployed in Kabul to assist in the International Security Assistance Force's (ISAF's) effort to train the ANA; and a five-man Imagery Analyst Team deployed to Oruzgan to augment ISAF's surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.
Also present at the ceremony were family members of the medal recipients, Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General (LG) Neo Kian Hong, Chief of Army Major-General Ravinder Singh and other senior military officers.