More than 550 SAF cadets commissioned as officers
SINGAPORE — After 38 weeks of rigorous training under the Officer Cadet Course, 568 officer cadets were commissioned yesterday as officers of the Singapore Armed Forces and will assume command, instructional and staff appointments in SAF units.
Speaking at the commissioning parade, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean urged them to continue the efforts of previous generations of servicemen.
Among the best performing cadets was 22-year-old Ahmad Arif Ibrahim, who received the Sword of Honour as well as a Golden Bayonet and the title of Best in Physical Training.
In the first few days of the course, though, Mr Arif had experienced a culture shock.
“When I entered Basic Military Training, the transition was at a slower pace to help us transit easily from a civilian lifestyle to an army lifestyle,” he said.
“But in the Officer Cadet School (OCS), they no longer expected us to be civilians but to be a soldier. In OCS, the transition was from a soldier to a leader.”
Also present at the parade were former officers who graduated from the pioneer batch of the cadet course, which was started 48 years ago. They were invited to commemorate 50 years of the SAF.
To chronicle their experiences, a second edition of the book, One of A Kind, was launched yesterday. The first edition was published in 2007.
Some from the pioneer batch said the training for officers has evolved over the decades.
“It’s totally different,” said retired army colonel Ramachandran Menon, 75.
“Technology has been brought in all the way. We’re talking about manually operated rifle ranges compared to electronically operated rifle ranges. We’re talking about motorised infantry as opposed to just foot-sloggers.”
