<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>SAF promotes 208 warrant officers
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Nicholas Yong
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2WO Chan Mun Hong, who has gone through US Green Beret and Navy Seals training, is one of the warrant officers promoted. -- PHOTO: MINDEF
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->LAST year, Second Warrant Officer (2WO) Chan Mun Hong, 38, was one of only two warrant officers selected for the prestigious Green Beret course in the United States Army.
The physically and mentally demanding five-month course, which is usually reserved for higher-ranking Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) officers, involves everything from raids and ambushes to land navigation carrying heavy loads and unconventional warfare tactics.
Yesterday, 2WO Chan was one of 208 warrant officers promoted by the SAF.
A total of six Master Warrant Officers attained the rank of Senior Warrant Officer, which is the highest rank in the Warrant Officers Corps.
The warrant officers received their certificates of promotion from Minister of State for Defence Koo Tsai Kee and Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General Desmond Kuek at a ceremony yesterday evening.
All the promotions take effect from the beginning of next month.
In his 20-year military career, 2WO Chan said he has learnt the value of the Naval Diving Unit (NDU) motto: Nothing stands in our way.
A decade ago, he was one of only 20 trainees in a class of 450 to complete the six-month-long US Navy Seals course. The Seals are the special operations force of the US Navy.
2WO Chan recalled the infamous 'Hell Week' of the course, when trainees are put through 132 hours of continuous physical activity.
'It was very cold on the fourth night, and I started hallucinating and hearing voices. I almost wanted to give up, but I remembered our motto,' said the father of two.
2WO Chan was also part of a search and rescue team when the ill-fated SilkAir Flight MI185 crashed into the Musi River in Indonesia in 1997.
The SAF has recently sought to professionalise the warrant officer corps. This includes making them the chief instructors in areas such as weapons handling and soldiering skills. A new Third Warrant Officer rank (3WO) will also be introduced. This will allow top-performing specialists to join the warrant officer corps within six years, instead of about 10 years.
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Nicholas Yong
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
2WO Chan Mun Hong, who has gone through US Green Beret and Navy Seals training, is one of the warrant officers promoted. -- PHOTO: MINDEF
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->LAST year, Second Warrant Officer (2WO) Chan Mun Hong, 38, was one of only two warrant officers selected for the prestigious Green Beret course in the United States Army.
The physically and mentally demanding five-month course, which is usually reserved for higher-ranking Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) officers, involves everything from raids and ambushes to land navigation carrying heavy loads and unconventional warfare tactics.
Yesterday, 2WO Chan was one of 208 warrant officers promoted by the SAF.
A total of six Master Warrant Officers attained the rank of Senior Warrant Officer, which is the highest rank in the Warrant Officers Corps.
The warrant officers received their certificates of promotion from Minister of State for Defence Koo Tsai Kee and Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General Desmond Kuek at a ceremony yesterday evening.
All the promotions take effect from the beginning of next month.
In his 20-year military career, 2WO Chan said he has learnt the value of the Naval Diving Unit (NDU) motto: Nothing stands in our way.
A decade ago, he was one of only 20 trainees in a class of 450 to complete the six-month-long US Navy Seals course. The Seals are the special operations force of the US Navy.
2WO Chan recalled the infamous 'Hell Week' of the course, when trainees are put through 132 hours of continuous physical activity.
'It was very cold on the fourth night, and I started hallucinating and hearing voices. I almost wanted to give up, but I remembered our motto,' said the father of two.
2WO Chan was also part of a search and rescue team when the ill-fated SilkAir Flight MI185 crashed into the Musi River in Indonesia in 1997.
The SAF has recently sought to professionalise the warrant officer corps. This includes making them the chief instructors in areas such as weapons handling and soldiering skills. A new Third Warrant Officer rank (3WO) will also be introduced. This will allow top-performing specialists to join the warrant officer corps within six years, instead of about 10 years.
