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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - SAF honours troops who served in Iraq...</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
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</NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate noWrap align=right width="30%">9:21 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT noWrap align=right width="1%" height=20>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname noWrap width="68%">ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 1) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft width="1%" rowSpan=4> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>9954.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>SAF honours troops who served in Iraq
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>200 provided support in different areas to help rebuilding efforts </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Jermyn Chow
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ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->
A CEREMONY was held at the Ministry of Defence yesterday to mark the close of Singapore's contributions to rebuilding war-torn Iraq.
The 200 servicemen and women who served on board the Singapore navy's Landing Ship Tank (LST) RSS Resolution were each honoured for their work with the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Overseas Service Medal, which they received from Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean.
The last batch of SAF personnel to serve in Iraq, they returned to Singapore at the end of last year following a three-month mission supporting multi-national reconstruction efforts in Iraq.
They were in the northern Arabian Gulf, undertaking patrol and boarding operations, protecting the waters around key oil terminals and giving logistics support to coalition vessels and helicopters.
The SAF has ended its deployments to the country because Iraqi security forces are now prepared to take over protecting their own country, said Mr Teo.
Since 2003, nearly 1,000 SAF servicemen have been sent to Iraq in 11 detachments.
Mr Teo commended those who have served in Iraq and noted that their experiences there would serve the SAF well in its future missions overseas.
Operations in Iraq may have wound down, but the one in Afghanistan is still on. Two more missions are coming up, one each in Afghanistan and the pirate-infested waters of the Gulf of Aden.
A 20-man SAF medical team is now working alongside its Australian and Dutch counterparts in Oruzgan, an Afghan province which security experts describe as 'restive' and 'volatile'.
A second mission to Afghanistan in support of Nato-led coalition forces is being planned. This is to deploy a refuelling aircraft and air force servicemen to operate an unmanned surveillance aircraft.
Next month, the navy's LST RSS Persistence will sail, with 200 personnel, to the Gulf of Aden for a three-month tour to tackle piracy and protect ships in the waters off Somalia.
Mr Teo said: 'Our contributions to international security operations have demonstrated that the SAF is a capable and professional force that operates alongside the world's best militaries in some of the most challenging parts of the world.'
Lieutenant-Colonel Sivaraman Rajan, 46, is the only SAF serviceman to have gone on all five air deployments to Iraq. Home now after having flown the KC-135 refuelling aircraft and having been the air-detachment commander, the bachelor said the experience was 'enriching'.
The Singapore contingents were smaller than those of the Americans, French and British air forces, he said, but 'we still held our own and proved to be a nimble and reliable force'.
He remarked that the situation in Iraq has stabilised in the last five years. The navy's Lieutenant Lin Dian Xue, a 21-year-old full-time national serviceman who volunteered to go to Iraq, called his one tour of duty 'an opportunity of a lifetime'. The assistant operations officer on the RSS Resolution said: 'I wanted to be part of a real-life combat operation.'
[email protected]
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</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>200 provided support in different areas to help rebuilding efforts </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Jermyn Chow
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- show image if available --></TD></TR><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->
A CEREMONY was held at the Ministry of Defence yesterday to mark the close of Singapore's contributions to rebuilding war-torn Iraq.
The 200 servicemen and women who served on board the Singapore navy's Landing Ship Tank (LST) RSS Resolution were each honoured for their work with the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Overseas Service Medal, which they received from Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean.
The last batch of SAF personnel to serve in Iraq, they returned to Singapore at the end of last year following a three-month mission supporting multi-national reconstruction efforts in Iraq.
They were in the northern Arabian Gulf, undertaking patrol and boarding operations, protecting the waters around key oil terminals and giving logistics support to coalition vessels and helicopters.
The SAF has ended its deployments to the country because Iraqi security forces are now prepared to take over protecting their own country, said Mr Teo.
Since 2003, nearly 1,000 SAF servicemen have been sent to Iraq in 11 detachments.
Mr Teo commended those who have served in Iraq and noted that their experiences there would serve the SAF well in its future missions overseas.
Operations in Iraq may have wound down, but the one in Afghanistan is still on. Two more missions are coming up, one each in Afghanistan and the pirate-infested waters of the Gulf of Aden.
A 20-man SAF medical team is now working alongside its Australian and Dutch counterparts in Oruzgan, an Afghan province which security experts describe as 'restive' and 'volatile'.
A second mission to Afghanistan in support of Nato-led coalition forces is being planned. This is to deploy a refuelling aircraft and air force servicemen to operate an unmanned surveillance aircraft.
Next month, the navy's LST RSS Persistence will sail, with 200 personnel, to the Gulf of Aden for a three-month tour to tackle piracy and protect ships in the waters off Somalia.
Mr Teo said: 'Our contributions to international security operations have demonstrated that the SAF is a capable and professional force that operates alongside the world's best militaries in some of the most challenging parts of the world.'
Lieutenant-Colonel Sivaraman Rajan, 46, is the only SAF serviceman to have gone on all five air deployments to Iraq. Home now after having flown the KC-135 refuelling aircraft and having been the air-detachment commander, the bachelor said the experience was 'enriching'.
The Singapore contingents were smaller than those of the Americans, French and British air forces, he said, but 'we still held our own and proved to be a nimble and reliable force'.
He remarked that the situation in Iraq has stabilised in the last five years. The navy's Lieutenant Lin Dian Xue, a 21-year-old full-time national serviceman who volunteered to go to Iraq, called his one tour of duty 'an opportunity of a lifetime'. The assistant operations officer on the RSS Resolution said: 'I wanted to be part of a real-life combat operation.'
[email protected]
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