The Singapore Army is the branch of the Singapore Armed Forces defending Singapore by land military
operations.
It is the largest of the three armed services.
The SAF is mainly a conscript army as people are the assets of Singapore making up 80%
of our military defence and form the backbone of the SAF..
Operationally Ready National Servicemen represent the collective will of our nation to stand
up for itself and to ensure the security of the nation.
Capabilities The mission of the Army is to deter aggression,
and should deterrence fail, to secure a swift and decisive victory.
In peacetime, the Army is to be ready and capable of conducting a spectrum of operations
to protect Singapore's national interests and the well-being of its citizens.
The Singapore Army focuses on leveraging technology and weapon systems as "force-multipliers".
The Singapore Army is capable of conducting amphibious operations with a highly developed
logistics force, across all three services of Army, Navy and Air Force, as seen in the
peace support operations and humanitarian assistance disaster relief missions in Aceh,
Indonesia, after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.
Aside from hardware, the Singapore Army heavily invests in its "software".
Largely made up of tertiary-educated conscripts and career regular soldiers, who are continually
upgrading their skills with higher education, well-trained and technically proficient.
To familiarize all soldiers with practical fighting experience in case of national exigencies,
military exercises up to division level are conducted many times annually, training almost
all combat NS units to full-spectrum, full-scale war scenario stimulation.
Divisional exercises involve the integration of the national air force and navy to train
its troopers with its combined arms, tri-service joint operations.
Due to space constraints, some large-scale exercises are conducted overseas unilaterally.
Reservists take part in overseas exercises periodically and there is constant evaluation
on NS units to improve their operational readiness.
Bilateral training and exchanges are also common between friendly nations.
The Singapore Army also conducts "tough, realistic and safe training in order to fulfill the
Army’s mission."
The Singapore Army is currently undergoing the transformation into a 3rd Generation fighting
force.
The SAF's evolution into its 3rd Generation involves combining advances in technology
and training while using networking to integrate the tri-services into an integrated fighting
force.
This will provide even greater operational-readiness and flexibility during war and peace time.
Organisation
The Army is headed by the Chief of Army.
Assisting him are the Chief of Staff, General Staff and the Commander, Army Training and
Doctrine Command.
There are also six functional departments and an NS Affairs Department dealing with
National Service issues, collectively known as the General Staff and an Inspectorate.
The six functional departments handle personnel, intelligence, operations, logistics, plans
and training respectively.
Each department is headed by an Assistant Chief of the General Staff.
Also advising the COA are the Senior Specialist Staff Officers: Infantry, Guards, Armour,
Commando, Artillery, Engineers and Signals.
Combat Arms The army consists of the following Combat
Arms, which are integrated with one another to form the Divisional and Non-divisional
assets: Armour
Artillery Combat Engineers
Commandos Guards
Infantry Signals
These are bolstered by Combat Service Support Units which consist of the following:
Army Intelligence Army Medical Services
Army Maintenance and Engineering Support Army Supply and Transport
Singapore Armed Forces Ammunition Command Divisional and Non-Divisional assets
Combined-Arms Divisions The main components of the Army are its 3
active Combined-Arms Divisions: 3rd, 6th and 9th Div.
They include both active and reserve units, all of which can be mobilised anytime as there
is 24/7 standby mobilisation manning.
To be operationally-ready means that our armed forces are able to transform ourselves from
a disciplined and well-prepared force in peace time to an effective fighting force in war
time.
3rd Singapore Division has as its motto "Foremost and Utmost".
It comprises HQ 3rd Singapore Division
3rd Singapore Infantry Brigade 5th Singapore Infantry Brigade
24th Singapore Infantry Brigade 30th Singapore Infantry Brigade
8th Singapore Armoured Brigade 3rd Division Artillery
3rd Division Support Command Under the Division-National Cadet Corps affiliation
scheme, NCC West District is affiliated to the 3rd Division.
6th Singapore Division has as its motto "Swift and Deadly".
It comprises: HQ 6th Singapore Division
2nd Singapore Infantry Brigade 9th Singapore Infantry Brigade
54th Singapore Armoured Brigade 6th Division Artillery
6th Division Support Command 6th Division Engineers
6th Divisional Air Defence Artillery Battalion 6th Signal Battalion
Under the Division-NCC affiliation, NCC Central District is affiliated to the 6th Division.
9th Division/Infantry has also assumed the responsibilities of headquarters of the Infantry
formation in 2004.
Its motto is "Forging Ahead".
Organization: HQ 9th Singapore Division
10th Singapore Infantry Brigade 12th Singapore Infantry Brigade
56th Singapore Armoured Brigade 9th Division Artillery
9th Divisional Support Command 9th Signal Battalion
Under the Division-NCC affiliation, NCC East District is affiliated to the 9th Division/Infantry.
MINDEF Reserve NS Divisions 2 People's Defence Force
2 People's Defence Force is primarily the 24/7 homeland border protection, security
of key installations and coordinating a spectrum of military resources to assist HomeTeam agencies
in front-line civil emergencies, with its Headquarters manned 24/7 to provide an effective
and efficient response to any incidents island-wide.
Organization: HQ 2 PDF
HQ 21 Singapore Infantry Brigade HQ 22 Singapore Infantry Brigade
HQ 26 Singapore Infantry Brigade HQ 27 Singapore Infantry Brigade
HQ 29 Singapore Infantry Brigade HQ 32 Singapore Infantry Brigade
8th Battalion Singapore Infantry Regiment 9th Battalion Singapore Infantry Regiment
21st Division Officially designated as an Army Operational
Reserve division, the 21st Division is essentially a rapid deployment force composed primarily
of the Singapore Guards, elite infantry highly mobile in both amphibious and heliborne operations.
The armoured and artillery components of the division are lightweight, amphibious and comparatively
maneuverable such as highly mobile artillery such as the SLWH Pegasus as well as Light
Strike Vehicles and possibly the amphibious AV-82 Terrex Infantry Carrier Vehicle.
Guards Motto: "Ready to Strike" Organization:
7th Singapore Infantry Brigade 13th Singapore Infantry Brigade
15th Singapore Infantry Brigade Divisional Artillery
21st Signal Battalion 21st Divisional Support Command
18th Divisional Air Defense Artillery Battalion 1 Combat Engineer Battalion
Note: Of the three brigades, one is proficient in airborne role coordinating jointly with
the air force helicopter squadrons, while the other is proficient in amphibious operations
cooperating jointly with naval fast crafts.
25th Division Officially designated as an Army Operational
Reserve division, commanded by the Chief Armour Officer since inauguration.
Organization: 11th Singapore Infantry Brigade
14th Singapore Infantry Brigade 63rd Singapore Infantry Brigade
65th Singapore Infantry Brigade
32nd Division Tim Huxley, author of the defence book "Defending
the Lion City", wrote that 'the reorganization of 1991 and 1995 left one armoured brigade,
4 SAB, outside the divisional structure, prompting speculation that it has been earmarked to
form the core of a conceptualised new mechanised division, initially codenamed as 32nd Division
at the planning stage.
Even if this division is indeed established in the 1990s, it still remains classified
on the planning board.
This however, is only Huxley's claim and till now, no active SARs and SABs are officially
under any Combined Armed Division's assets.
Non-divisional units 1 Military Intelligence Battalion
1 active Commandos Battalion 1 Special Operations Task Force – A Special
Operations Command-type unit consisting of the NDU, Commandos and the SOF
1 Aggressor Company – Under TRADOC/ATEC, this Company bases itself on the Aggressor
Orbat and varies slightly from the normal Infantry Company, with a platoon specialising
in Armour Simulation using normal vehicles.
They are the 'Red' opposing Force for ATEC evaluations.
Also known as OPFOR. 1 Armour Aggressor Company – Focuses on
playing the same OPFOR role in exercises with Armour formations.
1 Medical Response Force Unit – Counter Chemical and Biological Warfare Unit, composed
of three platoons of specially trained Combat Medics.
Motto: "Against All Adversity" 1 Heavy Tank Battalion – 48 SAR with 30+
Leopard 2A4 1 Armoured Brigade – 4 SAB.
1 Army Developmental Force – An all-regular unit for experimental training and doctrine
development.
Also provides the SAF with an experienced and operational force at all times.
Suitable for low-intensity conflict, anti-terroism, peacekeeping operations etc.
Equipment
Photo gallery
See also Singapore Armed Forces
Republic of Singapore Air Force Republic of Singapore Navy
Singapore Special Operations Force Singapore Armed Forces ranks
References Notes
Bibliography
Further reading 'Singapore's Army: boosting capabilities,'
Jane's Intelligence Review, April 1996 External links
Official website Singapore Army Official Ranks Website
Ranks and Paramilitary Ranks of Singapore, accessed 23 Oct 2006.
Singapore Infantry Regiment pictures and info