ARMY SERGEANT MAJOR INDUCTED INTO US MILITARY ACADEMY'S HALL OF FAME

Sergeant Major of the Army (SMA) Senior Warrant Officer (SWO) Tang Peck Oon became the first-ever Singapore Sergeant Major to be inducted into the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy (USASMA) International Student Hall of Fame on 21 Jun.

The USASMA International Student Hall of Fame, created in 2008, recognises international military student graduates who have attained the highest positions within their respective nations' Armed Forces or who have held equivalent positions in a multinational military organisation.

SWO Tang attended the US Army Sergeant Major Course at the USASMA from 6 Jan to 7 Jul 1994.

"I am proud and honoured to be recognised for my contributions as SMA and also to be accepted and inducted into the Hall of Fame," said SWO Tang.

In his induction speech, SWO Tang highlighted the three key roles of warrant officers and specialists (WOSpecs) as warfighters, trainers and leaders and how these have evolved over the years.

"In the past, WOSpecs were generally in charge of regimentation and discipline. Today, they are more directly involved in overseeing training standards and taking charge of training plans. For instance, since 2009, some Institute Sergeant Majors have been appointed as Chief Master Trainers of their training institutes where they take ownership of all training-related matters."

He noted that this helped in the re-profiling of the Warrant Officer Corps as WOSpecs now take on a greater partnering role with officers, for example, in the planning and execution of training regimes.

When asked what values he would like to nurture in his juniors, SWO Tang said: "There are six values that I adhere to very strongly as SMA: passion, commitment, humility, respect (for all ranks), pride and honour."

Citing humility as a key value, he added: "It is important because everyone has something that is worth learning from. For instance, I am constantly learning new things from the fresh perspectives of our young WOSpecs. I listen to their concerns and respect their opinions. This, in turn, helped me to better engage and inspire them."

The USASMA is recognised worldwide as the premier non-commissioned officer education institution. In the 26 years since the academy opened its doors to international military students, more than 500 non-commissioned officers from 66 different countries have participated in its courses.

Singapore typically sends two students to attend courses at the USASMA every year.

Last year, Sergeant Majors of the Army from Croatia, Ghana, Netherlands, Romania and Uganda were inducted into the International Student Hall of Fame.