STRATEGIC PARTNERS IN MILITARY EDUCATION AND TRAINING

In a bid to expand co-operation in professional military education and training with similar institutions throughout the world, SAFTI Military Institute signed two memoranda of understanding (MOU) with the Australian Defence College (ADC) and the Nanyang Business School of the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) on 24 Aug.

The MOU with the ADC is the first between SAFTI and a foreign military institution. It was signed by Brigadier-General (BG) Tan Huck Gim, Commandant SAFTI, and Rear-Admiral (RADM) Marcus Bonser, Commander ADC.

It was RADM Bonser who first mooted the idea of an MOU with SAFTI at the 8th ASEAN Regional Forum for Heads of Defence Universities, Colleges and Institutions in Sep 2004.

RADM Bonser's suggestion was prompted by the complex security environment that we live in today. He felt that to make the region more secure, countries that share similar visions need to work together.

"It has always been my view that military leaders of the future need to be able to work and learn together, so that they can know each other and understand each other's viewpoints," he said.

"So when they need to do these things in the future, whether it is dealing with the war on terror or helping another nation that has a national disaster like a tsunami, they can get together quickly and do the necessary," he added.

The formal agreement will bring about opportunities for joint research as well as shared programmes and courses in military leadership, strategic studies, and professional military knowledge in areas such as peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and joint operations.

"The Australian Defence Force certainly brings to us a lot of value," said BG Tan. "They have been at the forefront of many military operations in recent years and we can learn a lot from their operational experience."

"And because they have also established a tri-service institute we are organised along similar lines so that also paves the way for easier collaboration," said BG Tan of the partnership.

In a separate ceremony, BG Tan also signed an MOU with Professor Hong Hai, Dean of NTU's Nanyang Business School.

This MOU strengthens the existing co-operation between the two institutions and will allow them to identify and develop joint research projects on ethics, values, and other aspects of leadership development and education.

One of the areas they will be collaborating in is the development of an assessment tool for self-awareness and leadership development.

SAFTI and Nanyang Business School plan to create a 360-degree feedback tool that will be organic to the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). It will allow SAF officers to gather feedback on how their peers, superiors and subordinates view them.

From these surveys, the officer will have a better idea of his characteristics and abilities and the SAF can also use the data to help develop him towards his fullest potential.

"With the 360-degree feedback tool, I think we will be much stronger in being able to develop our people," said BG Tan.

"We believe that over the next couple of years, we will see some tangible outcomes to the projects that we are working on and this will augur well for SAFTI. We will then be able to have the means to develop officers for the third-generation SAF."