A SHIFT IN MINDSET

There were other instances where commanders across the SAF had to find ways to meet conflicting objectives when the pandemic affected their normal routines. Units such as 3 SIR, 3rd Battalion, Singapore Guards and 40 SAR, to name a few, continued their rotation training and completed operational evaluations. Training institutes conceptualised new modalities locally to replace overseas exercises.

Cohorting was important for ensuring continued operational readiness. This mitigated the risk of COVID-19 clusters derailing key operational functions within the SAF. In the COUs of the RSAF, it provided for redundancies while maintaining a sustainable tempo for the airmen on duty and on standby. In Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I) units, analysts and operators adapted their operating models and deployed across multiple locations while maintaining seamless integration and ops continuity. As training exercises which used to be conducted overseas were now carried out locally, engineers and technicians across the SAF worked on ensuring a high state of readiness of equipment and platforms to support higher local training demands, while reorganising the workshop spaces to allow cohorting.