On 6 April 2020, an SAF team was hastily cobbled to lead an Inter-agency Task Force. The specified task was to manage the rapidly developing COVID-19 outbreak within our migrant worker PBDs. We quickly appreciated the situation and conducted Battle Procedure the next morning. By Wednesday 2359hrs, we deployed 43 FASTs, comprising both SAF and Home Team officers supported by Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to the 43 PBDs. The sense of duty, operational readiness and tactical competence of our people were admirable. Much of our success today rested on the selfless service and sacrifices of our staff and deployed FAST.

The first step was to understand the “enemy” we were fighting to suppress, and the migrant workers we were working hard to protect. This virus was novel and little was known then why it spread so fast and so far. There were many questions our epidemiological experts were grappling to explain. To sense-make and issue planning guidance, we went through the rigour of Mission Analysis and concluded that (like SARS in 2003) this was a crisis of fear for our migrant workers: fear of infection; fear of losing livelihood; and fear that nobody cared.

To address the fear of infection: our FASTs supported dormitory operations; educated PBD residents on the importance of personal hygiene; enforced Safe Management Measures; facilitated the establishment of Medical Posts; ensured the isolation of COVID-19 positive patients; and extracted close contacts to quarantine facilities. To tackle the fear of losing livelihoods: we worked with employers to ensure that our workers were paid at least part of their basic salary; we helped workers open bank accounts so that salaries could be given out safely and e-remittance could be performed; and for those who needed to physically send money home, we arranged regular remittance services in the dormitories. To demonstrate our care for workers: we celebrated festivals such as the Hindu and Bengali New Years, Hari Raya, Vesak Day, and Dragonboat festival with special meal arrangements; and developed targeted communication packages to assure them in their native tongue. We attempted to humanise our policies by reminding ourselves that at the end of every swab stick was a fellow human being who helped build our homes.

We named ourselves Joint Task Force (Assurance) to reflect the need for unity of effort amongst disparate entities and accentuate our Mission: to assure our migrant workers and provide care for them during this pandemic, so as to ensure public health and order. The team did an impromptu team-building and mass check-in on the first morning, so as to at least know each other's names.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

We were clear that this was not just a public health crisis to combat; it was also a potential crisis of fear we had to address. We were to serve as “forward defence” for our Public Health Institutions and stabilise the situation in the dormitories. We had a good plan, a great team, and our national leaders were firmly with us. Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Mr Teo Chee Hean and our MINDEF/SAF leadership paid close attention to our plans and actions, supported us with resources, and empowered us to carry out our duties.

JTF(A) very quickly Formed, Stormed, Normed, and Perfomed almost simultaneously. The gravity of the crisis meant that there was no luxury of time to get familiar with each other. The Professionalism, Discipline, and Fighting Spirit of team members drove the 24/7 battle cycle. Some did not have dinner with their families until the Sunday after “post-Circuit Breaker” Phase II (Day 77 of operations, which was incidentally Father's Day).

We had exceptional Logisticians. Within two weeks, we fed 210,000 workers three square meals in 43 PBDs across our island. We went the extra mile to ensure that our meals catered to various ethnic palettes. We conducted food surveys and brought chefs down to carry out food tasting to satisfy different preferences. We imported pooni rice for our Bengali PBD residents, and adjusted our curries and dhals. Our logistical efforts won much praise and appreciation from the workers we served.

This was truly a Whole-of-Society effort. Besides government agencies, JTF(A) also worked with NGOs such as the Migrant Workers Centre (MWC) and Healthserve in the provision of basic necessities and mental health support, and Temasek Holdings generously provided oximeters and swab testing capabilities. Our collective efforts helped Save Lives and Protect Livelihoods.