At age 49, Major (MAJ) (NS) Ng Hwee Khoon made a decision to volunteer for a counter-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden (GoA). A director of two shipping companies who travels often to the GoA as a merchant ship captain, he has had a few near encounters with pirates.
This has made the father of two children, aged 12 and 13, realise the importance of the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF's) efforts to aid in international counter-piracy efforts.
"I've seen first-hand what our forces do and how they operate. It was enlightening to see how they worked with counterparts from various nations. It was a privilege to volunteer and an honour to be selected," said MAJ (NS) Ng. He served as Future Plans Officer in the command team of Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 and helped to develop contingency and response plans.
MAJ (NS) Ng was among 47 SAF personnel who received the Overseas Service Medal from Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen at MINDEF on 5 Aug in recognition of their contributions.
The medal recipients served in the command team of CTF 151 from March to June this year. It is the third time that Singapore has led CTF 151, and no successful hijacks occurred during their command tenure. Colonel (COL) Giam Hock Koon, who served as Commander CTF 151, said: "It's an honour to lead a national contingent in support of multi-national operations. Counter-piracy is something important and relevant to Singapore as we are a maritime trading nation. It's personally rewarding, professionally enriching and it's a purposeful operation that is in line with Singapore's national interests."
For COL Giam, perhaps the most significant day of their 3-month deployment was when the team was involved in the successful disruption of a piracy incident on 5 Jun, just one day before they were due to hand over command.
"There was an Indian-flagged dhow that had been hijacked by Somali pirates as it was departing the shores of Somalia. The alert was raised and we responded to it by directing the Japanese maritime patrol aircraft," said the 45-year-old.
"After a few searches, they were able to find the boat and subsequently direct nearby task forces to help. In short, the counter-piracy forces were able to pressure the pirates into abandoning their plans. The pirates turned back towards the shore and swam back there, abandoning the dhow."
A first-timer in an overseas deployment, Captain (CPT) Michelle Chia felt that the experience was an eye-opener. As a Battle Watch Captain, the 29-year-old monitored communication systems and looked out for any possible pirate activities. And if her eight-man team spotted any signs of suspicious activities, they would collaborate and task a warship to respond.
"I'm very happy to receive this medal. It's a reminder of what we did. The memories and time we spent there, learning to contribute to counter-piracy efforts, were really priceless," said CPT Chia.
At the ceremony, Dr Ng also announced that the SAF had accepted an invitation to fill the post of Deputy Director of Operations in the 29-nation Combined Maritime Forces Headquarters which oversees CTF 151.
Present at the ceremony were family members of the medal recipients, Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General Ng Chee Meng, Chief of Navy Rear-Admiral Ng Chee Peng, Chief of Air Force Major-General Hoo Cher Mou, Director Military Intelligence/Chief Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence Rear-Admiral Joseph Leong, as well as other senior officers from the SAF.
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