Seven officer cadets have been awarded the prestigious Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship (SAFOS) this year. These scholars have excelled in both their academic and co-curricular activities and have also turned in sterling performances during their officer cadet course. Minister for Defence, Rear-Admiral (NS) Teo Chee Hean, presented the seven SAFOS recipients with their Certificates of Award as well as their Ceremonial Swords at Temasek Club this afternoon and they now join the ranks of 236 others before them.

 

2.         Five of the seven scholars are from the Army and two are from the Republic of Singapore Air Force. Two of these scholars have also been conferred the 2004 President’s Scholarship. All seven scholars are bound for tertiary education in the United States or United Kingdom.

 

3.         Known to be the most prestigious scholarship after the President’s Scholarship, the SAFOS has one of the most stringent selection criteria, so that the SAF attracts the best and the brightest of each cohort of school-leavers to join the MINDEF/SAF. SAFOS recipients will be inducted into the Public Service Commission’s Management Associate Programme (MAP), where they will be involved in a series of MAP development and training programmes. Within the SAF, SAFOS recipients will take on a variety of challenging appointments to groom them for the highest level of command and leadership positions. Training and development provided coupled with the discipline and leadership qualities that are inculcated in them ensure that they are able to assume key positions in the Administrative Service or private sector.

 

4.         The illustrious list of past SAF overseas scholars includes the Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong; the Minister for Defence, Rear-Admiral (NS) Teo Chee Hean; the Foreign Affairs Minister, Brigadier-General (NS) George Yeo; Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr Lim Hng Kiang; Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for National Development, Mr Lim Swee Say; the Chief of Defence Force, Lieutenant-General Ng Yat Chung; the Chief of Air Force, Major-General Lim Kim Choon; the Chief of Army, Major-General Desmond Kuek, the Chief of Navy, Rear-Admiral Ronnie Tay; and Chief Executive of Land Transport Authority, Colonel (NS) Ho Meng Kit.

 

5.         Witnessing the presentation ceremony this morning were senior officials from MINDEF and the SAF, as well as parents and Junior College principals of the seven recipients.

 

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From L to R, Officer Cadet (OCT) Lee Hsiang Wei, OCT He Ruijie, OCT Alex Chan, OCT Tan Sherwayn, Minister for Defence Rear-Admiral (NS) Teo Chee Hean, OCT Alan Tan, OCT Choy Yong Cong and OCT Bernard Tay.