RADM Lew named navy chief
Rear-Admiral Lew Chuen Hong, the Chief of Staff - Naval Staff, will be Singapore's new navy chief from June 16, taking over from RADM Lai Chung Han.
This change is part of the continuing process of leadership renewal in the Singapore Armed Forces, the Defence Ministry said in a statement yesterday.
RADM Lew, 40, joined the SAF in 1995 and was awarded the SAF Overseas Scholarship.
His past appointments include commanding officer of the missile corvette RSS Vengeance, deputy commander of the Maritime Security Task Force, head of Joint Manpower Department, and fleet commander. He has been Chief of Staff - Naval Staff since August last year.
Outside of the navy, he has also served as the director of the research and enterprise division in the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
RADM Lai, 44, joined the SAF in 1992 and became the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) chief in August 2014.
He was an SAF (Overseas) and President's Scholar.
Under his charge, the navy carried out various regional and international operations, including its successful command of the Combined Task Force 151 to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden last year.
"Since 2014, RADM Lai spearheaded the RSN's strategic redesign to... meet future security challenges," Mindef said.
For instance, the navy signed a contract to acquire two additional state-of-the-art Type-218SG submarines.
Four of its next-generation warships, the Littoral Mission Vessels, were also delivered.
After leaving the navy, RADM Lai will be appointed the Ministry of Education's Second Permanent Secretary on June 19, a statement from the Public Service Division said.
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