And the SAF's best units are ...
This year, the 3rd Combat Support Hospital won the Best NS Combat Service Support Unit award. VIVIENNE LIM (vivlmy@sph.com.sg) finds out what they did to win...
When bullets and shrapnel find their human targets, the results are often bloody and catastrophic.
The one person you want near you when you get hit is a medic.
For this year's SAF Best Unit and Best NS Unit Competitions, SAF's 3rd Combat Support Hospital (3 CSH) won the Best NS Combat Service Support Unit.
It is the medical and surgical arm of the Army and it treats injured soldiers during battle.
The awards were introduced in 1969 and 1993 respectively, to recognise units that have excelled in the areas of combat readiness, operational proficiency and administrative excellence.
It is the second time 3 CSH has won the award. Its first was in 2013.
Lieutenant Colonel Doctor David Ng, Commanding Officer of 3 CSH since 2012, said their secret to success was recognising the value that every man and officer could bring to the table.
He credits the friendships and bonds formed in 3 CSH for its success in clinching the award.
Dr Ng, who has been in 3 CSH since 1999, said: "I grew with this unit, and formed bonds with all the men.
"I never forgot all the friendships when I started taking up leadership positions within 3 CSH."
During a live demonstration, 3 CSH showed how it conducts surgery inside medical containers set up as surgical operating theatres (OT).
Dr Ng, who is a general practitioner at Queenstown Polyclinic, said the OTs usually take 30 minutes to an hour to set up, and four patients can be operated on at one time in each OT.
CSH is not only made up of OTs. It also consists of a general ward, a triage area and supporting logistical sub-units such as drivers.
They help stabilise the casualty untill he can be taken to the base hospital for treatment.
SAF's 1 Commando Battalion (1 CDO) won the Best Combat Unit award for the 13th consecutive year, totalling 30 wins since the introduction of the Best Unit Competition in 1969.
Of all the challenges the 1 CDO faced together, 3SG Harie Hadi Khairuddin recounts one that particularly stood out for him: "We had to scale up and down a mountain for pre-unit evaluation. Just when we thought we had completed the exercise, the officer commanded us to redo the whole exercise.
"There were chilly winds at the top of the mountain. We were freezing and terribly cold. We even resorted to using stretchers to keep ourselves warm."
I grew with this unit, and formed bonds with all the men. I never forgot all the friendships when I started taking up leadership positions within 3 CSH.
- Lt Col Dr David Ng, CO of 3 CSH since 2012
Winners of Best Unit Competition 2016
Active Units
- Best Combat Unit: 1st Commando Battalion
- Best Infantry/Guards Unit: 3rd Battalion, Singapore Guards
- Best Armour Unit: 40th Battalion, Singapore Armoured Regiment
- Best Artillery Unit: 24th Battalion, Singapore Artillery
- Best Signals Unit: 1st Signal Battalion
- Best Combat Support Unit: 38th Battalion, Singapore Combat Engineers
- Best Combat Engineers Unit: 38th Battalion, Singapore Combat Engineers
- Best Combat Service Support Unit: General Support Ammunition Base
- Best Fleet Unit: RSS Vigour
National Service(NS) Units
- Best NS Infantry/ Guards Unit: 754th Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment
- 772nd Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment
- 787th Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment
- 735th Battalion, Singapore Guards
- 611st Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment
- Best NS Armour Unit: 458th Battalion, Singapore Armoured Regiment
- Best NS Artillery Unit: 288th Battalion, Singapore Artillery
- Best NS Combat Engineers Unit: 324th Battalion, Singapore Combat Engineers
- Best NS Signals Unit: 9th Signal Battalion
- Best NS Combat Service Support Unit: 3rd Combat Support Hospital
- Best Naval NS Unit: RSS Vengeance Team 1
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