Infantry soldiers advance on foot, low and quiet. Boots sink into soft ground, and the men keep close, rifles up, faces streaked with sweat and fading camouflage.
It has been almost a week in the field. Helmets, rifles and load-bearing vests feel heavier by the hour. After five days of fighting, the men he is leading are in the home stretch. There is nowhere Lieutenant-Colonel (LTC) Scott Ang would rather be than here.
Serving the nation in the military runs in the 33-year-old’s blood. His father was a naval diver with the Republic of Singapore Navy. The stories of “hell week” and gruelling training did not deter him or put him off. In fact, they did just the opposite.
Fresh out of national service enlistment, LTC Ang’s application for The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Scholarship surprised no one. A former triathlete from the Singapore Sports School, he already knew back then what he valued most in green: camaraderie.
“Having seen what military life was like, I enjoyed that camaraderie and brotherhood, pushing yourself while looking out for your peers in training,” says LTC Ang. “That was the main thing that inspired me to stay on my current path.”
He received The SAF Scholarship in 2012 – which sponsored his law degree at the University of Cambridge – and was also awarded the President’s Scholarship in 2013.
The camaraderie, he says, was perhaps best exemplified during the Jungle Confidence Course, a nine-day jungle survival course in Brunei, in which candidates carry minimal equipment, food and supplies deep into the jungle to learn crucial survival skills.
He recalls sitting in pitch darkness, caked in mud, the jungle alive with insects as he talked with his buddy about how much they missed their beds and homes. That hunger and shared hardship, he says, made the bond real.
“It’s a time when all the comforts you have are removed but you learn to rely on your buddies for motivation,” he says. “And it reminds you of what is so important back home – and how important it is to defend what we have.”
Today, LTC Ang is the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment (1 SIR), with hundreds of men under his command.
“Soldiering is ironically very simple and very complicated,” he says.
One of the perennial problems faced by a commander is the issue of knowledge continuity, he points out. For LTC Ang, one needs the courage to make difficult calls in uncertainty and push the unit to adapt even when it is uncomfortable.
As technology and doctrine evolve, so does warfare. In a large organisation like the army, says LTC Ang, change is the only constant.
“Keeping up to date means adopting new systems, overcoming inertia, redesigning training and rethinking the way we do things,” he says.
“Not only are we constantly doing capability development and incorporating new systems all the time, but as a unit, in almost everything we do, we are doing it for the first time.”
This is simply due to the way national service works. Just as full-time national service platoon commanders are hitting their stride, they complete their full-time tenure, only to be replaced by newer and fresher albeit less experienced commanders.
“Just being present when people wouldn’t normally expect you to be there,
– LTC Scott Ang, recipient of The SAF Scholarship and the President’s Scholarship
paying attention to little things that matter – that’s an example of inspiring leadership.”
“Being brave enough to experiment with new technologies and concepts is a constant part of our army system, because without facing change head-on, we run the risk of becoming obsolete,” he adds.
This constant cycling in and out of commanders presents yet another continuity challenge for LTC Ang: that of camaraderie.
Soldiers have to fight, sweat and bleed together. They must rely on each other to bring each other home, which is why LTC Ang and his team dedicate so much time to fostering unity among the men in his battalion.
“Just being present when people wouldn’t normally expect you to be there, paying attention to little things that matter – that’s an example of inspiring leadership,” he says.
He joins his men for drills and exercises. He also makes time in the evenings to sit down with his soldiers to hear what is working, what is not and what they feel the unit could improve on.
“Commanders paying attention to these little things contributes to the culture within the unit,” he says. “Plus, it reminds me to stay grounded, and that the little things matter just as much as the big forward-looking projects that we develop.”
It is also why soldiers from 1 SIR have their own rallying call: a two-syllable cry of “hu-ah” that they use for everything, from greetings to shouts of encouragement during tough training.
To an outside observer, “hu-ah” may not mean much. But to the soldiers from 1 SIR, each utterance is a quick signal that they have “heard, understood and acknowledged” one another, says LTC Ang.
This small ritual carries surprising weight in demanding conditions, he adds. “It reinforces trust, collective resolve and the reassurance that nobody is facing the challenge alone.”
| About MINDEF/SAF Scholarships The mission of MINDEF and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) is to enhance Singapore’s peace and security through deterrence and diplomacy, and should these fail, to secure a swift and decisive victory over the aggressor. MINDEF/SAF continually seeks talent who are willing to take up the challenge of defending our nation. Taking up a MINDEF/SAF scholarship is a lifelong mission to contribute to the peace and security of Singapore. Answer the higher calling. Defend what matters. |
This article is brought to you by the Ministry of Defence.
