The itinerary moved quickly: Washington DC for numerous meetings, then on to military training grounds in Idaho and a visit to the F-35 jet production facility in Texas.
Nicole Lee travelled to three cities in five days when she accompanied Mr Chan Chun Sing on his first official visit to the US as Singapore’s Minister for Defence last September.
A defence policy officer on the US desk at the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), Nicole was part of the team supporting the significant visit. It gave her a front-row view of high-level diplomacy and the work that goes into sustaining one of Singapore’s most important security partnerships.
It was the 26-year-old’s proudest accomplishment to date since joining MINDEF in 2022.
“Such visits usually take months to build as tight coordination across various stakeholders and a significant amount of preparation is required. We started preparations early on to manage multiple moving parts, and to ensure a smooth and substantive visit.”
Beyond organising and joining such working visits and dialogues, Nicole’s job also involves formulating defence policies and strategies.
Inspired by her father, a retired officer from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Nicole has always known that her career path lay in the defence sector, particularly with MINDEF.
When she was nine months old, her family moved to Monterey, California, where her father was stationed for a year. Growing up, she also had recurring memories of seeing her father don his army uniform every morning, lacing up his combat boots and folding his shirt sleeves.
In 2018, Nicole applied for and was awarded the Defence Merit Scholarship, formalising her move into public service. The scholarship funded her studies overseas at the University of California, Los Angeles where she pursued a bachelor of arts in economics and a minor in statistics, as well as master of science in econometrics and quantitative economics.
It was there in the US where she forged close friendships with college mates from different countries. On road trips during term breaks, they would share diverse opinions on politics and world events.
“This prepared me to be more open-minded to the views that I encounter on a day-to-day basis now and taught me to be more discerning about why people have different opinions,” she says.
Her education in economics has also taught her about trade-offs and opportunity costs, which her job is largely about.
“Economics is about understanding why people make certain choices, while statistics is about learning to use numbers to figure out patterns,” she explains.
“A constructive bilateral relationship is key to strengthening our nation’s defence.”
– Nicole Lee, recipient of the Defence Merit Scholarship
That grounding began to shape her work in defence diplomacy, beginning with MINDEF’s Industry and Resources Policy Office.
There, she worked on policies to safeguard optimal and efficient use of land and infrastructure resources allocated to MINDEF.
For example, she collaborated with other agencies, including the Ministry of National Development, on national-level development projects and helped secure resources required for MINDEF and the SAF’s daily operations.
The stint exposed her to trust-building and negotiating, important skills that are now central to her work at the Defence Policy Office: maintaining relations.
“Relationship management is not easy as there are many things both sides can ask for – but also have constraints to take into account. We have to ensure that both parties are on the same page and learn how to negotiate to achieve our intended outcomes without compromising on our own principles,” she says.
“Just like in every relationship, each party tends to prioritise its own interests. But my job adds a human touch to the negotiations.
“By working closely together, we can ensure that both sides continue to find value, and the relationship moves forward like a well-oiled machine.”
| About the Defence Merit Scholarship The Defence Merit Scholarship is a prestigious scholarship offered by MINDEF for non-uniformed appointments in the organisation. The scholarship grants you a world-class education at some of the most eminent universities. Upon graduation, Defence Merit Scholars enjoy a highly rewarding and challenging career as a Defence Executive Officer (DXO) within MINDEF. As DXOs, they will play strategic roles in the defence and security of Singapore. |
This article is brought to you by the Ministry of Defence.
