Seriously, the SAF is the best-equipped armed force in SEA,and
we also have among the most educated personnel
available.However,what is the point in spending all this fucking
taxpayers money(your parents money,the money they get from GST you
pay,your own money) if our soldiers have:
1)No motivation!
2)A significant number of our regulars lack the professionalism to
look after their 'rice bowl'.Anecdotal evidence is the dim view of
the public and many of us who have served and encountered scum
during our conscription.
However,I have to say that there are those who are just as equally
outstanding and excellent professionals who treat their men
well.How would I know? I served under one.
(I edited this in response to a post as it was too general. I
apologise for the offence.)
3)A lack of innurement to basic hardship.Safety is crucial,as is
the safety of our personnel,but they are taking it to
ridiculous levels across the whole
organisation.
Military duty and vocations are inherently hazardous,and the best
approach to having greater safety is enouraging basic common sense among
enlistees,NCOS and officers.
Let me simply ask;do you think that any enemy we are fighting cares
if its CAT 1?
Train our guys hard,train our guys fair,push them to their
limits but make them understand the rationale behind
it!
4)A distinct lack of initiative and common sense among tactical
level commanders.Basically,they cannot adapt to a
changing situation.SOP is there for a reason,and is needed in
training to drill the fundamentals,but a battlescape is a fluid
environment,and SOPs only bring you so far.
This can be seen in the sergeants who always go 'by the book'.A
valid approach,but one that can be restrictive at times.Books take
time to be rewritten,and sometimes the book hasn't encountered
certain situations.
5)Across the board,a lack of unity.We have separate messes for all
the different corps.An officers mess, NCOs' mess and enlisted
mess.
How about merging the NCO and Officer mess,to allow the commanders
to socialise and bond in off-duty time?
Since the SAF seems to be so budget-conscious nowadays,taking
measures like these would understandably cost less than
1)Buying a squadron of stealth frigates with the latest
technology
2)Among the best MBTs - 60+ Leopard A2s
3)Developing a new light tank to replace the AMX series.
4)Buying the latest 5th generation fighters
5)etc...
How about investing some of our vaunted finances in the heartware
and software of the organisation?
One could always analyse the USMC Martial Arts Program, the Israeli
military, evaluate the Japanese and Korean military organisations,
as well as the Swiss and British militaries for elements we could
incorporate into our own.
Perhaps investing more in ourpersonnelwould have
longer term benefits than investing in the hardware?
One only needs to look at the historical cases of the Vietnam
War,where the Viet Cong triumphed over the US military machine,
through the spirit of its people,or the Arab-Israeli conflicts, or
Soviet-Afghan War which saw the triumph of the mujahideen over the
numerically and technically superior Soviets,with inferior
motivation?
Its simply a matter of knowing where and how to spend the
money.Besides,long term,something like this would probably cost
less,and directly brings benefits to the government....
They can cut some of the defence spending and use it to increase
their pay. 
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