My cousin is a NDU Warrant officer who was part of the naval
contingent Singapore sent to Iraq. He was onboard the Landing Ship
Tank (LST) that was dispatched, I believe it was the RSS Endurance.
The mission of RSS Endurance was to protect the crucial Al-Basra
oil terminal.
I have gleaned insights from his operational tour of duty there. He
and fellow NDU divers would regularly go out out on the Fast Craft
Equipment Personnel (FCEP) boats to check local vessels bypassing
the area for security reasons. Obviously, this is not just another
routine Coast Guard job one might expect the police here to do
against intruding Banglas. His MP5 submachine gun was locked,
loaded and live, ready for any troublemakers when they board
vessels for cargo inspection.The operations are real-time and
real-life. Can you imagine if they came across suicidal insurgents
on boats, intent on a one way trip to blow up the oil depots or at
the very least, sabotage it? It would cause major damage to Iraqi
infrastructure.
So there you have it, I believe Singapore troops have played a
small part in this Gulf war, a small capacity in the rebuilding of
Iraq. The information I provided above is to my knowledge, public
domain.
To partly answer the question of exposure to combat some have been
clamouring about, I will try not to step beyond the realm of public
domain - mods please delete anything deemed unsuitable. My NDU
cousin has a pretty big mouth hehe. Well, if one were to use logic
to link the dots, do not forget that the Singapore Armed Forces
maintains very close links with that of foreign militaries such as
the US and say, Israel. Will it be so unfathomable if Singaporean
combat observers have tagged along for say, Merkava tank rides in
Gaza to witness Israeli military action against Hamas or Fatah or
whoever first-hand. Or perhaps, hung behind US infantry combat
patrols in various Iraqi cities.
I truly believe that the SAF is not so virgin to combat scenarios
as they would like the public to think. Imagine the public outcry
if one of our blood were to die in a crossfire in an event that had
no relevance to our national security, especially if they were not
there in a peacekeeping capacity but rather as.. peaceful
observers.
