New here. Not too sure that if this has been posted before,
rather an old article. But I feel that it help us to know that we
have came a long way from nothing
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/452157.html
A deep, dark, secret love affair
By Amnon Barzilai
A team of IDF officers, known as the `Mexicans,' helped Singapore
establish an army. It was the start of a very special
relationship.
Christmas Eve, 1965, is the unofficial date of the start of the
great and continuing love story between Israel and Singapore, a
love affair that was kept a deep, dark secret. The international
press, like the Israeli media, tried to bring the tale to light.
Occasionally, scraps of information leaked out; some were
published, some were denied, many were disregarded. The Israelis,
as usual, wanted to rush to tell all their friends, but managed to
overcome that desire. The fear that the thies would be terminated
if they became public knowledge had its effect. Israel imposed a
total blackout on the story and the secret was preserved. Until the
other side could no longer contain itself.
In his book, "From Third World to First: The Singapore Story
1965-2000," published in 2000, Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's founding
father and its first prime minister, disclosed the secret that had
been kept for almost 40 years: It was the Israel Defense Forces
that established the Singaporean army. The Israeli military mission
was headed by Yaakov (Jack) Elazari, then a colonel, who was later
promoted to brigadier general. After leaving the army, he became a
consultant to the Singaporean army. Hedied 15 years ago. "To
disguise their presence, we called them `Mexicans.' They looked
swarthy enough," Lee wrote.
Singapore's army is today considered the strongest and most
advanced of the military forces in Southeast Asia. The alliance
between the Israeli and Singaporean defense establishments
intensified and expanded, and it now encompasses cooperation
between the two countries' military industries, as well. The scope
of the deals, according to foreign sources, indicates that the
Singaporean army is one of the major clients of Israeli combat
means and military technology. Singapore's aircraft industry is
cooperating with its Israeli counterpart and with Elbit Systems in
upgrading the F-5 warplanes of the Turkish Air Force. A few years
ago, Singapore's defense minister revealed that the Gil antitank
missile, which is manufactured by Raphael (Israel Armaments
Development Authority), was developed in cooperation between the
two countries.
Surrounded by Muslims
Lee explained the need to maintain secrecy to his close friend in
the leadership, and the first defense minister in his government,
Dr. Goh Keng Swee. "We have to ensure, as far as possible, that the
arrival of the Israelis will not become public knowledge, in order
not to arouse opposition among the Malay Muslims who live in
Malaysia and Singapore," the prime minister summed up. That, in
essence, is Singapore's problem. The residents of the small island,
which has an area of about 670 square kilometers (Israel is 30
times as large), are mainly Chinese, and they live between the two
Muslim countries of Malaysia and Indonesia. Life in the shadow of
the large Muslim majority and fear of a Malaysian incursion are an
integral part of the history of the two countries. Until 1965,
Singapore was part of Malaysia. In that year, the British
government decided to withdraw from all its colonies east of the
Suez Canal. In a rapid process it was decided to sever Singapore
from Malaysia and to establish it as a new and separate
country.
Singapore declared its independence on August 9, 1965. At the time
of its creation, it had only two infantry regiments, which had been
established and were commanded by British officers. Two-thirds of
the soldiers were not residents of Singapore, and in any event the
leaders of the nascent state had no faith in the strength of the
minuscule army. The defense minister, Goh, contacted Mordechai
Kidron, the former Israeli ambassador to Thailand, and asked for
assistance. Kidron arrived in Singapore within days, along with
Hezi Carmel of the Mossad. "Goh told us that they think that only
Israel, a small country surrounded by Muslim countries, with a
strong army, could help them build a small, dynamic army," Carmel
says. The two Israelis met with Lee, who writes that he "told Keng
Swee to put it on hold until Lal Bahadur Shastri, the prime
minister of India, and President Nasser of Egypt replied to my
letters seeking their urgent help to build up our armed
forces."
It's not clear whether Lee, in fact, believed India and Egypt were
capable of, or interested in, building up Singapore's army. Many
Israelis believe the two leaders were approached only for
appearance's sake. After a few weeks of waiting, India and Egypt
congratulated Singapore on its independence but did not offer
military aid. Lee ordered Goh to push ahead in contacts with the
Israelis.
At the same time, in the wake of reports sent by Kidron and Carmel,
the Israeli defense establishment deployed to supply military aid
to Singapore. In discussions conducted by the chief of staff,
Yitzhak Rabin, with the participation of the deputy chief of staff
and head of the Operations Branch, Ezer Weizmann, it was decided to
make Major General Rehavam Ze'evi, who was then deputy head of the
Operations Branch, responsible for building the Singaporean army.
Ze'evi (nicknamed "Gandhi" ) paid a secret visit to Singapore and
the preparatory work began on his return. "Gandhi said he wanted to
create an ideal army for Singapore, something we hadn't built
here," Carmel says. "Instead of setting up a Defense Ministry and a
General Staff, Gandhi suggested an integrated organization, a more
economical structure. So there wouldn't be too many generals and
too few soldiers."
Ze'evi appointed Elazari, who worked under him in the Operations
Branch, as head of the team he established. Lieutenant Colonel
Yehuda Golan, then-commander of an armored division (he retired
from the IDF with the rank of brigadier general), was subsequently
added to the team. Some members of the team "concentrated on
writing the chapters that dealt with building army bases. I wrote
the chapters dealing with the establishment of an infantry," Golan
says. Initially they produced the "Brown Book," dealing with combat
doctrine, followed by the "Blue Book," dealing with the creation of
the Defense Ministry and intelligence bodies. The Brown Book was
translated into English and sent to Singapore's government for its
perusal. In October 1965, a military delegation from Singapore
arrived in Israel.
"The delegation arrived in order to tell us: `Well done, but to
implement the book, you are invited to come to Singapore,'" Golan
recalls. Prior to setting out, the members of the military mission
were invited to the chief of staff's bureau. "Dear friends," Rabin
said, "I want you to remember several things. One, we are not going
to turn Singapore into an Israeli colony. Your task is to teach
them the military profession, to put them on their legs so they can
run their own army. Your success will be if at a certain stage they
will be able to take the wheel and run the army by themselves.
Second, you are not going there in order to command them but to
advise them. And third, you are not arms merchants. When you
recommend items to procure, use the purest professional military
judgment. I want total disregard of their decision as to whether to
buy here or elsewhere."
Wake-up at 5:30
On December 24, 1965, about five months after Singapore became an
independent state, six IDF officers and their families set out on
an unknown mission. "Elazari and two other officers dealt with the
establishment of the Defense Ministry," Golan relates. "My task,
along with three other officers, was to establish the army."
Elazari operated according to a number of basic principles, from
which the original Israeli team and those who followed did not
deviate. The first was to build up a cadre of local commanders and
instructors. The second was that the instructional material would
be written by the cadets who would be trained as officers. And the
third was that practical training would be conducted by Singaporean
instructors.
"We wanted to recruit a group of 40-50 people who had some sort of
military experience and would be ready to serve in a career army,"
Golan explains. "We organized things so that they would appoint one
of their number to serve as commander. As head of the group, the
cadets chose someone of Indian origin named Kirpa Ram Vij, who
would eventually become chief of staff of the Singapore Armed
Forces. For three months we gave an intensified officers
course."
The first course had an IDF format: wake-up at 5:30 A.M.,
calisthenics, personal arrangements, parade. Training began at 7:30
A.M. and went until 1 A.M. "After a few days of training a group of
cadets showed up and said, `Colonel Golan, the Arabs aren't sitting
on our heads here. What do we need this madness for?' I called
Elazari and explained the situation. He arrived a few days later
with Defense Minister Dr. Goh, who told the cadets, `Do what
Colonel Golan tells you to do, otherwise you will do
double.'"
Parallel to conducting the course, the Israeli team supervised the
establishment of the first military base, based on plans of the
Israeli Engineering Corps. Construction of the base was completed
in three months.
In under a year, the Israeli team conducted a course for new
recruits, a platoon commanders course and an officers course, on
the basis of plans that were sent from Israel. All told, about 200
commanders were trained.
Jobless instead of soldiers
Once the staff of commanders was ready, it was possible to start
creating the standing army on the basis of conscription. The
Israelis prepared to establish two more infantry regiments,
according to the IDF model, with each regiment consisting of three
companies of riflemen, an auxiliary company and an administrative
company - a total of 600 soldiers. Lieutenant Colonel Moshe Shefi,
who was an instructor in a company commanders course, was sent as
an adviser. "We discovered that there was psychological resistance
to conscription in Singapore," he relates. "Of 10 professions, that
of soldier was ranked last. In first place was the artist, followed
by the philosopher, the teacher and the merchant, and the thief was
in ninth place. Soldiering was considered a contemptible
profession. In Singapore, conscription was considered a means to
overcome unemployment."
The Israelis faced a problem. To evade service, most of the young
men of draft age (18-24) who were of Chinese origin furnished proof
that they were employed. Some 70 percent of the inductees were
unemployed and of Malaysian origin - the opposite of their
proportion within the population. Elazari and Golan complained to
Lee and Goh, but the prime minister was undeterred. "I want you to
recruit the most primitive people in the country, the uneducated
and the jobless," he told them. Stunned, the Israelis tried to
persuade him to reconsider, but he was adamant: "In the Second
World War, I saw the Japanese and the British. All the British
soldiers were intelligent and educated. But as soldiers they were
worthless. The most primitive Japanese soldier gets an order and
executes it, and they were extraordinary soldiers. The fact is that
the Japanese army defeated the British army."
Golan says, "Yaakov and I tried to explain to him that it's not a
question of education but of motivation. The Japanese soldier was
motivated because he was fighting for his emperor, who for him was
God. For him, he was ready to sacrifice his life. What motivation
did the British soldier have, who fought thousands of kilometers
from his home?" The explanations about the spirit of combat and
about how to generate motivation persuaded Lee.
Along with the two tracks of compulsory service and career army,
Singapore also adopted the IDF's model of reserve service. Every
soldier who completed his regular service was obligated to serve
another 13 years, until the age of 33. A system to mobilize the
reserves was established and the Defense Ministry carried out
surprise call-up exercises. Because of its small size and its lack
of areas for live-fire training, Singapore had to establish
training bases in friendly neighboring countries.
Surprise tanks
The unquiet in Singapore, and above all the fear of an invasion by
Malay forces, together with the rapid development of the
Singaporean army, generated additional needs. With the creation of
the infantry, the Israeli team made an in-depth study of the
battles fought by the Japanese in Southeast Asia during World War
II and of how they succeeded in invading Malaysia and Singapore.
Shefi was given the task of delivering a talk on the subject to
Singapore's government.
On the basis of the lessons the Israelis drew from the engagements
fought by Japan and Britain, they created a naval force based on
sampans. "The boats were made of wood and could carry 10 to 15
soldiers, and they were appropriate for the conditions of the sea
and for the jungle rivers," Golan says. "On a stormy sea they can
be operated with oars or a motor. We asked the Singaporeans to
purchase 20 boats and we set up a small base where infantry
companies trained in raids and navigation."
Retired Colonel Asher Dar says, "The second team that arrived in
Singapore applied what Yehuda Golan did in the form of combat
doctrine. We trained in flanking maneuvers with small boats and in
live fire using artillery. When the head of the training
department, Yitzhak Hofi, visited Singapore, we carried out a model
landing of an infantry brigade that set sail in boats at night at a
distance of 12 kilometers with the aid of shore navigation
only."
The waiting period in Israel on the eve of the 1967 Six-Day War was
a rough time for the Israeli team in Singapore. "We were relieved
the Israelis were not defeated or our SAF [Singapore Armed Forces]
would have lost confidence" in the Israeli instructors, Lee writes.
In January 1968, Singapore decided to create an armored corps. In
great secrecy, an agreement was signed for the purchase of 72
AMX-13 light tanks from IDF surplus. It was a bold decision:
Malaysia, the country's large neighbor, didn't have tanks.
On Independence Day, August 9, 1969, a major surprise awaited the
invited guests, including the defense minister of Malaysia: 30
tanks rolled past the reviewing stand. "It had a dramatic effect,"
Lee writes. Malaysia had cause for concern. Its defense minister
recommended to his guests that they take steps to persuade the
Malaysian government that its intentions were not hostile.
In the wake of the Israeli victory in 1967, the veil of secrecy
over the ties between the two countries was lifted a bit. The
Singapore delegate at the United Nations abstained in a vote on a
resolution condemning Israel that was sponsored by the Arab states.
Contacts began to establish full diplomatic relations. In October
1968, Lee permitted Israel to establish a trade mission and in May
1969 authorization was given for the establishment of an Israeli
embassy in Singapore. The status of the Israeli military mission to
Singapore was also strengthened, and the mission heads who followed
held brigadier general rank. The first Israeli military delegation
laid the foundations for an extensive network of relations between
Israel and Singapore.
Foundations of the air force
The small Israeli team in Singapore was augmented by professional
military advisers for the various corps. The chief armored corps
officer, Major General Avraham Adan, arrived to give advice on
procuring armored vehicles. In 1968, Adam Tzivoni, a retired
colonel who had been head of the planning and weapons branch in the
air force, was appointed adviser to the Singapore Armed Forces in
regard to the creation of an air force.
"As compensation for the hasty departure of the British army, the
British government gave Singapore a grant of 50 million pounds to
acquire British-made aerial systems: planes, helicopters and
surface-to-air missiles," Tzivoni relates. "The British didn't like
me at all. My first task was to approve the deals. It turned out
that the English tried to sell Singapore junk. Apart from a deal
for Hunters, I vetoed all the deals."
Under Tzivoni's supervision, a flight school was established in
Singapore, as well as a technical school, a squadron of Alouette 3
helicopters was purchased and 40 mm anti-aircraft guns were
acquired.
Uzis and Israeli marching songs
After the creation of the Singaporean army's infantry regiments,
the question arose of what weapons the nascent armed forces would
use. The commanding officers wanted the Uzi, the Israeli submachine
gun. The Israeli team took an objective view and rejected the idea.
True, the Uzi was considered a superb weapon in the 1960s, but only
for short ranges. A regular army needs an assault rifle, the
Israeli team asserted. Representatives of Israel Military
Industries exerted pressure on the Defense Ministry to sell the new
Galil assault rifle. However, the team decided that the rifle
wasn't yet full ready and recommended the American M-16.
Another major headache for the Israelis concerned the decision
about which mortars to procure for the new army. Infantry regiments
are equipped with 60 - 52 mm and 18 mm mortars. The weapons, which
were developed and manufactured by the Soltam company, based in the
town of Yokne'am, were sold to the Israel Defense Forces and
exported worldwide. "Even though we thought these were the best
mortars, we decided not to recommend them but to make use of an
independent source in order to reach a decision," says Yehuda
Golan, a member of the team sent to Singapore.
The Israeli team asked a British firm that dealt in organization
and consultation on military subjects to examine a series of
mortars and recommend the best one. The report stated that the best
of the lot was an 18 mm mortar manufactured in Britain. However,
considering the price, the recommendation was to buy the Soltam
product. The Singapore Armed Forces acquired the Israeli
mortar.
"The Israelis emphasized military skills and high motivation.
Smartness on parade and military tattoo, the SAF [Singapore Armed
Forces] never learned from the `Mexicans.' Whatever smartness the
SAF had" derived from the British officers who commanded the army's
first two regiments, Lee writes.
"Our motto was that we would not stick our nose into what the
Singaporeans could do themselves," Golan notes. "They wanted us to
organize the Independence Day parade for them. We argued that a
state military parade reflects the country's mentality and its
history." The Singaporeans didn't make an issue of it. However,
they had a problem that demanded an immediate solution - which
marches to play as the soldiers marched in unison. The head of the
Israeli mission, Yaakov Elazari, brought notes from Israel and the
Singapore army strode to Israeli marching songs.
The jungle combat manual
The Singaporeans took the Israelis by surprise when they insisted
on getting a course on jungle combat. Singapore has a tiny natural
jungle of no more than five or six square kilometers, but the
neighboring states have larger jungles. Yehuda Golan: "I told them
they were right but that I wasn't the right guy, because I knew
nothing about jungles." Nevertheless, the Israeli team began to
find out how to cope with the subject. It was decided to send two
Singapore officers as guests of the Malaysian army for a course on
jungle combat.
"Three months later, the two officers returned with the knowledge
they acquired in Malaysia, and we decided to conduct a course in
jungle combat," Golan continues. "Out of curiosity, I decided to
join. It looked very bad - it was clear that they had taught them
British methods from the Second World War period. I decided to take
a group of 10 officers. We entered the jungle and started to engage
in war games. We trained in navigation, deploying forces, search
and assault. We went through the American training manuals on
combat in Vietnam. We developed methods of night navigation. We
learned how to function with a fighting company in the dense
undergrowth. After a few weeks of training, I wrote the training
manual of the Singapore Armed Forces for jungle combat."