Special Operations Force (Singapore)
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2021) |
| Special Operations Force | |
|---|---|
 Indonesia's Kopaska and Singapore's Special Operations Force commandos during a joint-exercise | |
| Active | 1984 – present |
| Country |  Singapore |
| Branch |  Singapore Army |
| Type | Special forces |
| Role | |
| Part of | Special Operations Task Force SAF Commando Formation Army Deployment Force |
| Engagements | Operation Thunderbolt |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Colonel Lam Shiu Tong[1] Colonel Chiang Hock Woon[2] |
The Special Operations Force (SOF) is the special operations unit of the Singapore Army responsible for conducting special operations. It is composed of highly-trained soldiers of which are all regular servicemen within the 1st Commando Battalion (1 CDO FN).[3] It is also an essential component of the Special Operations Task Force (SOTF).[4]
History
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On 27 September 1972, a flight engineer aboard Olympic Airlines Flight 472 accidentally activated a hijack alarm. The flight, which had 31 passengers and 11 crew members on board, took off from Sydney, Australia at 1030 hours SST and was heading towards Paya Lebar Airport in Singapore. The Australian authorities were not informed of the situation until four hours later. Following a flurry of conflicting reports, Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority warned Paya Lebar Airport to be prepared for a possible hijack.
Flight 472 landed in Singapore at 1825 hours SST and was immediately surrounded by the police before the Singapore authorities could confirm that it was a false alarm. The incident highlighted the lack of special forces trained and equipped to deal with a hijack or hostage situation in Singapore. This led to the creation of the SOF in 1985 as a unit specially tasked with dealing with such situations.
Operation Thunderbolt (1991)
On 26 March 1991, Singapore Airlines Flight 117 was hijacked in flight by four men, who took all 129 people on board hostage. At Singapore Changi Airport, commandos from the SOF stormed the plane, killed the four hijackers and freed the hostages in under a minute.[5] This also marked the SOF's first combat operation.[5]
Other operations
It was reported that some SOF commandos have been deployed to Afghanistan under Operation Blue Ridge alongside regular Commmandos.[3]
References
- ^ Yeo, Jared (27 June 2011). "Our Army recognises the commitment and dedication of its servicemen". MINDEF. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- ^ Cheam, Samuel (11 March 2011). "Commando Formation and SOTF Welcome New Commander". MINDEF. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- ^ a b Neville (2019), p. 178.
- ^ Chow, Jermyn (1 July 2009). "Special forces to work under one command". AsiaOne News. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- ^ a b "As a Special Forces soldier, he stormed a hijacked Singapore Airlines plane. Now he's a monk".
Bibliography
- Neville, Leigh (2019). The Elite: The A–Z of Modern Special Operations Forces. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1472824295.
- EngvarB from June 2015
- Use dmy dates from June 2015
- Articles needing additional references from December 2021
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- 1984 establishments in Singapore
- Formations of the Singapore Army
- Special forces of Singapore
- Counterterrorism in Singapore
- Counterterrorist organizations