IDAHO, Nov 21 - Singapore’s already-strong friendship with the United States has reached another milestone with the opening of a new long-term defence training detachment in the American state of Idaho.
The detachment — the country’s fourth in the US — will enable Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) personnel to carry out training on its newest F-15 fighter jet in the wide open spaces of the American Northwest.
Under an agreement, 12 RSAF F-15SG fighter jets will be based at the vast Mountain Home Air Force Base, which has an airspace of more than 19,000 sq km — six times the size of Singapore’s.
About 250 RSAF personnel and their families are already there, having moved in since last year to set up the 428th Fighter Squadron. They will now work with US Air Force personnel to sharpen their fighting skills, before returning to Singapore in March to set up an F-15 squadron.
In a speech to launch the new detachment on Thursday Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean described the bilateral relationship between Singapore and the US as “strong and warm”.
DPM Teo, who is also Defence Minister, said the ties, which go back decades, are based on shared strategic perspectives and common interests.
The cornerstone for such a deep relationship, he said, is Singapore’s position that a US presence in the Asia-Pacific is vital for the region’s continued peace and security. He added that the armed forces of both countries benefit from the close relationship.
Singapore, he said, gains by having wide open areas in which to train, thus overcoming land and airspace limitations back home. This training, he added, helps the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) improve its operational readiness.
He also noted that US ships and aircraft called at Singapore’s air and naval bases even before the Republic gained independence, and that various other agreements since then have allowed American forces to use facilities in the country.
Joint training exercises between the two militaries, such as Cope Tiger in Thailand, also allow the armed forces of both countries to “operate seamlessly together when called upon to do so, such as in multinational operations in Iraq, as well as in relief operations in the wake of Hurricane Katrina”, said DPM Teo.
US Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley also touched on the strong ties between the two countries yesterday.
“Having an F-15 detachment here provides mutual training and inter-operability opportunities that we have always valued in the strategic partnership with Singapore and Asia,” he said.
“Singapore has always been a strong and steadfast partner in many mutual areas of security interest, not just in South-east Asia, but around the world as we confront global issues like piracy and global extremism.”
Singapore has three other long-term training detachments in the United States: a Chinook helicopter unit in Texas; and an Apache attack helicopter detachment and F-16 squadron at two locations in Arizona.
In all, about 600 SAF personnel have been deployed to the four detachments.
The commander of the Idaho detachment, Lieutenant-Colonel Lim Chee Meng, said he was excited by the training opportunities in store.
“We will get to benchmark ourselves against one of the best fighter crews in the world during large-scale exercises and competitions.”
Because of space constraints in Singapore, the SAF has agreements with several other countries, including Australia, India, South Africa and Thailand, to train on their turf. — Straits Times
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