A rapid reaction Force for Singapore?
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Considering the small size of Singapore's regular army, wouldn't it be difficult to project its power , say , over the causeway? It would need a fast , hard hitting battalion of troops being transported by air or sea. I believe that the guard's role fits this description. But the guards alone cannot hold the ground let alone take it. Wouldn't singapore need a larger troop formation for this sort of thing (eg. Marines)??
True, we have helicopters and 4 amphibious landing ships but i feel the regular infantry soldier should be transported in faster vehicles. The U.S. i believe are doing that now with they're formation of the new brigade combat teams. Do you think singapore should invest in armored wheeled vehicles for this purpose?? The new terrex 8x8 AV from STengg could fill this gap. The vehicle could help in peace keeping operations too... any comments?? -
Guards ARE "marines."
The Rapid Reaction Force I believe is in the form of the 21st Division. Though there is a possibility of another one all "regular" force being formed. So I was told. -
Is there a reason why Guards are called Guards instead of Marines?Originally posted by Shotgun:Guards ARE "marines."
What is the difference between Commando, Guards and Infantry? And what is their role. Is it true that Infantry is where all the lousy and not so highly educated soldier go to? -
May be guards ARE called guards because they are more land based, thats why they have helibourne training, and tons of light strike vehicles. Marines i guess deal more with amphibious assaults which i think singapore doesn't have.
Guards are like above average soldiers, this doesn't mean the normal infantry is lousy... -
History of Singapore's Guards unit here -
http://www.specialoperations.com/Foreign/Singapore/Guards/tradition2.htm
The website above actually copied and pasted the info from the old MINDEF site.
Guards - are called Guards because the old SAF Guards Unit was formed to provide guards for ceremonial duties including the provision of the Guard-of-Honour and Prestige Guard for foreign dignitaries visiting the Republic.
Different Guards units (and Infantry) are task with different roles - including amphibious, air-mobile operations and others. I shall not go into detail. I was (and still is in reserve) in a Guards unit.
For info here - http://www.specialoperations.com/Foreign/Singapore/Guards/
again the above website copied from the old MINDEFwebsite, but I feel it provides more info than the current official site. -
There is also a 32 Div mechanised Division.Originally posted by Shotgun:Guards ARE "marines."
The Rapid Reaction Force I believe is in the form of the 21st Division. Though there is a possibility of another one all "regular" force being formed. So I was told.
BTW, the 21st Div contains 1 air mobile brigade & 2 amphibious brigades. The amphibious bridages are mainly armed with AMX-10 vehicles which are fully amphibious. The air mobile bridage usually drop of from transport choppers like the Super Pumas and use vehicles like the LSV to get around places. They are almost like Singapore version of airborne troops - but much lighter. The amphibious ones are our Marines.... -
Infantry vs Guards vs Commandos
I'll start with the easy one first: Commandos. Commandos perform special operations, with recce and raid missions being their specialities. For example, 4 man LRRPs (long range recce patrols) are dropped behind enemy lines and spend a few weeks running, hiding, eating the local wildlife and reporting on enemy movements before exfiltrating. Larger commando units might drop behind enemy lines, creep up to an enemy installation like a supply base, perform a lightning raid against the defenders, sabotage the place with explosives, then exfiltrate before the enemy counterattacks. Commandos do not fight en masse, but instead emphasize stealth and mobility to complete missions. This means that they are more lightly armed than infantry. They do not hold ground. They do not perform defence missions. They do not form part of the "main effort" of ground forces (i.e. they do not participate on the front lines) unless absolutely required.
Infantry can perform a wide variety of missions. However, the bread and butter missions for infantry are attack, defence and patrol missions. Infantry perform frontal attacks against enemy positions, particularly in areas like jungle or mountains where ONLY infantry can operate. Infantry dig in on objectives and defend them against attack. Infantry patrol territory in order to police and control it, or to detect and disrupt enemy actions, especially with ambushes. Infantry form part of the "main effort" of ground forces (along with Armor, Combat Engineers and Artillery, with support arms) and hold and push forward the front line. Infantry, more than any other combat arm, fight en masse and rely on main strength to complete missions. In the end, infantry win the war.
Guards (or Marines) are a cross between the two, in almost every way. They fight en masse like infantry, but they are not numerous. They are armed more heavily than commandos, but cannot stand up on the front line against enemy armor and massed infantry. They are more mobile than infantry, but not as mobile as commandos (they are helimobile and amphibious, but not airborne). Their role is to perform the missions that fall in between the two extremes I gave. An example would be a large raid behind enemy lines against a fortified objective. Another example would be reconnaisance-in-force (RIF), which is scouting the enemy by engaging him in a skirmish, seeing his response, then withdrawing. Yet another example would be fighting a "guerilla war" behind enemy lines, mounting ambushes all over the place and evading counterattack. The last example would be creating a beachhead and holding it until infantry arrive. It is a matter of debate whether Guards inherit the good points or the bad points of both infantry and commandos by being a jack of all trades.
Hope this clears things up.
PS: I am from infantry. -
If I'm not wrong, Guards aren't airborne qualified. They are only heliborne. And if SAF isn't lying, Guards are supposed to BE the ELITE of the infantry. Usually fitter than the infantry counter-parts and more mobile. Question is, WHO has the heavier armaments? Guards or Infantry? And if indeed the Guards are the elite of the infantry, why "CAN'T" they mount frontal assaults?
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Well, I did say that Guards are not airborne (read my post again). Infantry are more heavily armed in general, but I think our Guards have some toys that we don't.
Guards CAN mount frontal assaults, but since there are only 2 battalions of Guards, they are not meant to. It would be like asking the USMC to fight a war when there is a perfectly good US Army.
About Guards being more elite than Infantry: As much as it pains me
I have to admit this is true. They get better men and more resources. They are trained to do more. But in the end, they are still a side dish, while we are the main course. The war hinges on the fate of the Infantry and until one of our guys is dug in there it is not ours, no matter how many Guards LSVs drive over it. 
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Hehe, main course to be eaten. =)
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How about combat engineers? They're probably the first ones to cross the causeway.
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The first to enter Malaysian territory (going by your assumption) would be heli/airborne Commandos and Guards units, who will establish and secure a beachhead before the Engineers can work to get the main force through.Originally posted by Mark Lee:How about combat engineers? They're probably the first ones to cross the causeway. -
Singapore case, the Air units will alway have the honour and priority to give the first heavy strike and impact on her territory.Originally posted by EXCO:The first to enter Malaysian territory (going by your assumption) would be heli/airborne Commandos and Guards units, who will establish and secure a beachhead before the Engineers can work to get the main force through.
RSAF F-16.....and apache will punch holes in their armour.
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awww...
make love, not war... -
War is somethings beautiful(i m not a war maniac).War with malaysia can release my anger,...........Originally posted by CX:awww... make love, not war... -
don't be spastic and childish...Originally posted by Mech^O^GATor:War is somethings beautiful(i m not a war maniac).War with malaysia can release my anger,...........
war is NOT beautiful... war is ugly, war is death and war is the sum of all misery and pain and the end of human civilization and human decency.
talking about war can release your anger. fighting one will probably get u, me and a lot of other people killed even if we might eventually win it.
don't be dense. THINK before u shoot your mouth off. just because u're annonymous here doesn't mean that u can be irresponsible. -
*Growl*Originally posted by EXCO:The first to enter Malaysian territory (going by your assumption) would be heli/airborne Commandos and Guards units, who will establish and secure a beachhead before the Engineers can work to get the main force through.
Don't forget man... We recon would be among the first ones in there to mark out the targets for the red hats, sandbags and hammers of god. Bwahahaha
(Eh... no offence to the other arms, eh? ) -
what's the reqiurement to get into Guards or Commandos?
Can a guy just go to the SAF and said he want to be a Guards or Commandos?
Heard that Guards are actually infantry and they have a Guards Conversion course where the soliders need to pass it before getting the Guards tab and be regarded as a Guards, so if he fails the test, he will be kicked out of Guards and become an Infantry soldier afterall? Or he can retake the test again?? -
I think the Army already got good men around. What I think its lacking was the quality of our Navy servicemen, do you think we should enlarge or change the scope of what our Naval Divers to that of a SEAL? The US SEALs originated from their UDT in the past too, just like our NDU.
I am still unclear about wat our divers do.....
Do they just dispose underwater mines and explosives???
Since they are men of calibre, why not give them a bigger roles to play??? -
i belive our divers do raids on enemy naval bases and ships... and also to sabotage docked enemy ships..
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There is already a team within the NDU that does all that.
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only one reason, NDU sounds like a pussy name and will not threatened the Mudlanders as much as Special Sea air and land team.Originally posted by bcoy:There is already a team within the NDU that does all that.
[] These guys will be the ones that will put Lekiu into her watery grave when she is anchored at port. -
u know... just as people think that trade is Sg's achilles' heel, hasn't it occured to anyone that M'sia would be similarly affected... a blockade of the sea lanes and the mining of the vital trade routes would strangle them nearly as much as it strangles us...
but as no one intends for a war to drag on until both sides starts starving, i think the outcome of the conflict will be decided within the first 7 days... speed is of the essence. -
Malaysia is certainly aware of this achilles' heel that the mining of their ports will affect them badly.Originally posted by CX:u know... just as people think that trade is Sg's achilles' heel, hasn't it occured to anyone that M'sia would be similarly affected... a blockade of the sea lanes and the mining of the vital trade routes would strangle them nearly as much as it strangles us...
but as no one intends for a war to drag on until both sides starts starving, i think the outcome of the conflict will be decided within the first 7 days... speed is of the essence.
They are now adding into their list of purchases a fleet of four mine sweepers to be delivered sometime in 2006. -
i think its well known that 75 percent of singapore GNP are dependent on sea lanes...Originally posted by CX:u know... just as people think that trade is Sg's achilles' heel, hasn't it occured to anyone that M'sia would be similarly affected... a blockade of the sea lanes and the mining of the vital trade routes would strangle them nearly as much as it strangles us...
but as no one intends for a war to drag on until both sides starts starving, i think the outcome of the conflict will be decided within the first 7 days... speed is of the essence.
BUT... i think many didnt realise that.. while singapore is the most sea lane dependent nation... MALAYSIA is THE second most sea lane dependent nation with 66 percent of their GNP requireing the use of the Sea lanes.. or SLOC as most people call it....
Furthermore... the regional SLOC are the artery for many nation's trade... an SLOC blockade would surely bring swift response from all major, global and regional powers into the conflict....