Roles of CDF and Defense minister.

• SibeiSuayKia

  10 Oct 04, 15:12

  I wanna ask these questions leh..
  
  2 only..
  
  so the 1st one is..
  
  CDF does mainly what ??
  
  Defense minister does mainly what??
  
  Which is bigger??
  
  Will it be "redundant" as in 2 people holding same role?
  
  Which will play a more larger responsibility?
  
  
• SnowFlag

  10 Oct 04, 15:16

  Originally posted by SibeiSuayKia:

  I wanna ask these questions leh..
  
  2 only..
  
  so the 1st one is..
  
  CDF does mainly what ??
  
  Defense minister does mainly what??
  
  Which is bigger??
  
  Will it be "redundant" as in 2 people holding same role?
  
  Which will play a more larger responsibility?
  
  

  Defense Minister is (much) higher than CDF
• LazerLordz

  10 Oct 04, 15:31

  Defense Minister holds the power to the country's defences and maps out her defense policy.CDF is but the overall commander of our armed forces.He still has to report to the Perm Secs in MINDEF, who in turn reports to the Minister of State for Defence, and subsequently to the top.
• Moxie

  10 Oct 04, 17:17

  It's all there inside Tim Huxley's book, under the Command & Control chapter. Google around for a MINDEF organization chart too, if you can.
  
  MINDEF has 2 components, a policy-making side (DPG, DAG, DTG, etc.) & an armed-forces HQ (Joint Staff of JOPD, JID, SAFTIMI, etc; SAF, RSAF, RSN). 2 permanent secretaries generally head the former, while the CDF leads the latter. Together they report to the Defence Minister.
  
  However, it doesn't mean one individual amassing power. The concern here is less about creating another Saddam Hussein, than to institutionally guard against an untested/inexperienced figure with overriding authority. As such, 3 check-&-balance means were put in place, though overall subservient to PAP direction:-
  
  - the 1st is long-established: formal control of defence policy resides with the Defence Council (around since '65) & the Armed Forces Council (since '72). Can't recall who does what, beyond one's supposedly for "administrative" decisions & the other for "strategic" ones. Membership consists of Cabinet ministers, senior MINDEF figures, service chiefs (including the CDF) & - for the Defence Council - portfolio-holders of Foreign Affairs/Home Affairs/intelligence as well, if I'm correct.
  
  - the 2nd is the emphasis on "team" leadership, even as defence planning & spending exponentially increased over the years. Both MINDEF & the SAF were increasingly bureaucraticized; the former "assisted" - some say as training grounds for - by ministers of state & permanent secretaries from the civil-service, the GLC, the serving SAF (scholars & farmers) & more recently reservist ranks. FWIW One indirect result is that there's no hardline/hawkish military niche developing within the local context.
  
  - the 3rd is the elected president gaining veto power over certain high military & defence appointments. All right, so the PAP still holds all the cards but it's an institutional improvement over the days when the Defence Minister could promote or fire people at will without accounting for it.
• fluk545

  15 Oct 04, 18:38

  Correction - CDF does not report to perm sec.
• Moxie

  16 Oct 04, 15:30

  Correction - CDF does not report to perm sec.

  Huh? I quote myself: "Together they report to the Defence Minister."
  
  Anyway - here's thebreakdown of the MINDEF model, circa Y2K, in Huxley's book; I can spot some subsequent organizational changes/additions but won't update them (too much work):-
  
  *Bloody formatting; how this works*
  
  Minister of Defence
  ~ 2nd Minister for Def.
  ~ Minister of State for Def.
  ~ Director, National Service Affairs
  ~ Director, Security & Intelligence Div.
  
  ---->> Perm Sec, Def.
  ~ DY Sec, Policy: Policy Office, Public Affairs, Nexus, MSD
  
  ---->> Perm Sec, Def. Devt
  ~ DY Sec, Tech.: DSTA, DSO
  ~ DY Sec, Admin : MP Div, DFO
  ~ Chief Def. Scientist
  
  ---->> Chief of Def. Force
  ~ Director, Jt. Staff: JOPD, JID, FMLB, SAFTIMI, HQMC
  ~ Chief of Army
  ~ Chief of Air Force
  ~ Chief of Navy
• SibeiSuayKia

  16 Oct 04, 15:42

  Originally posted by Moxie:

  Huh? I quote myself: "Together they report to the Defence Minister."
  
  Anyway - here's the MINDEF model, circa Y2K, from Huxley's book; I can spot some subsequent organizational changes/additions but won't update them (too much work):-
  
  

  Minister of Defence
  |
  2nd Minister for Defence ---- Minister of State for Defence
  |
  Director, National Service Affairs ---- Director, Security & Intelligence Div
  |
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------
  | | |
  Perm Sec Perm Sec Chief of Defence
  (Defence) (Defence Devt) Force
  | | |
  | --------------------------- -----------------------------------
  | | | | | | | |
  DY Sec DY Sec DY Sec Chief Def. Director, Chief of Chief of Chief of
  (Policy) (Tech) (Admin) Scientist Jt. Staff Army Air Force Navy
  | | | |
  Policy Office DSTA MP Div JOPD
  Public Affairs DSO DFO JID
  Nexus FMLB
  MSD SAFTIMI
  HQMC

  so is CDF related to people action party or is it just Defense minister?
• Moxie

  16 Oct 04, 15:55

  The CDF reports to the Defence Minister. The latter is part of a Cabinet, which in turn is a body of persons appointed by a PM to head the executive departments of the government-in-power. The other elected members of Parliament (PAP or opposition) are backbenchers who aren't strictly holders of public office, unless they're Mayors or something.
  
  The CDF also sits on both the Defence Council & Armed Forces Council as an official adviser; see elsewhere on my debrief on what those are.