Ever since its inception in 1968, the RSAF has been protecting the integrity of Singapore’s airspace. It remains poised to take on new and evolving threats with its suite of advanced weaponry and air defence systems and platforms.

Apart from air defence, the RSAF also plays a decisive role in land and maritime operations during times of both peace and war – assisting in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR), supporting peacekeeping missions, and safeguarding our territorial airspace.

All this is only possible due to the work of the fine men and women of the RSAF. Everyone in the Air Force works towards a similar goal – the peace and protection of Singapore. ME3 Stephanie Lee and ME2 Shyam Rohitkumar tell us more about their contributions to the peace and security of our homeland.

What sparked your interest in a career with the Air Force?

ME3 Stephanie Lee: I’ve never imagined myself to be working a desk-bound nine-to-five job in the office. My brother joined the Navy right after his engineering studies, and this showed me that I had career opportunities in the military. After browsing through the career options provided by the SAF, I ended up choosing the Air Force as an Air Operations and Systems Expert (AOSX) because of the diversity of its work environment. The AOSX had work opportunities in control towers, radar control, and operations centres. Furthermore, I’d be able to utilise my engineering knowledge while executing real-time operations.

ME2 Shyam Rohitkumar: When I was a kid, I was fascinated with planes and remote control cars but joining the Air Force was never at the top of my mind. Just when I thought that I lost interest as I grew older, I had the opportunity to study Aerospace-related subjects in polytechnic. That was when I discovered that my passion was still alive. I took up related courses and came to the realisation that I wanted to work in the field. So joining the Air Force was the logical thing to do. Besides, I was also sponsored under the SAF Polytechnic Sponsorship (previously known as the Joint Polytechnic-SAF Diploma Scheme), which gave me financial freedom during my polytechnic days.

Tell us more about your job. What are your roles and responsibilities?

ME3 Stephanie Lee: As an AOSX, I co-ordinate the airspace usage of the RSAF aircraft, and maintain the readiness of the systems that we use so that there will be safe and efficient conduct of air operations.

As a whole, AOSXs are required to have strong air operations knowledge in utilising advanced integrated command and control equipment. Being at the forefront, we are also the eyes and the ears of the Air Force, assessing every threat before they can even enter Singapore’s Airspace.

ME2 Shyam Rohitkumar: I believe this quote from one of our senior commanders, BG Lim Tuang Liang, sums up my job as an Air Force Engineer (AFE) perfectly: “The first wave is won by the pilots, but the subsequent waves are won by the ground crew.” When the jets land, we do our job as AFEs to maintain them and make sure they’re put back in the air quickly in order to protect our skies. In this way, we help generate air power!

What are some of the challenges you face at work? How do you overcome them?

ME3 Stephanie Lee: Having to constantly keep abreast of the new systems and equipment is rather difficult. Sometimes, when a new system comes online, we just have this mind-set of “why can’t it be the same as the old version?” But it’s important to be mentally prepared to embrace changes. The world is ever-changing after all. There’ll always be new developments in technologies and warfare. We have to keep up in order to build a better fighting force. It also helps that the Air Force provides relevant and adequate system courses to provide us with knowledge on operating the new system.

Also, as a mother with two young children, it’s difficult to have to work over the weekends. However, I always try to make up for this during my off-days. At the same time, the management does show that they care about the welfare of the team, doing their best to equal out the weekend duties so that we don’t have to work over the weekends too much. It helps that I have a supportive family that’s always there for me as well.

ME2 Shyam Rohitkumar: Because work in the Air Force involves many agencies, sometimes we face challenges in communicating on a wide range of issues. To address this, we conduct after action reviews.

What were some of the memorable episodes you’ve had in your career with the Air Force?

ME3 Stephanie Lee: I had a short-term overseas detachment in Indonesia (Exercise Elang Indopura) which gave me the opportunity to work closely with and get to know the other vocations in the RSAF. I worked in the operations room – which is essentially the ‘heart’ of all operations – allowing me to learn how the aircrew planned for the missions and how the AFEs kept the aircraft ready for operations. More importantly, I also learnt the importance of teamwork. Everyone worked together and ensured that the Exercise was conducted successfully, and nothing can replace the friendships that were forged during the six weeks we spent in a foreign country.

ME2 Shyam Rohitkumar: I have to say the most memorable event for me was my first ever long-term posting of two years to Peace Carvin II (PCII), the RSAF F-16 detachment in Arizona, US. Being away from home for the first time really made me realise the importance of family. I was homesick and all, but I had great supervisors and officers who helped us settle in. When I saw all our superiors going out of their way to make sure that we were doing alright, it really solidified the nurturing aspect of the RSAF in my mind.