Military history of Singapore
The Singapore Volunteer Rifle Corps, a private organisation, was formed after the 1854 Hokkien-Teochew riots that occurred between the respective Chinese secret societies from 5 to 17 May that year.
The conflict caused widespread unrest and loss of life on the island, and was severe enough for the police to require the support of the military, some marines, special constables, sepoys and even convicts to restore order.
The guns arrived in 1889 and were funded by donations from the Sultan of Johor, members of the various communities in Singapore and prominent businessmen.
As international tensions heightened during the 1930s, an increasing number of men of the various immigrant nationalities and local born ethnicities in the Settlements — predominantly European, Malay, Chinese, Indian and Eurasian — joined the SSVF.
On 25 December 1941, Lieutenant Colonel John Dalley created Dalforce, also known as the Singapore Overseas Chinese Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army as an irregular forces/guerrilla unit within the SSVF during World War II.
Its members were recruited among the local ethnic Chinese people of Singapore, and their ferocious fighting earned them the nickname Dalley's Desperadoes.
[2] The SSVF — including four infantry battalions — took part in the Battle of Singapore in 1942, and most of its members were captured on 15 February 1942 when their positions were overrun.
From 1963 to 1966, Indonesia carried out a policy of confrontation, also known as Konfrontasi, as it opposed to the formation of Malaysia and the existence of the Federation of Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore.
A reprisal mission led by then 2LT Daljeet Singh resulted in 7 Indonesian guerillas killed and several more captured.
[6] After Singapore's independence on 9 August 1965, strained ties with the two immediate neighbors, Malaysia and Indonesia made defense a high priority.
Then-PM Lee Kuan Yew appointed Goh Keng Swee to head the new Ministry of Interior and Defence.
[18][19] In 2018, Defence minister Ng Eng Hen announced that more personnel from SAF and SPF will be sent for counter-terrorism training in Iraq.
Commandos were deployed as part of the UN Peacekeeping contingent, providing security for the villagers to ensure that militia groups were unable to infiltrate.
[22] During the operation, the SAF deployed, amongst others, Construction Engineering, Medical and Dental, and Weapon Locating Radar Teams, as well as UAV Task Groups to support the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in their mission to train Afghan National Security Forces and assist Afghanistan in rebuilding key government institutions.
