SAFTI Military Institute

[1] On 14 November 1987, Second Minister for Defence Lee Hsien Loong announced that a new SAFTI Military Institute would be built on a 50 ha (124 acres) plot of land in Jurong West.

Prior to the September 11 attacks in 2001, civilians did not require passes and did not have to undergo security checks before entering the campus.

[citation needed] A prominent feature is the Tower, approximately 60 m (197 ft) tall and visible from many parts of western Singapore.

It is served by a lift and a 265-step stairway which symbolically represents the number of days a cadet takes to become an officer.

[citation needed] The SAFTI Military Institute is headed by a Commandant, who usually holds the rank of Brigadier-General or Rear-Admiral.

[6] The college started conducting its first Command and Staff Course in 1969 and was officially opened in February 1970 by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew at Fort Canning.

[7] It was relocated to Marina Hill in the 1970s and Seletar Camp in the 1980s before it moved to its current location within the SAFTI Military Institute in 1995.

[citation needed] The SAFTI Military Institute has extensive sporting and recreation facilities, including a stadium with a football pitch and running track, an Olympic-sized swimming pool with a diving tower, and an indoor rock-climbing wall.