As long as BG (ret) Lee Hsien Loong was around, many sinkies slept soundly in peace. The survivors of the cable car disaster also owe Colonel Lee their gratitude for his fine leadership in extricating them.
Who took the shortest time to rise from Lieutenant to General in modern history?
Lee Hsien Loong was born in 1952.
Enlisted in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) as a Recruit in 1971.
Disrupted his Officer Command School (OCS) training and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1971.
Went to Cambridge on a President's Scholarship and graduated in 1974. Returned to SAF as a Lieutenant.
He was then promoted to Brigadier General in 1983 (he also disrupted to do a Masters degree at Harvard in 1980).
Basically he served 8 years of active service in the SAF, in which time he was promoted from Lieutenant to BG (that's six ranks).
The ranks of CPT to COL all have two grades each. Meaning that he was promoted NINE times in eight years.
Truly a military legend - I can't think of a General with a record this stellar. Patton, Pershing, Mountbatten, McArthur and Powell are all left trailing in his wake.
http://therealsingapore.com/content/who-took-shortest-time-rise-lieutenant-general-modern-history
