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Clarence Tan is by all definitions of the word a Singaporean hero.
After all, we’re talking about someone who, among other exploits,
• was in the first batch of soldiers to be part of Singapore’s post-independent army,
• fought in the Konfrontasi,
• led the escort of the Laju hijackers,
• kept watch over Vietnamese refugees during Operation Thunderstorm, and
• was even used as the poster boy for army recruitment in the 1960’s.
Born in the final years of the Japanese Occupation and raised in the last days of British colonialism, Tan was at first a member of the Singapore Volunteer Corps before joining the military full-time to become a regular officer in 1963.
..............
Starting the commandos
By 1969, a good four years into independence, Tan — having now attained the rank of Major — was tasked with establishing the Singapore Armed Forces’ (SAF) elite Commando unit.
At the time, Tan was considered the most qualified solider for the job, having been through U.S. Ranger and airborne training, as well as having spent a significant time training with Malaysia’s commando equivalents.
Recalling the initial worries he had when starting the unit, Tan said:
“At that point of time, it was [stressful]. Because you got to start the unit from the very beginning and how to get these people? What sort of people do you need? And it’s not easy to recruit soldiers to join me.”
More at S’pore’s first-ever Commando officer reveals how he set up an elite force & made it ‘best in the SAF’
After all, we’re talking about someone who, among other exploits,
• was in the first batch of soldiers to be part of Singapore’s post-independent army,
• fought in the Konfrontasi,
• led the escort of the Laju hijackers,
• kept watch over Vietnamese refugees during Operation Thunderstorm, and
• was even used as the poster boy for army recruitment in the 1960’s.
Born in the final years of the Japanese Occupation and raised in the last days of British colonialism, Tan was at first a member of the Singapore Volunteer Corps before joining the military full-time to become a regular officer in 1963.
..............
Starting the commandos
By 1969, a good four years into independence, Tan — having now attained the rank of Major — was tasked with establishing the Singapore Armed Forces’ (SAF) elite Commando unit.
At the time, Tan was considered the most qualified solider for the job, having been through U.S. Ranger and airborne training, as well as having spent a significant time training with Malaysia’s commando equivalents.
Recalling the initial worries he had when starting the unit, Tan said:
“At that point of time, it was [stressful]. Because you got to start the unit from the very beginning and how to get these people? What sort of people do you need? And it’s not easy to recruit soldiers to join me.”
More at S’pore’s first-ever Commando officer reveals how he set up an elite force & made it ‘best in the SAF’
