The competition for talent remains the single biggest concern and challenge for the armed forces, said the Chief of Army, Brigadier-General Lim Chuan Poh, 37, who was promoted to Major-General yesterday.
In an interview with The Straits Times, he said: "The SAF must continue to evolve so that we can offer an attractive and rewarding career to the best and brightest. A career that can indeed harness the strengths and inclinations of the individual while dovetailed with the larger organisation requirements.
A combination of good support at the national and political levels, and quality people within the organisation has not only kept the SAF relevant, but also allowed it to take a long-term view in developing its readiness and capabilities, he said.
"With this basic focus on having quality people, the SAF has changed dramatically in terms of our operational concepts, our organisation, our capabilities, our technological sophistication, and our training and operating systems."
He has been in the SAF for almost 20 years. He graduated from Cambridge in mathematics and also has an MBA from Cornell.
One of the high points in his career was receiving the SAF overseas scholarship, without which, he said, his present career might not have been possible.
He said an SAF overseas scholar will fly high in his career as long as the scholar can sustain it.
It provides the opportunities to work with people from different backgrounds to move the SAF forward, he added.
(taken from The Straits Times, 30/6/99)