Toured the Boeing plant in St Louis this morning. Here it is.

Originally posted by hmsg:

where did u get those aerial photos?

Which aerial photo?

If you're asking about the first pix it was taken from the balcony of one of the structures in the MUTF.

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) unveiled its new Urban Operations (UO) training facility on 5 September 2008. It's known as the Murai Urban Training Facility (MUTF) and will comprise some 200 buildings of various sorts when completed.

Here are the first shots of the sprawling training ground. The urban landscape comprises four distinct areas:

* Old town - A confusing mix of low-rise developments, typically found in a slum area.

* New town - Commercial and housing developments linked by a road network. Includes drains, canals and street fences and street lighting. There is also an overhead bridge and bus stops.

* Residential - Low and high rise housing.

* Industrial - Factory-type buildings.

There is also a Water Works.

Buildings are pre-fab and pre-cast concrete.

Air space over the facility has been cleared for use by fast jets and helicopters. This will facilitate combined arms manoeuvres, supported by ground attack runs by RSAF warplanes and Apache attack helicopters.

Infrastructure explained. This is the view looking East. The training area extends all the way to the edge of the frame of the picture, with the two/three storey shop houses barely visible in this view.

There are alot more buildings not featured in this view.

Not visible are 150 metres of tunnels under the town.

Street level view of the MUTF. The roads are left unpaved as armoured vehicles will also use the training facility. Note the bus stop.

MINDEF said:"Built to resemble a typical town, the MUTF offers a range of realistic training scenarios, from small tactical engagements to large-scale combined arms manoeuvres."

About 1,000 troops can use the facility.

The buildings are built with an indoor tracking system to monitor troops as they enter the buildings.

The system tracks troops and vehicles in real-time, along with tactical engagements and casualties. The ability to simulate behind wall weapons effects should be a boon to UO training and small unit warfare in built-up areas.

Commercial buildings come with the five foot way and shuttered store fronts.

SAF Guardsmen after a rehearsal at the MUTF. All types of weapons in an infantry battalion, direct and indirect fire munitions, can be simulated in the training area.

Not Silvas, but Cammenga compasses with tritium markings for use at night. Lensatic compass with wrist compass as back up and one spare lensatic.

Why not use a hand-held GPS with compasses as back ups?

Originally posted by Eddie Lee:

Like I previously stated. A modern high quality tanto will pierce a metal car body. And is less likely to have problems penetrating through all the other gear that is worn by a modern soldier. Everyone has their favourite I suppose?

Axes are my favourite.

http://www.americantomahawk.com/media/av/kevlar.mpg

This is extracted from a May 2002 Straits Times article about a school principal who was accused of molest. I have deleted the principal's name as he was never charged by police, after the police investigation.

No prizes for guessing who mother and son are...

"The mother of a former student had alleged that Mr XX (name deleted; he's the principal) molested her son last year. The boy was convicted by the Juvenile Court last October for theft and assault and put on probation."

Do they still shave detainees botak and make them march around with a full pack loaded with bricks?

Originally posted by LazerLordz:

Right on.

The system is such that when a kid accuses someone of molest, the cops will turn the spotlight on the fella. This is what happened when the school principal was accused.

Same goes if a women accuses a man of rape/outrage of modesty. I've come across cases when the ensuing investigation destroys the reputation of the person, even if he's never charged by the police in the end.

Moral of the story: make friends with powerful lawyers or have them in your family.

Originally posted by LazerLordz:

My secondary school junior.

No angel at all. There was another case that showed the nasty side of him.

But I will not talk about it here.

Something to do with a school principal? The media went ape over the molest allegation but the cops never charged the man. Poor fella.

*meow*

Originally posted by specialOps:

My numbers are right leh...hunters, strikemasters and UH...is like decades ago liao lar, i didn't mention at all....but the existing flying aircraft figures are right...

RMAF got 200+ aircraft, but mainly transports...their fighting aircraft strength is a small fraction.

Respectfully, they are inaccurate. Check against the Appendix I mentioned next year. Cheers.

shotgun --> Did he visit a neighbouring country without a passport? Lido?

I don't believe a pilot should lose his wings just because he didn't bring home an aircraft.

Michael Teo also lost his bird and he eventually rose to become Commander RSAF.

Some of the more illustrious names in our fighter community have also been members of the "ejection seat club". Like Frank Singam.

Coming back to the topic: Does TUDM actually have 232 birds?

Originally posted by specialOps:

We didn't lose much of our modern aircraft.

Many of our A4s were lost in the late 70s, early 80s...
Pilots ejected safely in most cases.
Technical problems with the engine, after upgrade to A4-SU, no losses.

Super Puma - 1 or 2 lost (Mechnical failure)
Fennec - I remember at least 1 lost (can't remember)

F-16 (3 lost, 7 given to Thailand, 60 operational):-
Lost 1x F-16A (mid-air collision)
Lost 2x F-16C (in USA, one piloted by USAF MAJ eject safely; the other by RSAF LTA, suspected disorientation, didn't eject, died)

E-2C, none lost (4 operational)
F-50, none lost (9 operational)
F-5, none lost (49 operational)

In comparison, RSAF's safety and maintainence record is very good.
Most of our aircraft are not just flyable/operational, but in good condition.

Your numbers don't look right leh.

Also, don't forget the sacrifices of the Hunter community and Strikemaster crews and the UH-1s (biggest one-time loss of SAF personnel was when a UH went down in Brunei).

Originally posted by Atobe:
From a posting at the forum ''Defending the Lion City'' the following was extracted from some very confused jumble of details titled: [/color]



[/b]

The "very confused jumble of details" you describe is part of a longer essay published in 2004, which I'm posting here.

My upcoming book, Defending Singapore - The Singapore Armed Forces, will list crash data in an appendix.

Pub Date: Jun 2, 2004 Pub: ST Page: 25
Author: DBOEY
Headline: RSAF has done much to boost flight safety
By: David Boey, Defence correspondent
Page Heading: Commentary Analysis

Caption:
The RSAF's improved safety record is commendable in view of its more intense
flying schedule and the larger fleet of aircraft when compared to the past.
Corporation: Republic of Singapore Air Force, RSAF
Subject: Aviation Accidents, Safety

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THOUGH military aviation is inherently dangerous, the Republic of Singapore Air
Force (RSAF) has done much to make air force flights safe.
A study of RSAF aircraft and helicopters lost in aerial accidents shows that
the air force has achieved fewer crashes and fewer fatalities in recent years
compared to the RSAF's formative years.
When air crashes do occur, these accidents tend to be far more survivable
now than air crashes in the 1970s.
The RSAF's improved track record did not pop up overnight but was the result
of a sustained effort to build up safety consciousness among all ranks. Some
other air forces have failed to shrug off their bad flight-safety record
because their senior officers have not remedied safety hazards like poor pilot
training, shoddy aircraft maintenance, improperly scripted standard operational
procedures or inadequately maintained airbase infrastructure.
The RSAF's improved safety record is commendable in view of its higher
operational tempo - which means more intense flying - and the larger fleet of
fighters, support aircraft and helicopters in its order of battle.
From 1970 to 1979, the RSAF lost 16 pilots from 21 fighter-aircraft crashes.
One Hawker Hunter was damaged in a mid-air collision but managed to return to
its airbase safely. More than 70 per cent of the crashes in the 1970s were
fatal ones.
The 10 years between 1990 to 1999 saw nine RSAF personnel (six helicopter
pilots and three helicopter aircrewmen) die in three helicopter crashes. No
fighter pilot died during this period.
From 1990 to 1999, the RSAF lost five choppers, three fighters and three jet
trainers. One F-16A fighter, which was badly damaged in a mid-air collision
with another F-16A in July 1991, managed to limp back to Paya Lebar Airbase and
has been rebuilt.
All RSAF deaths that occurred from 1990 to 1999 involved Super Puma
transport helicopters. These carry two pilots and at least one aircrewman in
the passenger compartment.
Catastrophic helicopter crashes are less survivable than accidents involving
aircraft equipped with ejection seats because chopper crews cannot bail out of
their stricken machines.
The fact that there is a 16-year gap between the previous death of an RSAF
fighter pilot and last month's fatal crash involving Lieutenant Brandon Loo
Kwang Han, 25, underscores the part that safety devices like ejection seats
have played in saving aircrew lives.
The last fatal crash involving an RSAF fighter pilot took place on May 24,
1988, in the Philippines. In that incident, a 23-year-old pilot ejected from a
Hawker Hunter just outside Clark Airbase. He was picked up by a United States
Air Force rescue chopper but died from his injuries.
Unlike ejection seats used today, which can safely extract a pilot even if
his aircraft is stationary on the ground, a Hunter pilot needed to achieve a
minimum height and airspeed for his parachute to open safely. The pilot
involved in the Clark Airbase crash was barely at the safety threshold, so his
injuries were severe.
Between that crash and the death of Lt Loo after his fighter crashed on May
19 during a night-training flight in the Arizona desert, 10 RSAF fixed-wing
aircraft have crashed but their pilots all survived.
Several other aircraft were involved in minor incidents, like veering off
runways, but no serious injuries to pilots were reported.
Such news may be cold comfort to the family, friends and colleagues of Lt
Loo, whose ashes were placed in their final resting place yesterday afternoon
at Foo Hai Ch'an Monastery.
While we mourn his loss, Singaporeans can take heart that the RSAF has built
up a robust safety-management apparatus that will get to the bottom of the
tragic crash and ensure that lessons learnt are disseminated in a proper and
timely manner.
The formation of the RSAF Flight Test Centre means the air force can work
with the defence industry and defence science community to test and install
devices to make RSAF aircraft safer.
These run the gamut from ejection seats and parachutes, to devices that can
launch decoys to protect aircraft against anti-aircraft missiles, thereby
boosting the aircraft's operational safety.
Airbase infrastructure has improved significantly since the 1970s. The
decision to build Changi East Airbase and the runway on Pulau Sudong means RSAF
pilots have alternative landing strips should emergencies arise.
These airstrips are a vital safety feature as flight paths leading to Paya
Lebar Airbase and Tengah Airbase take aircraft over densely populated areas.
One can appreciate the enormity of the task the RSAF faces in managing
safety when one considers that the RSAF is one of the few air forces in the
world where the sun never sets on its flight-training regime.
This is because the RSAF maintains detachments in places as far flung as
Australia, Brunei, France and the United States. So its training management
philosophy must operate not only round the clock, but also round the globe in
different climates and flying conditions.
The RSAF cannot hope for a zero-accident rate. The only way for any air
force to achieve a zero-accident rate is for it to keep its warplanes grounded.
That being an impractical measure, the RSAF must continue to work to manage
the consequences of air accidents by doing all it can to make such mishaps
survivable.
Warplanes can always be replaced, but pilots and aircrew are irreplaceable.

- Ends -

Spoke to the lorry driver today. He said he has nothing to say to the 2SG Lim's family.

Didn't even get an apology.

Speaking as a private individual, I find it -- what word should I choose -- repulsive that individuals like this can walk way without a shred of compassion for the family of the deceased.

Life is so cheap.

He's involved in a road traffic accident (no one is saying he caused it) and he can walk away like nothing happened.

Online donations crossing $3,000.

http://forum.channelnewsasia.com/viewtopic.php?p=1502327#1502327

PM me if you have any burning questions you'd like to ask the lorry driver involved in this incident.

To Mr T, I'll come look for you soon. Don't scared. Talk only.

I know how to find you...

More details on the online appeal here:

http://forum.channelnewsasia.com/viewtopic.php?t=100844&start=180

Oct 25, 2007
Net appeal for family of army instructor raises over $1,700
By David Boey
THE online appeal for the family of a fitness specialist who died in a road accident last Saturday crossed $1,700 on Thursday morning as netizens and Straits Times readers chipped in.
The money will be sent to the family of the late Second Sergeant Lim Chee Wee, 23. He did not have personal insurance coverage.

Second Sgt Lim leaves behind his father, a bus driver, mother, a factory worker and 22-year-old brother who is a university undergraduate. The Lim's family home is a five-room flat in Jurong West.

Mr Donald Quek, 22, an insurance agent and financial consultant, got the Net appeal going after he found out about 2nd Sgt Lim's death at a Remedial Training (RT) session on Sunday.

Fitness specialists, commonly referred to as Physical Training Instructors (PTI), conduct RT sessions for NSmen who did not pass the Singapore Armed Forces Individual Physical Proficiency Test or IPPT.

"I didn't expect contributions to exceed $1,000,'' said Mr Quek."I remember on Sunday evening, I told one of the fellow forum members that my target was $1,000, he asked if that's possible.''

On top of the $1,700 raised, the Lims have also received help from the steady stream of Operationally Ready National Servicemen who turned up at 2nd Sgt Lim's five-day wake at Jurong West, even though many of them did not know him personally. Second Sgt Lim's funeral was held on Wednesday afternoon.

The Lims said they are touched by the outpouring of help and thanked the dozens of NSmen and strangers who have helped them tide over their difficult period.

Second Sgt Lim is a familiar face to some NSmen because he led RT sessions for hundreds of them at Maju Camp, off Clementi Road. Soldiers trained by the 23-year-old described him as a popular instructor who was professional, yet friendly and approachable.

"I have taken RT under him before and he is a very nice PTI, friendly guy to chat with. I think around August, he was PTI of the month (similar to employee of the month). Gosh, I didn't think something like that would happen,'' said a posting on www.sgforums.com.

The Straits Times understands that 2nd Sgt Lim was named Maju Fitness & Conditioning Centre "Best Staff" in June and July this year, and earned the Army Fitness Centre's "Best Staff" award in August.

Mr Quek, an NSman who ended up doing RT because he did not train for his IPPT, said the PTI always had kind and encouraging words for slow runners. Second Sgt Lim also taught NSmen strength-building techniques so they could clock better run times during their army physical tests.

First Warrant Officer Lem Yew Teck, Officer Commanding of Maju Fitness & Conditioning Centre, said: 'I hear that NSmen especially liked him alot because he was willing to go the extra mile and see them through their training programme.'

NSmen and netizens who responded to the online appeal remember 2nd Sgt Lim's quiet professionalism as he coaxed out-of-shape NSmen back on the road to physical fitness. Some NSmen were fit and aced their 2.4km run, but were tripped up on test items like chin ups or the standing broad jump.

Singled out for praise by netizens was 2nd Sgt Lim's patience in arranging alternative physical training sessions for NSmen who missed their compulsory 4-hr sessions, even though this meant more work for himself.

Uncomplainingly, he ploughed through mounds of extra paperwork, slogging at his computer to complete documentation that had to be individually approved.

His extra effort to reschedule NSmen's training saved many of them from being charged by the army for missing their RT sessions.

His superiors were so impressed with the young PTI's knack for motivating soldiers and his people-management skills that they hand-picked him to be a fitness specialist for top officers such as Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General Desmond Kuek and Chief of Army Major-General Neo Kian Hong.

Last Saturday morning, 2nd Sgt Lim was on his way from Jurong West to Kallang for a physical training class. He never made it. At about 7.45am, his Vespa scooter collided with another motorbike along the Pan-Island Expressway near Jurong West.

The other rider fell towards the road verge but 2nd Sgt Lim tumbled onto the road and was run over by a lorry driven by a Chinese man in his 30s. The motorbike rider and the lorry driver were unhurt in the incident.

An ambulance rushed the unconscious Second Sgt Lim to National University Hospital, and was pronounced dead at about 8.50am.

Police are investigating the incident and are appealing for witnesses.

- ENDS -

SHIN MIN has a page 1 story on 2nd Sgt Lim's family today (25 Oct 2007)

Here's a rough translation of the Shin Min story. Those whose Mandarin is more power please help refine the draft.

THURSDAY, OCT 25, 2007

SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS

The father of PTI Lim Chee Wee, believed to be devastated by his son's death, terrorised a stall at a wet market for more than 40 minutes this morning.

According to Mr Chen (Note: hanyu pinyin, no full name given), 60, a helper at a newspaper stall at the market (Blk 505, Jurong West St 51), Mr Lim Jincheng (Note: hanyu pinyin), 54, bus driver, had gone to the market to look for the news vendor.

When Mr Chen told him that his boss was not around, Mr Lim went berserk and swept the newspapers at the stall onto the floor. He also tried to flip a table at the stall, said Mr Chen.

Mr Chen was injured when he tried to hold down the wooden table, sustaining scratches on his right arm.

"I asked him, what do you want. I still have to do business," recalled Mr Chen. He thought that there was perhaps misunderstanding between Mr Lim and his boss.

Mr Lim did not utter a word and went on to flip another table at the newspaper stall, scattering coins everywhere.

Mr Chen added that Mr Lim also broke four coffee cups.

Then, Mr Lim walked towards a fishball stall. The stall owner, who had witnessed the earlier commotion at the newspaper stall, rushed forward with her son to stop him from going near her fishball stall.

About 100 people watched as the saga unfolded, but nobody dared make a move to stop Mr Lim.

The fishball stallholder, Madam She (Note: hanyu pinyin, no full name given), said that she did not blame Mr Lim for his actions, as he might have been traumatised by his son's death.

A dishwasher at the market, Mr Luo Chenfa (Note: hanyu pinyin), 68, told reporters that he had heard Mr Lim say in Teochew "I don't know what I'm doing" several times.

Mr Lim was arrested by two policemen who arrived at the market. The police did not handcuff him but had to do so when he struggled before getting into the patrol car.

Mr Lim's wife told reporters later that her husband did not go with her to collect their son's ashes this morning.

She said that her husband was behaving a little odd the night before. He also did not sleep the whole night and he kept crying.

"I had just returned with the ashes when the police informed me that my husband was arrested," she said.

end

www.straitstimes.com --> Latest News has pix

Oct 24, 2007
Training instructor's death: NSmen respond to online appeal

CITIZEN soldiers have rallied to support the family of an army Physical Training Instructor (PTI) who died in an accident last Saturday, minutes away from his home.

Second Sergeant Lim Chee Wee, 23, did not have insurance coverage.

An appeal on Internet discussion groups quickly raised more than $1,300 for his family.

This does not include donations from a steady stream of Operationally Ready National Servicemen who turned up at 2nd Sgt Lim's wake at Jurong West, even though many of them did not know him personally.

One fund manager could not attend the wake personally but sent his driver with an undisclosed contribution.

Mr Donald Quek, 22, got the appeal going after he learnt during a Remedial Training session on Sunday that the army regular had died. RT sessions are physical training sessions conducted by the army for unfit soldiers.

'When I learnt that he had died without insurance and that his family is not well-off, I felt his family would need more help,'' said Mr Quek, an insurance agent.

Money continued to stream in on Wednesday even as his grief-stricken father, a bus driver, mother, a factory worker mother and 22-year-old brother bade him farewell in an emotionally-charged funeral at the void deck of the Lim's five-room HDB flat in Jurong West.

There was barely a dry eye among the scores of 2nd Sgt Lim's army mates who turned up for his funeral too.

Well-built and with a ready smile, the PTI had led RT sessions for hundreds of NSmen at Maju Camp, off Clementi Road.

NSmen and netizens who responded to the online appeal remember 2nd Sgt Lim's quiet professionalism as he coaxed out-of-shape NSmen back on the road to physical fitness.

He always had kind and encouraging words for slow runners and taught NSmen strength-building techniques so they could clock better run times during their army physical tests.

First Warrant Officer Lem Yew Teck, Officer Commanding of Maju Fitness & Conditioning Centre, said: 'I hear that NSmen especially liked him alot because he was willing to go the extra mile and see them through their training programme.'

2nd Sgt Lim's patience in arranging alternative physical training sessions for NSmen who missed their compulsory 4-hr sessions meant more work for himself.

Uncomplainingly, he ploughed through mounds of extra paperwork, slogging at his computer to complete documentation that had to be individually approved.

His extra effort to reschedule NSmen's training saved many of them from being charged by the army for missing their RT sessions.

His superiors were so impressed with the young PTI's knack for motivating soldiers and his people-management skills that they hand-picked him to be a sports trainer for top officers such as Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General Desmond Kuek and Chief of Army Major-General Neo Kian Hong.

Last Saturday morning, 2nd Sgt Lim was on his way from Jurong West to Kallang for a physical training class. He never made it. At about 7.45am, his scooter collided with another motorbike along the Pan-Island Exrpressway near Jurong West.

The other rider fell towards the road verge but 2nd Sgt Lim fell on the road and was run over by a lorry. He was rushed unconscious to National University Hospital, and was pronounced dead at about 8.50am.

Police are investigating the incident.

Fellow soldiers remember 2nd Sgt Lim as a careful rider who left his Vespa Scooter in the carpark whenever the roads were wet.

First Warrant Officer Lem added: 'He had a very upright character and was a well-disciplined soldier.'

'To me he had all the good points a commander would want in his men: he was hardworking, reliable, dependable and able to get on well with his colleagues. We will miss him.'

- ENDS -

Nope, that was done by someone else.

Mine will have far fewer photos. It's a cure for insomniacs.

Originally posted by tankee1981:

Thats great! Because there are already plenty of coffee table books with lots of pictures around. I am hoping to see a book with local insight into the SAF, sort of like a local version of the book, ' Defending the Lion City' by Dr Tim Huxely.

Bingo.

(btw it's "Huxley")