For the first ten years of its history, one soldier dominated the build-up of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). Mobilised in the rank of Lieutenant Colonel by Defence Minister Dr Goh Keng Swee when Singapore was expelled from Malaysia on 9 August 1965, Kirpa Ram Vij, then a captain in the Singapore Volunteer Corps, established the Singapore Armed Forces Training Institute (SAFTI) — Singapore’s own military academy — with Israeli Defence Force guidance, and with them formulated many of the operational doctrines still underlying SAF land forces’ training. He also launched the School of Advanced Training for Officers (SATO), and later the Dr Goh Keng Swee Command and Staff College (SCSC) for senior command levels.He attained the top military appointment of Director, General Staff, in the course of which he was promoted to Brigadier General. In 1974 he chose to be repatriated to his primary vocation as a Singapore government administrative service officer, and served with distinction as Singapore’s first ambassador to Egypt and Singapore’s first high commissioner to Pakistan. He left government service in 1981 for a highly successful tour of engagements in the private sector including setting up a container freight station for Singapore in Mumbai, India. Kirpa Ram died on 29 October 2022.This book traces the life story of Kirpa Ram Vij and his contributions to the SAF.
