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From top:
LTA Rayant Yeo explaining
the use of the firearm; soldiers moving
into position; a battle ensues; one
soldier is shot. |
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With an annual budget of $1 million, the Innovate@MINDEF
Fund is used to provide funding for the prototyping
and trial of innovative projects arising from within
the Ministry of Defence/Singapore Armed Forces (MINDEF/SAF).
To date, the fund, which is administered and managed
by
the MINDEF Innovation & Transformation Office,
has supported 16 innovative projects with a total
investment of more than $350,000. The approving
authority for these funds is the MINDEF Innovation
Council, which
is chaired by Chief of Navy RADM Ronnie Tay.
One of the success stories is the Officer Cadet
School’s (OCS) Paintball Project.
The project was first presented to MINDEF’s
Innovation Pilot Steering Committee in May 2004.
Subsequently, OCS was given $175,000 to develop
and test
the project.
The idea behind the project is to use paintball
technology to instil greater realism during the
SAF’s cadet training exercises.
The paintball has been incorporated into a series
of training drills to assess its effectiveness and
impact on training.
The experimentation has yielded several key insights.
For example, cadets were more aware of being “shot
at”. Instructors observed that they were more
cautious in their approach and more alert to “dangers”
in their surroundings.
This change in mindset and behaviour has far-reaching
implications for SAF’s overall training methodology.
MINDEF is now looking into ways to proliferate the
benefits of paintball technology to other SAF units. |
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By
MINDEF
Next: Innovation takes pride
of place in MINDEF |
