‘Nothing more meaningful than defending our country, sovereignty’

SINGAPORE — During the Typhoon Haiyan relief efforts in the Philippines in November 2013, Lieutenant-Colonel (LTC) Wong Hong Kai led his squadron to deliver aid and help evacuate refugees.

A few months later, when an international search mission was launched after Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 went missing on March 8, LTC Wong and his men were the first foreign air force personnel to arrive at the scene.

His squadron’s speedy response during these operations was one of the reasons it clinched the Best Air Combat Support Squadron award in the Singapore Armed Forces best unit competition last year — one of his proudest achievements, he said.

Following his illustrious career as commanding officer of the transport squadron — which flies the C-130 air craft — with the Republic of Singapore Air Force, LTC Wong, 33, was appointed to the Administrative Service late last year. He was among the 28 appointees who attended the promotion ceremony yesterday. This year will see 73 Administrative Officers being promoted.

“I’m honoured and (it) is also a recognition of my work and certainly, inspires and motivates me to give more and perform at my future jobs,” said LTC Wong, who is currently the head of the Ministry of Defence’s Force Transformation Office, which looks at capability development, technological advancement and innovation in the long term.

LTC Wong noted that besides fulfilling his childhood ambition to be a pilot, he wanted to be part of the Public Service to do something meaningful.

“I wanted to do ... something with impact and I felt that the defence of our country, our sovereignty is probably the most important thing,” he said.

As of last December, there are 344 officers in the Administrative Service. A majority of them serve in various ministries, with some others rotated outside the ministries in the course of their careers.

Even with his new appointment, LTC Wong said he will not take a step back from his front-line missions. “It’s no concern because being appointed to the (Administrative) Service does not restrict you from … going into operations and becoming a commander.”

LTC Wong said his appointment will put him in contact with other segments of the Public Service sector to enable them to look at “whole-of-government solutions”. “In fact, it enables me to contribute more and when I leave the military service, I can continue to contribute to the Public Service sector,” he added. SIAU MING EN