HUIXIAN

[06/02/07] Major-General Desmond Kuek to be new Chief of Defence Force

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) will soon have a new Chief of Defence Force as part of its leadership renewal process.

43-year-old Major-General (MG) Desmond Kuek will assume the post on March 23.

The current Chief of Army has held several senior appointments, among them are – Director, Joint Intelligence Directorate; Commander, 3rd Division; Assistant Chief of General Staff, Operations.

MG Kuek takes over from Lieutenant-General (LG) Ng Yat Chung, who will return to the Administrative Service after attending the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard University.

The Defence Ministry praised 45-year-old LG Ng for serving the SAF with distinction, laying the transformational framework for the 3rd Generation SAF and executing it.

As Chief of Defence Force since 2003, LG Ng is also credited with helping the SAF meet new security challenges like terrorism and low intensity conflicts.

42-year-old Brigadier-General (BG) Neo Kian Hong will be the new Army Chief from March 20.

Currently Chief of Staff-Joint Staff, BG Neo also served as the SAF's contingent commander for International Force for East Timor in 1999 and played an important role in establishing the national contact and tracing system during the SARS crisis in 2003.