Special Operations Command
By DSP Hassan Said

A Tenacious Tactical Force
The Special Operations Command is committed to ensuring its operational units maintain the highest level of tactical competency.

FY 2007 marked another exciting year for Special Operations Command (SOC) as it positioned itself as a Centre of Tactical Excellence and maintained the highest level of tactical competency to support SPF’s public security and public order operations.

Enhancing Public Order Engagement Capability

As our society matures, SPF can expect to see more national policies that allow Singaporeans greater freedom of expression and experimentation. With such policies in place, SOC must ensure a delicate balance between public order and the need for social growth.

Formation of Special Women Task Team

The Special Women Task Team (SWTT) was commissioned in November 2007 to create a centralised task force under the charge of SOC. SWTT is an intermediary option for SPF to deal with passive civil disobedience, protests and demonstrations that involve women and children.

Its mission is to extract women and children from such incidents before the Police Tactical Troop (PTT) moves in to handle violent protestors or instigators. It is vital that the SWTT becomes a competent and professional unit that is equipped to deal with such scenarios.

Dealing with Civil Disobedience

The World Bank Meetings in 2006, which saw the successful deployment of the Crisis Negotiation Unit (CNU), cemented the Unit’s role in dealing with protestors and civil disobedience incidents. Such major events would no doubt attract groups seeking an international audience to publicise their causes, thus creating a need for an effectual means to deal with these groups.

The Unit developed its capability to deal with protestors by updating itself on new tactics used by protestors worldwide. Experienced officers from other police forces that have been successful in dealing with protestors were also invited to conduct training for our negotiators.

Enhancing Personal Mastery

As a tactical force, SOC officers need to continually enhance their personal mastery to ensure a high level of operational competency.

Revised PTU Basic Course

The Police Tactical Unit (PTU) basic and advanced courses were revamped in 2007. A more intense approach that focused on improving officers’ resilience with new modules such as rappelling and tactical operator training was established to meet new public order and security operational requirements.

Combing the Forests

Large forested areas can still be found in Singapore. These forested areas have the potential to hide the sinister and the criminal alike. To enhance the ability of PTU officers to operate in any terrain, SOC introduced forest search training to enable them to operate in any area of dense jungle.

Conquering the Skies

From the forests, the Special Tactics and Rescue (STAR) Unit is taking steps to conquer the skies. With the support of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), STAR officers are currently undergoing training to qualify themselves in heliroping to enable them to quickly enter inaccessible locations.

Enhancing Operational Effectiveness

With tactical operations as its key focus, SOC is expected to deal with all current and emerging threats. For that reason, continuous innovation is key to helping SOC expand, develop and augment its capabilities to face any eventuality.

Formation of Special Tactics and Doctrines Group

In a move to enhance the operational and training effectiveness of SPF specialist units, the Special Tactics and Doctrines Group (SDG) was formed in October 2007. Comprising the Commanders of the specialist units, the SDG reviews and makes recommendations on specialist doctrines, capability development, training, safety and the maintenance of specialist equipment.

Development of Heli-Sniping Capability

Recent terrorist attacks have revealed a new breed of competent and well-trained terror groups who are better armed and equipped for unconventional modes of attack. In response, STAR has taken measures to deal with these new threats by acquiring improved armament and equipment and developing significant, new capabilities. One such capability in development is heli-sniping, which would enhance STAR’s counter-assault tactics in various environments.

Commissioning of Cadaver Dog Capability

Dogs are used in police operations to unearth narcotics and even explosives because of their powerful sense of smell. The K-9 Unit introduced cadaver detection in 2007 to enhance its search operations. Its Cadaver Detector Dogs (CDD) are specially trained to detect decomposing body or body parts. The CDD have successfully detected even very small traces of human remains in a number of cases. In one such operation, the dogs were able to sniff out two finger bones at different locations.

Mission Possible for FY 2008

With the planned expansion and integration of Singapore’s bus and Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) systems to serve more than four million passengers, SOC aims to beef up its role in ensuring a safe journey for everyone.

Transport security will continue to play an important role in SPF’s overall counterterrorism strategy. We plan to expand the role and capability of our Police MRT Unit (PMU) and push for the development of PMU into a full-fledged Transport Security Command (TransCom).