The Army Deployment Force (ADF) is a

rapid deployment A rapid deployment force is a military formation that is capable of fast deployment. Such forces typically consist of elite military units (special forces, paratroopers, marines, etc.) and are usually trained at a higher intensity than the rest ...

unit of the Singapore Army responsible for conducting

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...

and expeditionary operations. It consists of only regular servicemen, primarily from the Guards formation. The ADF was established in 2016, in response to modernised terrorist attacks such as the

November 2015 Paris attacks The November 2015 Paris attacks () were a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks that took place on Friday, 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb, Saint-Denis. Beginning at 9:15p.m., three suicide bombers ...

History

The Army Deployment Force was officially inaugurated on 12 July 2016 in Nee Soon Camp, with roughly 600 regular servicemen at the time of inception. This discrete rapid deployment battalion is operationally-ready to a high readiness state, ready to respond to any civil emergencies and actively able to respond "at the push of the button". The motto "Always Ready" stands for always ready for any national exigency. Its first operational mission began in August 2016, when ADF servicemen were rotationally deployed to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

as cover safety and protection for the medical teams by Singapore to assist the international coalition forces that are in combat with the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

(ISIS). The unit received their regimental colours from President

Halimah Yacob Halimah Yacob (Jawi script: ; born 23 August 1954) is a Singaporean politician and former lawyer who has been serving as the eighth president of Singapore since 2017. Prior to her presidency, she was the country's Speaker of the Parliament of S ...

on 1 July 2021, as part of the SAF Day Parade.

Role

Army Deployment Force members during AOH 2022 300522

The ADF's primary role is to provide rapid response to terror threats or national exigencies in both urban and non-urban settings, and supporting the Special Operations Task Force (SOTF), Island Defence Task Force (IDTF), as well as the various

Home Team In sports, home is the place and venue identified with a team sport. Most professional teams are named for, and marketed to, particular metropolitan areas; amateur teams may be drawn from a particular region, or from institutions such as sch ...

agencies. Secondarily, it can respond to civil emergencies or Peace Time Contingency Operations (PTCO). Additionally, it is also capable of being deployed for both Peace Support Operations (PSO) and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief operations (HADR) both within and around Singapore.

Training

ADF troopers are trained to provide the army with niche capabilities, with much of the training for the Singapore Guards coming into play as troopers develop their roles in the unit. ADF training is primarily conducted in Nee Soon Camp.

Combat Qualification Course

In order to be inducted into the Army Deployment Force, aspiring soldiers are required to complete the grueling 21-week long Combat Qualification Course (CQC). The course trains and equips ADF troopers with key capabilities enabling them to respond to any threat or peacetime contingency quickly and effectively, it also serves to test the physical and mental readiness of trainees before they are posted to the ADF's operational companies. The course covers a range of skillsets such as weapon proficiency,

unarmed combat Hand-to-hand combat (sometimes abbreviated as HTH or H2H) is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of weapons.Huns ...

conventional warfare Conventional warfare is a form of warfare conducted by using conventional weapons and battlefield tactics between two or more states in open confrontation. The forces on each side are well-defined and fight by using weapons that target primari ...

urban operations Urban warfare is combat conducted in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both the operational and the tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban warfare include the presence of civilians and ...

fast-roping Fast-roping is a technique for descending a thick rope, allowing troops to deploy from a helicopter in places where the aircraft cannot touch down. The person holds onto the rope with gloved hands (with or without using their feet) and slides do ...

and

rappelling Abseiling ( ; ), also known as rappelling ( ; ), is the controlled descent of a steep slope, such as a rock face, by moving down a rope. When abseiling the person descending controls their own movement down the rope, in contrast to low ...

, Peacetime Contingency Operations (PTCO), as well as

Peace Support Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

and

Humanitarian Aid Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need help. It is usually short-term help until the long-term help by the government and other institutions replaces it. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and ...

and

Disaster Response Disaster response is the second phase of the disaster management cycle. It consists of a number of elements, for example; warning/evacuation, search and rescue, providing immediate assistance, assessing damage, continuing assistance and the imme ...

(HADR) operations. As part of their graduation criteria, trainees are required to complete a 10km march in 90 minutes, a warrior competition that tests their combat fitness and weapon competency, and an 18-hour finale exercise.

Equipment

Some of the equipments of the ADF include: *

Milkor MGL The Milkor MGL (Multiple Grenade Launcher) is a lightweight 40 mm six-shot revolver-type grenade launcher (variations also fire 37/38mm) developed and manufactured in South Africa by Milkor (Pty) Ltd. The MGL was demonstrated as a concept to the ...

* Peacekeeper Protected Response Vehicle (PRV) *

SAR 21 The SAR 21 ("Singapore Assault Rifle - 21st Century") is a bullpup assault rifle designed and manufactured in Singapore, chambered for the 5.56x45mm cartridge. First revealed and subsequently adopted by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) as its ...

Variants *

Sig Sauer P226 Sig used as a name may refer to: *Sig (given name) *Sig, Algeria, a city on the banks of the Sig River *Sig Alert, an alert for traffic congestion in California, named after Loyd Sigmon *Sig River, a river of Algeria also known as Mekerra sig (lo ...

* Heckler & Koch P30LS * Remington 870 MCS *

Taser A taser is an electroshock weapon used to incapacitate people, allowing them to be approached and handled in an unresisting and thus safe manner. It is sold by Axon, formerly TASER International. It fires two small barbed darts intended to ...

Other than weapons, ADF also uses the Water Purification Units (WPU) trucks and Protected Light Utility Vehicles (PLUVs). ADF's equipment varies depending on their tasks and mission.

References