The Special Operations Force (SOF) is the primary

special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

unit of the

Singapore Army The Singapore Army is the land service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). The largest of the four branches of the SAF, the Singapore Army traces its origins to the 1st Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment (1 SIR), which was formed i ...

responsible for conducting special operations. It is composed of only highly-trained regular servicemen from the Commandos formation. It is also a component of the

Special Operations Task Force The Special Operations Task Force (SOTF) is a special operations command of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) responsible for conducting special operations. It is composed of only highly-trained regular servicemen from the Army's Special Operatio ...

(SOTF), alongside the Special Warfare Group (SWG) of the

Republic of Singapore Navy The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) is the naval service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) responsible for defending the country against any sea-borne threats, and the protection of its sea lines of communications, that would comprom ...

(RSN).

History

On 27 September 1972, a flight engineer aboard Olympic Airlines Flight 472 accidentally activated a hijack alarm. The flight, which had 31 passengers and 11 crew members on board, took off from Sydney, Australia at 1030 hours SST and was heading towards

Paya Lebar Airport The Paya Lebar Air Base is a military airbase of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) located at Airport Road in Paya Lebar, in the eastern region of Singapore. The airbase goes by the motto of ''Strength Through Readiness''. It was ...

in Singapore. The Australian authorities were not informed of the situation until four hours later. Following a flurry of conflicting reports, Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority warned Paya Lebar Airport to be prepared for a possible hijack. Flight 472 landed in Singapore at 1825 hours SST and was immediately surrounded by the police before the Singapore authorities could confirm that it was a false alarm. The incident highlighted the lack of

trained and equipped to deal with a hijack or hostage situation in Singapore. This led to the creation of the SOF in 1985 as a unit specially tasked with dealing with such situations.

Operation Thunderbolt (1991)

On 26 March 1991, Singapore Airlines Flight 117 was hijacked in flight by four men, who took all 129 people on board hostage. At Singapore Changi Airport, commandos from the SOF stormed the plane, killed the four hijackers and freed the hostages in under a minute. This also marked the SOF's first combat operation.

Other operations

It was reported that some SOF commandos have been deployed to Afghanistan under Operation Blue Ridge alongside regular Commmandos.

References

Bibliography

* {{Singapore Armed Forces 1984 establishments in Singapore Formations of the Singapore Army Special forces of Singapore Counterterrorism in Singapore Counterterrorist organizations