Clarence Tan is by all definitions of the word a Singaporean hero.

After all, we’re talking about someone who, among other exploits,

• was in the first batch of soldiers to be part of Singapore’s post-independent army,

• fought in the Konfrontasi,

• led the escort of the Laju hijackers,

• kept watch over Vietnamese refugees during Operation Thunderstorm, and

• was even used as the poster boy for army recruitment in the 1960’s.

Born in the final years of the Japanese Occupation and raised in the last days of British colonialism, Tan was at first a member of the Singapore Volunteer Corps before joining the military full-time to become a regular officer in 1963.

But before we can attribute his decision to join the army to any sense of patriotism, the now-78-year-old is quick to tell Mothership that he signed on simply because he loved the outdoors.

Starting the commandos

By 1969, a good four years into independence, Tan — having now attained the rank of Major — was tasked with establishing the Singapore Armed Forces’ (SAF) elite Commando unit.

At the time, Tan was considered the most qualified solider for the job, having been through U.S. Ranger and airborne training, as well as having spent a significant time training with Malaysia’s commando equivalents.

Recalling the initial worries he had when starting the unit, Tan said:

Other units had already been established and for Tan, their recruitment efforts must have seemed far more impressive to interested soldiers.

Tan can’t help but allow the corner of his mouth to curl up in a wily smile as he recalls his pitch to that first batch of recruits.

Tan with his commando stiletto knife. Stilettos are presented to every commando who finishes their training. Tan’s golden stiletto was presented to him when he retired from the SAF. Photo by Andrew Koay

If memory serves him right, he qualifies, Tan saw 10 officers and about 30 soldiers from other ranks joined up after that first recruitment drive — forming the first-ever batch of Singapore commandos.

Best in the SAF

With that, Tan and his rag-tag group of commando recruits set about earning the unit a reputation for producing the best soldiers in the SAF.

However, physical fitness was not the only attribute that good soldiers needed — as was pointed out to Tan by a senior officer.

That year, the unit had just taken part in the SAF’s inter-unit shooting competition. It was the first time they were competing and they did not do well.

From there, interest in the unit grew. In what Tan describes as “drips and drabs”, more and more soldiers started to sign up to train under him and his commandos.

Full article at https://mothership.sg/2019/06/clarence-tan-saf-commandos-interview/