US Marines Pacific chief pays first visit to S'pore

The Commander of the United States Marine Corps Forces for the Pacific, Lieutenant-General John Toolan Jr, inspected a guard-of- honour contingent yesterday at the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) headquarters in Gombak Drive.

He called on Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, Chief of Defence Force Ng Chee Meng and Chief of Army Perry Lim yesterday, as part of his four-day introductory visit to Singapore.

Lt-Gen Toolan also went to the Changi Regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Coordination Centre at the Changi Command and Control Centre yesterday.

Today, he will visit the Multi-Mission Range Complex, an indoor live-firing range in Pasir Laba, as well as the Murai Urban Training Facility in Lim Chu Kang.

His trip ends today.

Mindef said yesterday that the visit underscores the excellent and long-standing defence relationship between Singapore and the US. It has been boosted by professional exchanges, training courses and bilateral and multilateral exercises.

"These extensive interactions have enhanced the inter-operability between the two armed forces, and strengthened the friendship and mutual understanding between their personnel," the ministry said in a statement.

This article was first published on February 27, 2015.
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