RSAF welcomes BG Mervyn Tan as new Chief of Air Force

The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) welcomed its new Chief of Air Force (CAF) Brigadier-General (BG) Mervyn Tan Wei Ming on Monday (Mar 28) at a change of command parade held at Tengah Air Base, said the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) in a statement.

BG Tan, 44, received the Air Force command symbol from outgoing CAF Major-General (MG) Hoo Cher Mou at the parade.

Witnessed by Chief of Defence Force MG Perry Lim, the parade featured static displays of the air and ground assets of the RSAF and was attended by senior SAF officers as well as RSAF servicemen and women.

BG Tan joined the SAF back in 1990 and was awarded the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Overseas Training Award (Graduating) in 1992.

In his military career, BG Tan held several senior command and staff appointments including Commanding Officer 121 Squadron, Head Air Plans Department, Commander Air Defence and Operations Command, and Director Military Intelligence (DMI) as well as Chief Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I).

As DMI and Chief C4I, BG Tan helped in raising, training and sustaining the military intelligence community.

He also led the review and development of the RSAF's force structure and manpower establishment during his stint as Head Air Plans Department, which helped shape the RSAF today.

Outgoing CAF MG Hoo was appointed his role on March 25, 2013 and "has served the SAF with distinction since 1984", the statement said.

During his tenure as CAF, he led the RSAF to an advanced stage of its 3rd Generation Transformation and introduced initiatives to position the RSAF for its future needs, specifically in the areas of training, engineering and people development.

He also helmed the operationalisation efforts of key capabilities, such as the F-15SG fighter aircraft, advanced datalink network, as well as the Hermes 450 and Heron-1 UAVs.

MG Hoo also forged greater co-operation between the RSAF and other air forces.

This change of command is part of the SAF's leadership renewal process, said Mindef. 

ssandrea@sph.com.sg