Conclusion

There is an increasing trend of "downsizing" in many armed forces around the world. New ideas in military strategies suggest that the wars of tomorrow will be fought in isolated "pockets" rather than a total war. Strategic troops and mobile military units play a more important role: in future armed confrontations, battles will be won by better-trained units and technology-- numbers will no longer play a major role.

As such, we could expect the Singapore Armed Forces to follow along these lines and see leaner and well-trained units. Perhaps one day, all units in an infantry regiment would be organised into efficient, highly mobile fighting teams. The SAF has not been in an actual combat situation, but the men who trained to defend their country are still a force to be reckoned with. The men of 3SIR (Mono Intake '96/97) proved their mettle in combat readiness when they won the SAF's Best Combat Unit and Best Infantry Unit awards in 1997. For the men of Recon Platoon 3SIR, knowing that they played a significant role in winning the double honours provided them a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

Recon Teams 5 and 6, 3SIR--a mugshot in Thailand