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Singapore Organization and Mission of the Armed Forces
In 1989 Prime Minister Lee continued to make most
policy
decisions concerning defense strategy and to approve the
military
budget. However, Goh Chok Tong, who served concurrently as
first
deputy prime minister and minister for defence, no doubt
had the
authority to decide most policy questions relating to the
armed
forces. He was assisted by two deputy defence ministers,
one
responsible for policy and the other for the organization
of combat
and combat support organizations. According to the Armed
Forces Act
of 1972, the minister for defence was to serve as the
chairman of
the Armed Forces Council and, in this capacity, was to
assume
responsibility for organizing and administering the armed
forces
and those government agencies having jurisdiction over
military
installations and defense industries.
In 1989, the Ministry of Defence was organized into a
general
staff for the army and six divisions responsible for the
air force,
navy, security and intelligence, logistics, manpower, and
finance
(see
fig. 14).
The air force and navy were largely
autonomous and
were commanded by a brigadier general and commodore,
respectively.
In wartime, the air force and navy would come under the
operational
control of the chief of the general staff, an army
lieutenant
general.
Data as of December 1989
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