http://www.hometeam.sg/article.aspx?news_sid=20130228vMjmnWSxwYEj
They are highly dedicated and specialised in handling hostage rescue situations and high risk arrests. The Singapore Police Force’s Special Tactics and Rescue (STAR) Team is certainly a force to be reckoned with.
Find out what it takes to be part of this crack team of professionals.
The STAR Unit started out as a ‘part-time’ force within the Singapore Police Force (SPF) in 1978, to combat a growing trend of violent crimes. On 9 November 1993, the STAR Unit was officially commissioned as the SPF’s inaugural full-time SWAT unit, equipping SPF with the highest level of tactical armed response. PHOTO: Matthew Wong
Armed with a mastery of various assault weapons and specialist skills to carry out a marine assault or a high-risk entry, these operatives switch from combat modes easily to carry out their mission.
This is regardless of whether they need to don combat fatigues or black tie suits.
This may sound like what you would see in an action movie but it is not.
No on-screen thriller can compare to the kind of action the Special Tactics and Rescue (STAR) team of the Singapore Police Force (SPF) face in their work.
This highly dedicated and specialised unit is trained and equipped to handle hostage rescue situations and conduct high risk arrests involving armed and dangerous criminals.
Under the direct command of only two men, the Police Commissioner Ng Joo Hee and Director of Police Operations, Senior Assistant Commissioner (SAC) Lim Kok Thai, the crack team works in tandem with other police departments to ensure a safe and secure Singapore.
“As long as there is a hostage or armed weapon involved, we would be activated,” revealed STAR’s Commanding Officer, Superintendant (Supt) Desmond Chua.
One such mission took place on 2 September 2007.
That day, Singapore Armed Forces’ (SAF) Full-Time National Serviceman (NSF) Dave Teo Ming went missing from Mandai Hill Camp with a loaded SAR-21 assault rifle.
Police mounted an island-wide manhunt and the elite team was activated.
About 20 hours later the men cornered him at a toilet in Cineleisure Shopping Mall which was right in the heart of Orchard Road.
“We are very focused in our operations to the point of being surgical... We went straight for Dave Teo, and as for the rest of the crowd or other concerns, our SPF counterparts will take charge,” said Supt Chua.
TRAINING AND SELECTION
Before STAR officers become the elite troops that they are, they have to first successfully graduate from a year of selection and basic training.
Horror stories often get passed around about the selection week or “Hell Week”.
STAR trainees have to go through this selection after three months of their basic course training.
“Within the first day of Hell Week, my entire sole was one big blister. I had to cut off the whole layer of skin and carry on the next day,” said Supt Chua recalling his own Hell Week experience.
While STAR officers remained tight-lipped about Hell Week’s selection procedures, they would only reveal that the tests are similar to those their military counterparts in the Special Operation Forces go through.
The tests gauge the aptitude, attitude and mental endurance of STAR trainees.
“Hell Week consists of all sorts of deprivations you can think of, and those you never imagined, both the physical and mental. Ultimately it is where one’s threshold lies, but Hell Week is definitely beyond everyone’s threshold,” recalled Staff Sergeant (SSgt) N, who has been with STAR for eight years. He cannot be named due to operational security.
In this mock hostage-rescue operation, the STAR unit showcased how they gain entry by using explosives to blow up locked entrances. While the impact of the explosion could be felt even as far as 200m away, the officers just took cover behind a ballistic shield, just a metre away from the blast. PHOTO: Matthew Wong
It is clear that those who have undergone and survived the tests see ‘Hell Week’ differently.
“Some of us will think that it’s all about getting through challenges. But not everyone gets the exposure to be pushed beyond their mental and physical limits over an extensive period of time,” said SSgt N.
“Anyone can go through these selections, but how they perform in the end will differ,” he added.
Only Police officers who are under 30 years old can sign up for the test.
The stringent and intense mental and physical endurance test plays a part in ensuring that only the highest calibre of officers remains.
However, to make the cut, STAR looks out for several other qualities too.
“Courage to do the things normal people would not dare to do on a regular day, is important,” said Supt Chua.
Being a team player is also crucial.
“(The divers) stay underwater for so long and in Singapore’s waters, it is pitch black darkness,” shared SSgt N who is cross-trained as an assaulter and diver.
“All you can sense is your buddy. So if anything goes wrong with you, he’s all you can rely on.”
Diving is one of STAR team’s specialist skills.
During the selection and basic course, trainees are put through tests to sieve out those who might be suitable for specialist skills like sniping and diving.
The STAR Unit has a training facility called the Boarding and Search Trainer (BST).
Commonly known as a Ship Mock-up because its exterior and interior is like a cargo vessel, it is at least 8 metres high with a stern jutting over a 10-metre training pool.
The trainer allows officers to conduct numerous tactical trainings, including close-quarter combat and various methods of entry and ship boarding.
Only 10 per cent of trainees manage to successfully go through the training and selection tests to join the STAR ranks said Supt Chua.
Such a success rate is experienced by Special Forces world-wide he said.
While he hopes more will be keen to join the team, Supt Chua noted that being a STAR officer may not be for everyone as some may prefer the comforts of an office.
“But someone has to do it. We want to catch the bad guys… and we are closet adrenaline junkies,” laughed SSgt N.
CAMARADERIE
Despite the unique job scope and training, STAR officers insist they are very much “like normal human beings”.
In fact, team mates have a very strong bond.
“We can’t share our operations with others, so we spend a lot of time together. We run, we go for movies, sit round, chit chat and laugh at one another.”
Beyond the camaraderie, STAR officers are willing to lay their life down for their team-mates.
“Should there be one of your senior officers who comes up to you and says ‘Sir, I will be your point man’, he knows very well what he will face if all hell breaks loose,” said Supt Chua.
The point man is the first officer to enter a scene or situation.
This means the officer faces a higher risk of being shot at.
“So if he comes in and says that to me, my job is to make sure that he goes back to his family,” said Supt Chua.
Despite the higher risk of losing their life in an operation, STAR officers are resolute in their role to keep Singapore safe and secure.
“We are all mentally prepared… I always discuss my funeral wake with my wife,” said Supt Chua.
“But we don’t dwell on it, else we would not be able to move,” said SSgt N.
STAR officers’ dedication and commitment to keeping Singapore safe round the clock is clear.
They take up such a variety of missions that one may never guess when one encounters a STAR officer.
“No one knows who we are, but wherever you can imagine us, we will be where we need to be,” said Supt Chua.
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