Page 98 - The Wish Stream Year of 2022 CREST

An Outstanding Opportunity
OCdt Dinkele
As an OCdt in Lucknow Platoon, I was afforded the opportunity to attend the Singapore Armed Forces Training Insti- tute International Cadet Conference (SAFTI ICC). With a theme of ‘Global Leaders: Emerg- ing Stronger Together’, the conference brought together nations with the aim of promoting inter- national learning and building lasting friendships. A total of 15 other nations travelled to attend the conference: France, Italy, The Philippines, Thai- land, Brunei, Vietnam, Sweden, the UK, Malay- sia, South Korea, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Germany, and New Zealand.
The UK’s delegation was made up of myself and eight other members of the Sandhurst Group from University Officer Training Corps around the United Kingdom. We began the long trip to Sin- gapore from Sandhurst on the 13th November, and first experienced the welcoming culture of the people of Singapore at the airport. Day one concluded with basic administration points for the conference, paving the way for day two. This comprised of a jogging tour around the campus and the opening ceremony, which provided a great opportunity to see the formal uniforms of each nation. We finished the after-
noon with country briefs, learning about the unique characteristics of each country and their militaries.
It was warming and reassuring to see the UK delegations contributing significantly to the closing ceremony and answering the range of questions with confidence.
our remaining time. The first was the water obstacle course. Not only was the water a welcome relief from the 36-degree humidity, it was incred- ible fun and challenging. It was also inviting to hear that key performance indicators for the conference were to see what Singapore had to offer out- side the academy. Visiting the city a number of times, the highlight was on the penultimate day where the acad- emy put on a city tour followed by the SAFTI cadets hosting us in their
The academic side of the confer-
ence covered the changing role
of militaries, the resilience of our
training ecosystems, and reduc-
ing our climate change impact.
Once solutions to the issues were
discussed, the groups prepped
their presentations for the clos-
ing ceremony. It was warming
and reassuring to see the UK del-
egations contributing significantly to the closing ceremony and answering the range of questions with confidence.
favourite spots around the city. My favourite bit was the hawker markets: a highlight was the chilli stingray which the OCdts insisted that we try.
There are two significant reflections from this event. Firstly, the incredible hospitality, and open-
Together with the academic side of the confer- ence, a few more exciting activities engrossed
96 SANDHURST