Time out from trouble

Not too long ago, a champion golfer found himself in a media muddle.

The media discovered that he had been unfaithful to his wife and he admitted to the deed.

The feral press then learnt that there was a second mistress involved. And then another. And when more women came forward, the story dominated headlines round the world.

As sponsors yanked sponsorship money and the public outcry reached a crescendo, the golfer took a time out from the professional circuit. He ducked out of view of the public eye for several weeks - a kind of operational pause to reflect on his situation and review his next course of action.

For the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), operations have to continue, rain or shine, day and night, every day.

No time out in operations is possible because there is simply too much at stake.

SAF warfighters have to take good and bad publicity in their stride. They have to trust that the system will learn from PR fiascos and make better judgement calls next time.

The system will also have to accept that having nurtured thousands of "thinking soldiers", the SAF must up its game when it comes to defence information management.

Truth is the first casualty of war. One might argue, in peacetime too.