Staff officers : S1 to S4

Staff officers are specialist advisers to a commander, for example, a battalion commander.
These specialist officers are -
S1 - the manpower officer.
S2 - the intelligence officer
S3 - the operations officer
S4 - the logistic officer.

Each of the above officers will normally have a small groups of officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) to assist him in his work.

At the battalion and brigade level, the terms S1 to S4 are used. At the Division level or higher, the terms G1 to G4 are used to replace the terms S1 to S4.

Operations and Exercises

An Exercise is a training mission. Unlike normal training which might focus on one skill at a time, an exercise is usually a simulated real life environment where the soldiers are tested on a wide variety of skills. For example, an exercise involving a platoon attack will train the soldiers in individual field craft, while those appointed as leaders in the exercise will be assessed on their leadership and tactics.

An Operation, on the other hand, is carried out in a war or real-life situation. Worldwide, the most famous operation might be Operation Desert Storm which involved the US military forces in the Middle East. In Singapore, Operations are rare. One such Operation is Operation Thunderbolt in 1991 where the Singapore Commandos stormed a hijacked airliner SQ117 and shot dead four hijackers without loss of hostage life.