Originally posted by siowkia:Lol. What a funny reasoning from you to proof me wrong, but thanks for your effort anyway. This thread as in it's title is to find the answer, neither it's you or me to decide they are entitled or not unless you are posting for Sg mindef or if you can come out with some concrete proof of official regulation pertaining the use of title for militarymen during service and after retirement.
Nope, it's not funny. just normal reasoning.
Who set the rule that people can use their rank after they are retired? It should be you show the proof, not i show you the proof. Show me the proof that people can use their rank after retirement.
during service the rank is as per normal. NSmen have a (NS) in the title. They are civilians liable to recall, and have a proper rank in the organization. retired military personel are civilians. Civilians don't hold military rank.
clearly u don't understand english, just let it be.
Originally posted by siowkia:clearly u don't understand english, just let it be.
ok, grandmaster of english.
To answer the earlier question, basically they have been told by the Government to stop using the rank.
It happened with my ex- employer ,who was a GLC. I had many colleagues and seniors who at one time were "encouraged" to use their rank ,especially those who were LTC and above.
Some 6 - 7 years ago, we were told to stop. And this instruction came from very high up.
Personally, I had no problems with anyone using their ranks if it was senior enough ( like COL and above), because depending on the situation, it does help with the marketing of the product.
Originally posted by specfore:To answer the earlier question, basically they have been told by the Government to stop using the rank.
It happened with my ex- employer ,who was a GLC. I had many colleagues and seniors who at one time were "encouraged" to use their rank ,especially those who were LTC and above.
Some 6 - 7 years ago, we were told to stop. And this instruction came from very high up.
Personally, I had no problems with anyone using their ranks if it was senior enough ( like COL and above), because depending on the situation, it does help with the marketing of the product.
I worked for a GLC whose very top boss at one time was Mrs Lee HL ! A memo came down one day to all senior mgrs. The instruction was loud and clear. I remember making a mistake and addressed my boss by his rank a few days after this memo and I got a telling off ( in a nice way --- he disguised it as a joke) to stop.
It has become an embarrassment when a retired Colonel is no more then a Swimming Pool manager, or a Major can only find a job as a Sales Representative selling kitchen equipment.
The silly idea of using military rank in the civilian world was to enhance the prestige of LHL when he stepped into politics without any shine from his weak personality other then his confirmed status as a nerd from Cambridge.
The military title was proudly displayed in every public event in Singapore, and became quite an embarrassment for a BG to become a Prime Minister, when all others would not even dare to offer themselves for the post.
It becomes even more questionable when all the Lieutanant Generals and Major Generals never made it into politics, with every single one of them being sidelined into Government owned corporations or some NGO willing to find a useful place for these retired horses.
I read a circular from MINDEF before, encouraging all officers from MAJ rank and above to prefix their ranks on business cards, etc.
But I think for GLC is abit more sensitive, they may want to draw a line and not sound like its the govt. running the organisation....so may not want military ranks everywhere.
Anyway, the ministers removed their ranks, cause they reached 50, not because they're ashamed of it.
I've seen insurance pple with MAJ (NS) , etc. It is still encouraged. Just like many Chartered Industries and ST pple are LTC (NS) and so on.....its just like Ph.D. mah...
Originally posted by intelligenceman:I read a circular from MINDEF before, encouraging all officers from MAJ rank and above to prefix their ranks on business cards, etc.
But I think for GLC is abit more sensitive, they may want to draw a line and not sound like its the govt. running the organisation....so may not want military ranks everywhere.
Anyway, the ministers removed their ranks, cause they reached 50, not because they're ashamed of it.
I've seen insurance pple with MAJ (NS) , etc. It is still encouraged. Just like many Chartered Industries and ST pple are LTC (NS) and so on.....its just like Ph.D. mah...
In countries with a long history of military traditions, whether one reaches 50 years of age or not, the military rank is proudly announced with one's name until one holds a higher appointment.
General Collin Powell dropped his military title when he assumed the office of Secretary of State - which is a Ministerial appointment.
In the USA, UK, most European countries and even in some Asian countries with military traditions - most retired senior military officers will continue to use their rank with a suffix (Ret) to indicate their current status.
In Singapore, the military rank was used to give a shine to PM LHL when he entered politics with no other shining credentials other than his status as a nerd from Cambridge; while the other BG's that joined the Cabinet was similarly given the same cordiality.
Since the SAF have been used as a testbed for identifying leadership talents for PAP politics, the biting point remains perplexing is the fact that officers above the rank of Brigadier General have never been called into PAP Politics.
What does this say about the Lieutenant Generals and Major Generals in the SAF ?
Are these senior officers less capable than the Brigadier Generals ?