Customs and Tradition

Often, we just learn and execute the things our seniors taught as and told us to. However, have you ever thought where and when did all those little things that linked us together came from?

Most of us might have done the salute hundreds of times. But, have you ever thought that the origin can be traced back all the way to the Middle Ages? It seems contradictory that a Lieutenant-General ranks higher than a Major-General, until one realises that the term ‘Lieutenant’ refers to a deputy, hence a Lieutenant-General is only one rank below a full-fledged general.

This part of the forum is specially dedicated to this. Adapted from the book 'Our Army - Customs and Traditions', we look into the past and how it connects to the present. This book had been put together by a dedicated team made up of servicemen drawn from various units in the Army. It is, however, more than a collection of trivia. In a note by SWO Francis Ng in his previous capacity as Sergeant Major of the Army, he describes the contents of the book as invaluable reference material “that connects the past with the present”.

Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, 16 June 1968 wrote:

Ceremony ritual and symbolism are tried and traditional methods of building up the esprit de corps of any uniformed contingent of men... the victories and successes of a particular fighting unit are embossed or embroidered on to the history and tradition of that unit, and give new recruits to the unit a sense of special responsibility to keep up high standards.