Profile – SCDF LTC (NS) JONATHAN JOSEPH TAN, 42 NS appointment: Battalion Commander, 11(A) Rescue Battalion, 1st CD Division Deputy Contingent Commander of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and Disaster Relief Exercise (DiREx) 2013 in Cha-am, Thailand Chief Operating Officer of AsiaMedic Limited (www. asiamedic.com.sg), an SGXlisted company that provides diagnostic imaging services Recipient of Home Team NSmen of the Year Award 2012
LIFESAVER
MISSION OF RESCUE Jonathan Tan works to save lives – both in and out of uniform
am in a business that supports SCDF’s mission and is also in line with my mission in life. My company provides preventive medicine services, such as health screening, MRI, PET, X-ray, ultrasound and CT scans. By doing their screening with us, patients can cut down their waiting time for such tests, and this is important for those with serious illnesses. It is rewarding to save lives. Some of my former patients still call me up to ask me to recommend good medical specialists for them. I am fortunate to be part of a “Dream Team”. My CEO, Dr Wong Weng Hong, served his ORNS as a
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12 FRONTLINE / JUL–AUG 2013
Medical Company Commander in 2nd CD Division. We have known each other for many years as fellow Home Team members, and we are now best partners at work. I live to learn. I’m an engineer by training, but I continue to study whenever I can. Althought I already have a Doctorate in Management, I believe in lifelong learning and regularly attend courses to update myself with the latest from management to patient safety. Studying keeps me current with new medical advances, new drugs on the market and new patient safety issues, and I have gained a lot from networking during my courses.
The more you learn, the more you feel there’s so much more to know. It was an eye-opener to be part of an inaugural overseas exercise as an NSman. I was the Deputy Contingent Commander of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and Disaster Relief Exercise (DiREx), which was held from 7 to 11 May 2013 in Cha-am, Thailand. For five days I trained with other regular forces – such as US Marines, Korean rescuers, Japanese troops, UN personnel, Australian Defence Force and Royal Thai Army – in building collapses, height rescue, rock slides and more. I learnt how rescuers from different countries work together in a disaster zone. There are no bad soldiers, only bad generals. I’m only as good as my men, and I learn a lot from them. In the next issue, WO2 (NS) Mohamad Fitri Bin Mohd Jamil, who also participated in the ARF and DiREx, will share with us his experience in the force.