CASE STUDY: TO THROW OR NOT TO THROW? A CASE STUDY ON LEADERSHIP OPERATIONAL CONTEXTS

On 25 December 1980, the navy crew on board the RSS Freedom was performing its patrol mission on the open sea when it detected a small sampan loaded with Vietnamese boat people. While the Freedom crew was standing by with boat hooks to push the makeshift old boat away from the naval vessel, a baby was tossed to seaman Private (PTE) Lye. He was quick to catch the baby who was wrapped in a weathered old cloth. The makeshift boat started its engine and pulled away from the stationary naval vessel. Seaman Lye shouted, "Sir, it's a baby! How, sir?"

BACKGROUND On 30 April 1975, the Vietnam War ended with the fall of Saigon to the North Vietnamese Army. The cause for the growing number of refugees was the repressive policy of Vietnam and approximately two million people fled the country by boat. These people were later called Vietnamese boat people. Between 1975 and mid-1978, there was a surge in the outflow of Vietnamese refugees and this caused an international humanitarian crisis among Southeast Asian countries. In the middle of 1979, the number of boat people surged to 54,000 arrivals per month. Despite the dangers of perishing in the sea and the resistance of the receiving countries, the number of boat people continued to grow. At this point, the countries of Southeast Asia united in declaring that they had ached the limit of their endurance" and decided that they would not accept any new arrivals. Crisis and Plight of the Boat People The old and crudely makeshift sampan set sail when night fell. Men and women, young and old, were packed like sardines. They were looking forward to finding their "land of hope" in whatever place that destiny bring them to. Their lives were determined by the wind, tide, and luck in the open waters. The sun rose, the sun set; they sailed for many days on the open seas until they lost count of the days. They had to weather the storms, survive illnesses, and starvation, and elude pirates. Fear was common and the unknown was real. Five days lapsed; food and water were running low. Each one saw their fellow countrymen fight hard to stay alive on their perilous journey. But some of them were sick; they had to be thrown into the waters when they died. They knew very well that the chance of survival in transit was only 10 to 70%. Strategic Intent: Six-thousand-miles Screwdriver Being a small and developing nation, Singapore was one of the first few countries in this region to stop the boat people from entering its coastlines. Like other countries in the region, the policy was to provide humanitarian aid and "tug" the boat to the open sea if they refused to leave Singapore's coastline. Strategic intent was clear at the policy level: no landing of refugees. During this period, the Republic of Singapore Navy (RS) was given the mission to intercept these boats and prevent them from reaching Singapore's coastline after providing the refugees with food, water, and fuel. This was called Operation Thunderstorm. Operational Context: Peacetime Training to Operations other than War (00TW) In the 1980s, RSN's mission was supposed to "see-and-be-seen", in other words, to be a deterrent force. For example, some of the patrol crafts (PCs) would attach a string of lights from their fore to their aft. It was almost like dressing ship for a naval review. Anyone scanning the horizon using night vision devices would have the image flared whenever they came across the brightly lit craft. A-class PCs, such as RSS Freedom, were part of the main combatants in the RSN in the 1970s and 1980s, and these PCs were tasked to perform a myriad of missions from "show of force" to maritime operations in the South China Sea, including detecting refugee boats and preventing them from landing on Singapore.

On 25 December 1980, it was another routine operation for the crew of RSS Freedom; the vessel had performed this mission many times for the past one year without any problem. This has become a routine operation and the crew was familiar with the drills. Operation orders given to the Commanding Officer (CO) of RSS Freedom were succinct, and the vessel was supposed to patrol in the designated sector to detect and turn away potential refugee boats and carry out their mission as planned. Six-thousand-miles Screwdriver and Tactical Decision The radio broke the silent night in the open sea and disquieted the dark and starry sky. "CO Sir, a small sampan detected about 1.5 miles northeast of us. Request permission to close up action station," the Officer of the Watch called to the CO. The alarm sounded. The public announcement (PA) system announced; Hands to action station, hands to action station, hands to action station. Triple I party close up at the quarter-deck. Through the loud hailer, the Operations Officer, CPT Tom, ordered the crew to stand by with boat hooks to push the old makeshift boat away from the naval vessel in order to keep a distance away. This was part of the drill to prevent any boat people from boarding Freedom. Although necessities of food, water, and fuel were prepared to pass to the boat people, it was clear that Freedom would carry out its given mission. The sea was rough, estimated to be Sea State 2;4 both the naval vessel and old sampan were rocking. As the vessel closed in, pleas, cries, and shouting from the boat people became audible. CPT Tom hailed through the loud hailer: We will provide you with water, food, medicine, and fuel. But you have to leave our territorial water, or we will tow you out. But we have sailed for 15 days, and we have a few old, sick and three babies, please, help," one man had stood up on top of the shelter and shouted in broken English, waving furiously. Others echoed, cried, and mourned, "Please help... ... please." But CPT Tom was firmed and the boat people reluctantly acquiesced.

Tactical Dilemma: Throw or Not to Throw? The seamen were ready to throw the necessities in boxes and plastic containers to the boat people. When the order was given, the crew threw the items across swiftly and efficiently, much like in the drills they had been trained in during peacetime training for the past one year. Suddenly, the man on top of the shelter of the sampan threw something towards a seaman, "Catch! This is my daughter, please." The seaman, PTE Lye was quick to catch the baby wrapped in an old tethered cloth - she was light and cried due to the shock. The engine of the makeshift boat started and opened up from the stationary naval vessel. Sir! It is a baby! How, Sir? The ark night became silent after a while and everyone held on to their breath, both sides watching intensely for the next action to be made.

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