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Military and Paramilitary Ranks of Singapore (Page 2) |
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Military and Paramilitary Ranks of Singapore (Page 2) |
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i.
Origins of Rank
Titles ∙
Private - from the Latin word
privatus (belonging to individual/s and not the state) For an excellent detailed treatment on the origins and development of military and naval rank titles, see for instance Rank: The Story Behind Names of Different Rank by Raymond Oliver, Museum Curator for McClellan Aviation Museum at the US Navy website. See also the following excellent general resource for the etymology of words including those of rank titles: Online Etymology Dictionary. ii. Changes to Rank Structures, Titles, and/or Insignias The Singapore services ranks as seen today was the result of multiple changes that was carried out, in a piecemeal manner or in entirety, by the respective services across time. The following is an attempt to note the various changes to the ranks of the various services chronologically. There are definitely gaps in the list, and updates will be made as and when new information comes to light. This section is the product of research done by Edwin, a rank collector, and myself. Colonial Singapore (until 1963) - Rank insignias of the local forces during the colonial period generally followed those of the regular forces of the United Kingdom, with locals comprising the junior ranks and British personnel holding senior ranks. The following is a summary of ranks used during the colonial period (up to 1963) by the different services. Detailed rank information may not be available. Naval Forces The Malayan Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) and Royal Malayan Navy followed the Royal Navy rank structure. There were the following charges and titles for non-commissioned officers: a fouled anchor (Leading Rate), a crown above two fouled anchors in saltire (Petty Officer), and three gold buttons on the cuffs (Chief Petty Officer). Able Seamen are not represented by any insignias. RNVR officers would have used wavy bars instead of the Royal Navy's straight bars, and the RNVR's had squarish loops instead of normal circular ones as used by the officers of the Royal Navy. The Royal Navy had two sets of rank insignias for officers - the more frequently used bars set, and the less-used complex set of insignias based on crowns, stars, anchors, sword and baton in saltire, and batons in saltire within a laurel wreath. The bars and loops model is illustrated to follow.
Army Units Local land units followed the British Army ranks as is apparent today in the UK and several Commonwealth realms. The following charges are used: crown, star (based on the Grand Cross Commander Star of the Order of the Bath design except for the Household regiments), chevrons, the British royal arms, and the generals' baton and sword in saltire. The British Army rank insignia model which is also used by the British police and colonial Singapore police (see the following entry on colonial police force) survives today, with appropriate modification/replacement of charges, in the enforcement services of Singapore. The British Army rank insignia model for command and management officers used presently attained its form from changes that were introduced between the 1850s and the 1920s. The officer's insignias appeared on the collars and cuffs before it was moved to the shoulders (and today, at the centre of the chest for selected uniforms).
Air Force There was also the Royal Air Force in Singapore. The officer rank insignias were based on the bars and broad band model derived from those used by the Royal Navy. The Republic of Singapore Air Force used such insignias for a while from 1975 to 1982 as illustrated in the entry of 1975 to follow but retaining army-style rank titles. The non-commissioned ranks of the RAF had the rank titles listed below and insignias such as propellers of varying blade numbers in addition to the usual chevrons, royal crown, and royal arms. There was the Malayan Auxiliary Air Force (MAAF) made up of local and British personnel from 1950 to 1960. The ranks used by the MAAF was in most likelihood like those of the RAF for that period.
Police Forces The local colonial police service used the following charges, similar to the army but with the addition of another star: crown, star I (based on the Grand Cross Commander Star of the Order of the Bath design), star II (crown/s within the service title within a laurel wreath on a Maltese cross), chevrons, batons in saltire within a laurel wreath. Star II was worn on collars as well as epaulettes. (Pre-WWII)
The Straits Settlements
Police had the following rank structure and insignias until around WWII.
For the Superior Officer group: The Subordinate Officers and Constables group comprised the following: Colonial
Singapore Police Force ranks above
Sergeant around 1959 (Post-WWII) After the war, the Singapore Police Force had the above-shown structure and insignias as at 1959. As illustrated above, the crown, police special badge, star I (Bath pips), and star II (Maltese star pips) continued to be used. In addition to the above, Corporals wore two chevrons, Lance Corporals wore one chevron, and Constables wore one, two or three full bars depending on their class. Crowns used in all forms of insignias were supposed to be changed to the St Edward's crown from 1953 onwards but the older Imperial crown (as shown here) was used still widely perhaps due to stock availability for quite sometime (also apparent in the colonial prison service). The commissioners' badge were like those used by the British police, two crowned tipstaves in saltire within a laurel wreath. For an excellent presentation of the physical collections of the police ranks since the colonial period, see Bobby's Ultimate website. Prisons Service Based on a local publication of 1958 titled Majalah Penjara (Prisons magazine), the prisons service is understood to have had the following ranks around that period: Warder, Corporal Warder, Sergeant Warder, Chief Warder, Sub-Officer, Principal Officer (and Senior Principal Officer), Chief Officer, Assistant Superintendent, and Superintendent. Chevrons were used on the sleeves by junior staff parallel to the usual designations as used by other services, i.e., two chevrons for the Corporal and three chevrons for the Sergeant. The rank insignia for a Chief Warder was a crown worn on the collar. Principal Officers wore a form of a star which based on one drawing differed from the starburst pip as used by the British Army and Singapore colonial police. The Principal Officer's star was illustrated to be an eight pointed starburst with one crown on a disc at the centre. A Principal Officer could wear up to three stars, an additional star reflecting the officer's length of service. The Senior Principal Officer would wear three stars on a green background. An Assistant Superintendent was shown to have worn a crown above a star (the star believed to be the star of the Order of the Bath rather than those of the Principal Officers'). The rank insignia for a Chief Officer and Superintendent are uncertain, perhaps a crown for the former and a crown above two stars for the latter. There was the Commissioner of Prisons who was derived from the military or naval establishment and retaining their military/naval ranks (rank insignia uncertain). Colonial
Singapore Prisons Service ranks above
Sergeant Warder around 1958 Fire Brigade The post-WWII colonial Singapore Fire Brigade was likely to have followed the British fire brigades ranks with impellers and bar/s as charges. This rank insignia model was used by the fire brigade beyond independence until 1988 (see 1970s entry to follow for illustration and details). The bars and impellers system was used by the National Fire Service when the individual fire brigades in the United Kingdom were unified during WWII. According to the Singapore Fire Department's 1954 Annual Report, the following ranks were listed amongst several other designations: Superintendent, Deputy Chief Officer, Divisional Officer, Sub-Officer, Junior Sub-Officer, Chief Foreman, Foreman, Sub-Foreman, Leading Fireman, and Fireman. From 1961 to at least 1973, the ranks of the fire brigade were: Chief Fire Officer, Divisional Officer, Assistant Divisional Officer, Station Officer, Section Leader, Foreman, Sub-Foreman, Leading Fireman, and Fireman. The ambulance section of the fire brigade had a supervisor and Fireman-Ambulance Attendants. Other designations included control room operators, engineers, drivers, and various other support staff. Civil Defence Corps The colonial Singapore Civil Defence Corps were sighted to have been using two and three chevrons on sleeves for the non-officers while officers were sighted using one or two bars on epaulettes. Specific details of the rank structure is unconfirmed. However, if the British Civil Defence Corps system was used as a guide, there should have been the following rank insignias according to decreasing seniority: one closet between two bars, two bars, two closets above one bar, one closet above one bar, one bar, three closets, two closets, one closet, three chevrons, and two chevrons. The Singapore Civil Defence Corps, raised in 1951, was disbanded in 1959. 1963 - Singapore Prison Service ranks of Sub-Officer to Commissioner of Prisons were restructured as follow: Director of Prisons, Deputy Director (supernumerary), Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent (supernumerary), Chief Rehabilitation Officer, Principal Rehabilitation Officer, Rehabilitation Officer. Information on rank insignia uncertain. 1966 - Singapore Customs & Excise Department had the following rank structure as at 1966: Comptroller, Deputy Comptroller, Assistant Comptroller, Senior Superintendent, Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Chief Customs Officer, Senior Customs Officer, Customs Officer, and Probationary Customs Officer. Information on rank insignia uncertain.
SADC non-officer ranks and insignias were as follow: Lance-Corporal (a chevron couped reversed), Corporal (two chevrons couped reversed), Sergeant (three chevrons couped reversed), Staff Sergeant (one national arms above three chevrons couped reversed), and Warrant Officer (one national arms). The Singapore Police Force had the following rank structure and insignias in 1968: Commissioner (national arms above the police special badge comprising two batons in saltire within a wreath of paddy sheaves), Deputy Commissioner (a pip above the police special badge), Senior Assistant Commissioner (a national arms above three pips arranged like that of the Brigadier as shown above), Assistant Commissioner (a national arms above two pips), Superintendent (a national arms above a pip), Deputy Superintendent (a national arms), Assistant Superintendent (three pips), Chief Inspector (three pips), Senior Inspector and Inspector (two pips), Sub-Inspector (national arms within paddy wreath on right sleeve), Staff Sergeant (national arms on right sleeve), Sergeant (three chevrons couped reversed), Corporal (two chevrons couped reversed), Lance Corporal (one chevron couped reversed), and Constable (one, two, or three bars on shoulders). Apart from the above, Probationary Assistant Superintendents wore three pips, Cadet Assistant Superintendent wore a white band above two pips, Probationary Inspectors wore one pip, and Cadet Inspector wore one white band.
The Lee Soo Ann committee recommendation of 1972 led to the abolishment of the ranks of Corporal and Staff Sergeant, and the change to the rank of Sub-Inspector to become Station Inspector with a new rank insignia. From henceforth, the junior ranks of the police force were: Police Constable (one bar and two bars), Sergeant (a national arms above three chevrons couped reversed [up from just three chevrons couped reversed]), and Station Inspector (three pips worn on the collars). The Gurkha Contingent and Auxiliary Police Forces still retained the 1968 ranks and insignias for Constable to Sub-Inspector. 1975 saw the abolishment of the rank of Senior Inspector of Police in the main police force. This rank was represented by the same rank insignia as the Inspector of Police, i.e., two pips on the shoulders. The Auxiliary Police Force still retained this rank. The rank of Corporal was reinstated in the main force in 1976.
The Singapore Air Defence Command was renamed the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) in 1975. Rank insignias were changed to parallel the rank insignias of the Commonwealth air forces. The Commonwealth air forces uses the horizontal tri-band bar as charges for the rank insignia of officers. The top and bottom stripes of the horizontally divided bar are equal and parallel to one another and are broader in height than the centre stripe. The air force tri-band bars comes in two sizes referred to here as the bar and the closet. (In heraldry, the bar has two diminutives. The closet is half the height of a bar, while the barrulet is a quarter the height of a bar.) Air Commodores and Marshals have an enlarged version of the tri-band bar. RSAF officer rank titles remained but rank insignias were revised to: 2nd Lieutenant (one tri-band closet), Lieutenant (one tri-band bar), Captain (two tri-band bars), Major (one tri-band closet between two tri-band bars), Lieutenant Colonel (three tri-band bars), Colonel (four tri-band bars), and Brigadier (commodore and air marshals' broad band). Theoretically, the ranks following Brigadier, i.e., Major-General, Lieutenant-General, and General, will have one, two, and three tri-band bars above the broad triband band of the Brigadier respectively. The working dress set of rank slides are shown on the lower row on the illustration to the right below.
RSAF non-officer insignias remained generally the same as since 1968, but there was the introduction of the Warrant Officer I rank represented by a national arms within a laurel wreath. The Senior Warrant Officer rank (national arms within a laurel wreath surmounted with a five-pointed star) was introduced later to the force before 1982 (see 1992 entry for illustration).
The
ranks of the Singapore Fire Brigade (renamed Singapore Fire Service
from
1980 onwards) were generally similar to the former British fire services'
rank titles and insignias. There was from 1974/5 onwards, for the fire
brigade/service: If the former British Fire Services
rank insignia model was used as a general guide (as shown above),
Singapore Fire Brigade's ranks would have in most likelihood resembled the
following where similar ranks existed: ii.
Control Ranks and Rank Insignias 1982 - The Singapore Armed Forces (Singapore Army, Republic of Singapore Navy, and Republic of Singapore Air Force) revamps and standardises all rank insignias and titles for all its commissioned officer ranks marking a second and complete departure from the British Army rank insignia model for commissioned officer ranks. The traditional full bars of the air force and navy and their eagles and anchors adopted in 1975, and the local pips and generals' special badge of the army were dropped for new charges and a new model. The new charges which are used until the present day are bars couped for the junior commissioned officers (2nd Lieutenant to Captain), the national arms - a rank charge that was used in the army since independence but now appearing in multiples under the new rank insignia model - for the senior commissioned officers (Major to Colonel), and simple five-pointed star/s (heraldry: mullet) with laurels laid flat at the base for general/flag ranks officers. The flag officer ranks of the navy continued to use the traditional rank titles of Commodore, Rear-Admiral, Vice-Admiral, and Admiral. This new bars couped, national arms, and stars model as used by the military junior and senior officers will be later adopted by the civil defence force and fire service in 1986 and 1988 respectively. The next major changes for the military's command and management ranks occurred in 1994 and 2009. The new model adopted by the Singapore Armed Forces resemble the model used by the Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI - Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia). ABRI standardised their ranks following a unification of the armed forces including their national police force in the 1970s. The new rank charges for officer ranks were one to three bars for the junior officers (2nd Lieutenant to Captain), one to three jasmine flowers (Indonesian - bunga melati ; Binomial name - jasminum sambac) for the senior officers (Major to Colonel), and one to five stars for the Army Generals, Naval Admirals, and Air Marshals. The Singapore Police Force revised the senior officer rank insignias in 1982. For the commissioner-level ranks, there were from then onwards, five commissioner-level ranks with the addition of the new Deputy Assistant Commissioner rank. All commissioner-level rank insignias from henceforth also featured the special badge of the commissioners. The commissioners' badge reverted to the use of batons/tipstaves in saltire within a wreath, which was defined now as laurels rather than paddy sheaves, and is used until the present day. The new Deputy Assistant Commissioner ranks was to be represented by a sole special badge. The Commissioner of Police now had a national arms, a pip, and the new commissioners' badge (up from a national arms above a special badge previously), the Deputy Commissioner now had a national arms above the new commissioners' badge (up from a pip above a special badge preciously), the Senior Assistant Commissioner now had two pips above the new commissioners' badge (in place of the Brigadier-like insignia of a national arms above three pips), and the Assistant Commissioner now had a pip above the new commissioners' badge (in place of the Colonel-like insignia of a national arms above two pips). The remaining senior officer ranks saw a change in insignias too. The Assistant Superintendent rank insignia was shifted one insignia up to using one national arms (up from three pips previously). There was also the new rank of Senior Assistant Superintendent with the same rank insignia. The Deputy Superintendent wore henceforth a national arms and a pip (up from a national arms only previously), and the Superintendent wore henceforth a national arms and two pips (up from a national arms and a pip previously). The three pips rank insignia was designated to become the rank insignia of the Chief Inspector rank for the Gurkha Contingent only as well as for the Senior Inspector rank of the auxiliary police forces only. Inspectors continued wearing two pips as since 1968. The Civil Defence Command was raised as a command under the Singapore Police Force. Pips were used by 2nd Lieutenants (one pip), Lieutenants (two pips), and Captains (three pips) of the Civil Defence Command. Command later renamed the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) in 1983. Information for the other ranks are uncertain. As the highest rank of the force was later mentioned in 1986 to be Lieutenant-Colonel, it was probable that a national arms was used by the Majors and a national arms and one pip was used by the Lieutenant-Colonel until 1986. 1984 - The Singapore Armed Forces introduces the rank of Private First Class represented by a horizontal bar worn on the sleeves. The insignia was later changed to a chevron couped reversed by 1992. Singapore Police Force's Gurkha Contingent Sub-Inspector rank renamed Station Inspector and insignia changed from the national arms within a wreath on right sleeve to three pips in a row at the collar like those used by the Station Inspector ranks in the principal police service. 1986 - From June onwards, the Singapore Civil Defence Force senior officer ranks (2nd Lieutenant to Lieutenant-Colonel) were changed to parallel titles and insignias as used by the Singapore Armed Forces (bar/s couped and the national arms in multiples). The rank of Colonel (three national arms) was also introduced to the service with the revamp. Above the rank of Colonel were the ranks of Deputy Commissioner and Commissioner of SCDF. The non-officer rank structure were defined to be as follow in 1986: Private, Lance Corporal, Corporal, Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, Warrant Officer II, Warrant Officer I, and Senior Warrant Officer. Around 1988, commissioner-level rank
insignias
followed the police tradition but without the pip. Commissioner of SCDF wore
one national arms above a commissioners' badge. This would mean that the
Deputy Commissioner would have worn a sole commissioners' badge as the
rank insignia. The SCDF commissioners' badge used since then (until 2005) had the civil defence triangle with the national
shield all within a laurel wreath with a bow - basically the civil defence service
emblem without the title-scroll. Over these few years,
officers from the SAF assumes
several command and management positions in the SCDF but retaining SAF
ranks and uniforms.
1990 - From March, the ranks of Staff Sergeant and Senior Staff Sergeant were introduced in the Singapore Police Force. There were some revision to rank insignias as well. The junior police ranks were henceforth, Constable (one bar), Corporal (two chevrons couped reversed), Sergeant (three chevrons couped reversed, down from a national arms above three chervons couped reversed as used previously), Staff Sergeant (a national arms above three chevrons couped reversed), Senior Staff Sergeant (a national arms within a laurel wreath above three chevrons couped reversed), and Station Inspector (three pips on collars). The Gurkha Contingent and Auxiliary Police Forces however did not have the rank of Senior Staff Sergeant and their Staff Sergeants' insignia remained a sole national arms on the right sleeve as since 1968 and until 2004. At the command and management level, the rank of Senior Assistant Superintendent (a sole national arms like the rank of Assistant Superintendent) which was introduced in 1982, was removed from the structure as well. The Singapore Prison Service ranks were as follow from March 1990: Director, Deputy Director, Assistant Director, Superintendent, Deputy Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Rehabilitation Officer, Chief Warder, Staff Sergeant, Sergeant, Corporal, and Warder. The Director of Singapore Prison Service was sighted to wear the present day rank insignia, i.e., one national arms, a pip, and a directors' badge from 1992 onwards. From the 1980s and up to 1992, the rank insignia of the Director of Prisons comprised one national arms above a directors' badge, the rank of Deputy Director was represented by a pip and a directors' badge, and the rank of Assistant Director was represented by a sole directors' badge. Earlier still in the 1970s, the rank insignia of the Director of Prisons comprised one pip above the directors' badge. The directors' badge throughout comprised two keys in saltire within a laurel wreath. The earlier year pips for the Prisons directors-level rank had two keys in saltire at the centre of the starburst. This was later changed to be standardised with the general pattern pip featuring the crescent and five stars at the centre.
The next major changes to the ranks of the senior officers of Customs was carried out just prior to 2003 mainly involving the renaming of several rank titles for the command and management officers, while the junior officers' bars were replaced with chevrons in 2001.
1992 - The non-commissioned officer ranks of the Singapore Armed Forces were revamped. Intermediate ranks were introduced from 3rd Sergeant (formerly the Corporal First Class) to Senior Warrant Officer as follow: Private, Private First Class, Lance Corporal, 3rd Sergeant, 2nd Sergeant, 1st Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, Master Sergeant, 2nd Warrant Officer, 1st Warrant Officer, Master Warrant Officer, Senior Warrant Officer. Previous set of ranks prior to 1992 was comprised of Private, Corporal, Corporal First Class (a bar couped above two chevrons couped reversed), Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, Warrant Officer Classes II and I, and Senior Warrant Officer ranks. The rank insignias for Lance Corporal and Corporal while retaining the original number of chevrons gained a bar arched, while incremental number of chevrons (/\) were used to distinguish the many new intermediate sergeant ranks beginning with the 2nd Sergeant. Warrant Officers began displaying their new rank insignias comprising chevron(s) couped, national arms, and a bar couped arched reversed on the epaulettes rather than on the sleeves/wrists as was done previously. Significantly, this SAF Warrant Officer rank insignia design and pattern will eventually be adopted, some with slight modifications, by all Singapore services for corresponding level personnel over the next decade. The former Singapore Armed Forces Warrant Officer rank insignias is illustrated to the right. These insignias were also utilised by the Singapore Civil Defence Force possibly from the early 1980s to around the mid-1990s. The Singapore Police Force ranks of Staff Sergeant and Sub-Inspector used the same insignias as the SAF Warrant Officer II and I ranks respectively from 1968 to 1972 for the main force. The Gurkha Contingent and Auxiliary Police Forces Sub-Inspector used the same insignia as the SAF Warrant Officer I until 1984 while their rank of Staff Sergeant continued using the sole national arms on sleeves into the 1990s until at least 2004. For the police force, the charges were to be silver on black and worn on the right sleeve of the uniforms. 1994 - The rank title of Commodore in the Republic of Singapore Navy was substituted for "Rear Admiral (One-Star)" and the already existing Rear-Admiral rank since 1975 had "(Two-Star)" appended to the title from May 5 onwards.
1996 , 1997 - Singapore Police Force and Singapore Prison Service shifted all rank-and-file insignias from the sleeves to the epaulettes after a uniform review was carried out in 1996. This did not apply to the SPF Gurkha Contingent and Auxiliary Police Forces who retained ranks worn on sleeves. The main police service's Station Inspector rank insignia was changed from three pips worn on collars to one chevron couped, a national arms, and laurels to be worn on epaulettes (in a pattern similar to the SAF and SCDF Warrant Officers). In addition, a higher Senior Station Inspector rank (two chevrons couped, a national arms, and laurels) was introduced in the police force. Prisons introduces the new apex rank of Senior Chief Warder 2 (four chevrons couped) in its structure thus having at this point onwards the Chief Warder rank and Senior Chief Warder ranks with two grades each. The Prisons' Chief Warder ranks were also represented by three pips worn on collars previously before the adoption of the SAF Warrant Officer-styled rank insignias. The use of rank insignias on collars had origins in Singapore's colonial police force (maltese star badges on collars) as well as colonial prison service (crown on collar).
1998
- An additional chevron couped (/\) was added to the
existing Singapore
Police Force's Station Inspector (original 1+1= two chevrons couped) and Senior Station Inspector
(original 2+1= three chevrons couped) rank insignias in an attempt to
align the ranks with those of the military, civil defence, and prisons
services.
The apex rank of Senior Station Inspector 2 (four chevrons couped) was
also introduced to the force.
The adoption of chevrons made the Customs ranks highly aligned to the other services of Singapore. Greater similarity was achieved later in 2003 when the chevrons (except Chief Customs Officers) were inverted (chevrons couped reversed - V). Senior officers of Customs retained the police/prisons-styled pips, national arms, and special badge model since 1991. Sometime prior to 2003, several changes were introduced to the ranks of the senior command and management officers of Customs. The Senior Director rank was renamed to Assistant Director-General, while the Director rank was renamed as Chief Superintendent. There were no changes to the rank insignias. The Senior Superintendent and Higher Superintendent rank titles and insignias remained as before. The two Superintendent rank grade divisions (Grade A and Grade B) however were abolished and the new single rank of Superintendent was assigned to wear three pips only. The Probationary Superintendent rank was then revised up to wear two pips instead of one as its insignia. 2003 - Singapore Customs & Excise Department and Singapore Immigration & Registration reorganised to become Singapore Customs and the new Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA). The ranks and structure of the Customs & Excise Department remained. However, Customs rank insignias featuring the Customs service emblem were updated to reflect the new service emblem in which the caduceus replaced the portcullis. The full rank title of the head of the Customs service was changed from the Director-General of Customs and Excise to Director-General of Customs (also to the formal title of other ranks such as Superintendent of Customs formerly the Superintendent of Customs and Excise).
ICA ranks that was adopted upon establishment was
similar to today's. The senior officer ranks are similar to those of the
police where insignias and titles are concerned. The junior officer ranks
that were adopted featured the insignias as used today
(parallel to the civil defence, police, and prison rank insignias) but until March 2008, with the following
rank titles: Immigration & Checkpoint (I&C) Specialist, Higher
I&C Specialist 1, Higher I&C Specialist 2, Senior I&C
Specialist, Chief I&C Specialist, and Chief I&C Specialist
(Special Grades 1 and 2). This rank titles style was quite similar to the
system used by Singapore Customs. 2004 - Singapore Customs replaces junior ranks' chevrons couped (/\) of 2001 with chevrons couped reversed (\/) attaining greater similarity with the other Singapore services. The rank of Senior Customs Officer was upgraded (and for its insignia a Customs service emblem above three chevrons couped reversed - somewhat similar to the other emergency and enforcement services' rank insignia for Staff Sergeant). The rank of Higher Customs Officer formerly represented by two chevrons was split into two grades with insignia bearing two chevrons couped reversed and three chevrons couped reversed respectively. Three chevrons couped was the insignia of the Senior Customs Officer from around 2001.
Singapore Civil Defence Force
sleeve rank
insignias
for the rank-and-file were shifted to the epaulettes like those of the enforcement services.
The military establishment remain the only entity to continue displaying
rank insignias on the sleeves of the uniforms. Singapore Police Force Gurkha Contingent and Auxiliary Police Forces junior police officer ranks by 2004 resembles closely the principal police force's structure and insignia (Constable to Senior Station Inspector [with Lance Corporal] for the auxiliary forces and Constable to Station Inspector [no Lance Corporal] for the Gurkha Contingent). Notably, the Staff Sergeant rank insignia which comprised a sole national arms was replaced with a national arms above three chevrons couped reversed by 2004. There is also from henceforth the rank of Senior Staff Sergeant with a national arms within a wreath above three chevrons couped reversed for the Gurkhas and auxiliary forces. 2005 - The ranks of Captain and Lieutenant in the Singapore Civil Defence Force had bars couped used since 1986 replaced with enforcement services-style stars (pips) for their rank insignias in what was publicised as an exercise to align the civil defence ranks with those of the other Home Team services. From another perspective, this is but a reversion to the past as these stars were originally used by the Lieutenants and Captains when the force was raised as a command under the police force in 1982/3.
The
introduction (or revival) of the pip also led to the expansion of the SCDF
commissioner-level ranks
with pips incorporated into the insignias where necessary. The
rank insignia of the Commissioner of Civil Defence had one of
the original two national arms replaced with a pip. The commissioners'
special badge
used since 1986 was also replaced with two fire axes in saltire within a laurel
wreath. Singapore Customs revises upwards the Chief Superintendent rank to use a new rank insignia, a sole directors-general's badge (up from a national arms above two pips). A new rank with the title of Deputy Chief Superintendent was introduced to be represented by the former rank insignia of the Chief Superintendent, a national arms above two pips. 2006 - The Singapore Police Force Gurkha Contingent rank insignia for the field dress were shifted from the uniform sleeve and epaulettes to the front right pocket worn singularly. 2008 - In March, the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority adopted the traditional military and paramilitary rank titles for their junior officers from Lance Corporal to Staff Sergeant, replacing the titles that was adopted upon establishment in 2003. The three Chief Immigration and Checkpoints Specialist ranks were renamed Checkpoint Inspectors 1 and 2, and Senior Checkpoint Inspector 1, similar in style to the police's Station Inspector and Senior Station Inspector ranks. A new apex rank with the title of Senior Checkpoint Inspector 2 and corresponding insignia (4 chevrons couped), was also introduced. The numbering convention for the four Checkpoint Inspector ranks follow the Police and Prisons system with 1 being the junior grade and 2 the senior grade. This entire group of ranks from Lance Corporal to Senior Checkpoint Inspector 2 was also renamed from Junior Officers to Specialists. The Singapore Armed Forces announces the introduction of new disruptive pattern camouflage uniforms (No.4) in the month of September. Command & Management Officer and Warrant Officer rank insignias are now displayed singularly at the centre chest portion of the field dress instead of being worn in pairs on the shoulders. There are no changes to the rank insignias as used since 1982 and 1992. Privates First Class to Master Sergeants were to retain the display of their rank insignias in pairs on the upper sleeves of the field dress; a decision that was changed at the start of 2009. The Singapore Armed Forces introduces the Specialist Cadet rank throughout the three services for personnel undergoing the specialist training courses from end December 2008 onwards.
2009 - From the first quarter of the year, the Singapore Armed Forces rank insignias of Privates First Class to Master Sergeants were to be displayed at the centre chest position on the digital camouflage uniforms singularly like those of the warrant officer and commissioned officer ranks. This is also applicable to the Specialist Cadet rank (three white demi-chevrons throughout on a green digital camouflage background). As part of revisions made to the career schemes for regular officers, the Singapore Armed Forces: i. Announced the introduction of a 3rd Warrant Officer rank in mid-May. The new rank's insignia was revealed in September and is based on the 2nd Warrant Officer's rank insignia but with a chevronel (a diminutive of the chevron) instead of the standard-sized chevron used since 1992 for other Warrant Officer rank insignias. The other elements comprising the warrant officer rank insignias, that is the rank version of the national arms and bar arched reversed, remains.
ii. A new Military Domain Expert Scheme was also announced in May and the scheme's 8-tiered structure and eight rank insignias based on bars and its diminutive, barrulets, were publicised on October 7. The Military Domain Expert Scheme comes into operation from 1st April 2010 onwards.
iii. A new rank, known as the Senior Lieutenant-Colonel, was also created for the officer ranks in the Singapore Armed Forces between Lieutenant-Colonel and Colonel. The rank insignia is based on that of the Lieutenant-Colonel but with additional laurels beneath the lower placed national arms. The laid-flat laurels is shorter than the ones used by the General ranks however. The introduction of this rank breaks from the usual six-rank structure for officers typical in most armies at this level.
While ranks represent a structured hierarchy, symbols can also have a hierarchy of their own. When the rank insignias of the service chiefs of the emergency and enforcement services is observed, we can see the precedence of the various charges (symbols) in practice. The national arms outranks the starburst pip which in turn outranks the senior command badge as is apparent in their vertical arrangement. There are however some problems where proper symbol hierarchy is concerned at present laterally as will be noted specifically below. It is perhaps sensible to ensure that proper symbol precedence parallels rank hierarchy and this section is aimed at highlighting this as well as providing alternatives that adheres to this concept. Rank insignias should not only reflect an increase or decrease in the status of a particular rank in relation to its immediate senior and junior ranks but also reflected whenever any two "distant" rank insignias in the rank structure are considered. The command and management group of ranks will be given primary focus. i) The case of the military services: It is my opinion that there is a symbol hierarchy anomaly in the current Singapore military rank insignias above the rank of Major, despite its principle of simplicity. The principle I subscribe to here is that the national arms, as the highest symbol of the State, cannot be succeeded by any other charges in the representing of a higher grade or rank. The incremental symbol hierarchy for the military ranks since 1982 is bar(s) followed by national arms followed by star(s) & laurels. Where proper symbol hierarchy is concerned, the national arms should outrank regular stars. Stars and laurels are more generic a symbol and thus do not precede the national arms in the hierarchy of symbols. This anomaly of stars having a higher representational status than a national emblem is also apparent in the US military, where the (modified) Arms of the United States is used for the rank of Colonel (and naval rank of Captain), but the subsequent General-level officers (and equivalent naval Admiral ranks) using simple star/s instead. The current US symbol hierarchy increment for commissioned officers is bar/s, oak leaf, national arms, and star/s (The US Navy and Coast Guard have an additional set of rank insignias based on full bars like those of the Royal Navy & Royal Air Force). A major overhaul would be required for the military rank insignias to rectify this anomaly.
ii) The case of the enforcement services: Using this "national arms as the highest rank charge" principle would also render the enforcement services insignia model for the senior command level partially symbolically inaccurate as well, as the national arms "disappears" after the arms and two pips permutation (rank insignia permutation number 2.6 as used to represent the Superintendents of Police, Prisons, and ICA, and Deputy Chief Superintendent of Customs). The anomaly is however not as apparent because the national arms does still emerge in due course as an integral part of the highest (and second highest) rank insignia permutation (as used to represent the supreme professional Service Commissioners, Director, and Director-General), together with the distinctive badge of the senior command group of ranks. The starburst pips and arms system works fine for the lower and intermediate command and management group of ranks. However, when the Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police's rank insignia - a sole commissioner's badge - is compared with the lower ranked Assistant Superintendent of Police's single national arms, an anomaly can be observed where symbol hierarchy is concerned. The national arms should symbolically outrank the police senior command badge (batons in saltire) but is not the case. Similar situations can be observed in the other enforcement services as well up to rank insignia permutation number 3.2 . The primacy of the national arms is however observed individually in ranks when appearing with other charges at the command and management level. The British Army model as a result is also unsatisfactory under this symbol hierarchy principle as the sovereign's crown disappears temporarily after the Brigadier rank (rank insignia number 2.7 - crown over three pips). The SCDF also inherit the disassociation between symbol and rank hierarchies given that it features both the military and enforcement services rank insignia models. Compare in one instance the rank insignias of Colonel and Commissioner where the former rank bearing three national arms has a lower standing than the latter rank which has only one national arms and other rank charges which are junior to the national arms. iii) Preferable models adhering to
proper symbol hierarchy: For
rank insignia models that are based on a combination of various charges, three
models are identified to adhere to the concept of proper symbol hierarchy correlating with rank
hierarchy. They are:
The alternatives listed below are based on the above models. Alternatives 2 is essentially a repeat of the pre-1982 Singapore Army rank insignia model and variations possible. There are ten ranks in total as is usual for the military in this alternative. Alternatives 1 is based partially on the RCMP rank insignia model. The three-grade commissioner-level ranks of the RCMP is however insufficient for Singapore's emergency and enforcement services which seemingly prefer five grades for its senior command and management level (when in a full state). To expand the number of insignia permutations, subtle bar/s like those used by the British Fire Services is incorporated. This style is also used by the differing grades of the French National Police Commissaries. An additional rank insignia, featuring two national arms above a senior command badge is designated for the supreme service commander rank. This rank insignia was actually used by the Commissioner of SCDF from 1992 to 2005. The current arms, pip, and senior command badge insignia is to represent a deputy service commander. In alternatives 1, the command and management group comprise eleven ranks when it is in its full state. In alternative 1b, there are five commissioner-level ranks and six lower and intermediate command and management ranks. In alternatives 1a and 1c, there are four commissioner-level ranks and seven lower and intermediate command and management ranks. An additional benefit of alternatives 1 over alternatives 2 is that overcrowding on the epaulette is avoided in the former as the rank charges can remain large.
Rank Insignias of Command and Management Officers of the Emergency and Enforcement Services based on Alternatives 1b & 1c
Alternative 1b) reflects the option for a three-plus-two-grade Assistant Commissioner/Director/Director-General system like the present system (for example in the police) in which there are the ranks of Senior Assistant Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner, and Deputy Assistant Commissioner. A national arms above a senior command badge is the common insignia for the various grades of Assistant Commissioners in this permutation. Overall, there are five grades for the senior command ranks in this system. Alternative 1c) is similar to the above with the exception that there are four senior command ranks and seven lower and intermediate command and management ranks. Suggested
rank titles: *3.3 /
#3.2 - Senior Assistant [Commissioner/Director/Director-General] 2.6 - Superintendents
of Police, Prisons, & ICA --
Deputy Chief Superintendent of Customs
--
Civil Defence Colonel
iv) The dual functions of starburst pips and
senior command badge in the above model: The senior command badge (the commissioners', directors', and directors-general's
badge) serves as a specialist symbol for senior executives and also functions as a service-specific symbol. The starburst pips on the other hand serves
primarily as a symbol for general
lower and intermediate command and management staff, as well as functioning as a secondary national symbol as it contains the crescent and stars from the national arms. v) Other alternatives: It is also possible to retain the current enforcement services' senior command rank insignia model. However, the national arms cannot be used as rank charges for the lower and intermediate rank insignias in such a case. Inspectors, Rehabilitation Officers, and Superintendents of the enforcement services will require new rank insignias or rank charges thus in this alternative. It is perhaps more feasible to change the senior command rank insignias instead of the lower and intermediate officers' as there are fewer senior command ranks than the latter. The traditional British fire brigades ranks as used by the Singapore Fire Brigade until 1987 is one model that is simple and complies with proper symbol hierarchy. The rank charges are however very specific to the fire service. If bars are to be retained or preferred, perhaps the more traditional naval rank insignias of full bars of varying widths and numbers can be considered more appropriate in the matter of proper symbol hierarchy. This all-bars system is also used in the Commonwealth air forces as was apparent in Singapore's air force from 1975 - 1982 (see earlier section on Historical Ranks). Perhaps the military may reconsider these traditional but logically more appropriate rank insignia models if the pips and arms system is not preferred. The French rank insignia model for command and management officers is perhaps another better example if bars are preferred as rank insignias. The Lieutenants to Colonels and Ensigns to Captains of the armed forces, gendarmerie, and civil fire & rescue services uses incremental number of uniformly sized bars while General-level ranks uses incremental number of stars. The French National Police and Penitentiary Administration similarly uses bars for the lower command and management ranks but complex depictions of oak leaves with bars then diamonds for the senior command ranks. The highest rank in the French civil fire services is Colonel. Only the French military services have General (and Admiral) ranks - including military fire services.
vi) Extending symbol hierarchy principle to include the Rank-and-File: Thus far, the analysis of symbol hierarchy has been restricted to the Command & Management group of ranks only. The Rank-and-File group and Command & Management group have been treated as separate streams. It is also possible to consider the Rank-and-File and Command & Management as a united contiguous whole. From this point of view, there is symbol hierarchy anomaly as the lower command & management ranks do not use the national arms for its insignias but the senior rank-and-file ranks incorporate the national arms in their respective rank insignias. Rectification would involve the replacing of the national arms with other charges. In one option, it could be simple mascles (voided lozenges), or a non-voided version, or basic stars. Alternatively, service-related charges could be used in place of the national arms, such as anchors for the navy, wings for the air force, bayonets for the army, axes for the fire and rescue service, keys for prisons, and the portcullis and caduceus for the border authorities. The police could perhaps consider batons or pistols. Laurel wreath should not be used with these charges to avoid confusion with the senior command badge.
Singapore Customs do not use the national arms for its senior rank-and-file
members instead using a depiction of the service badge less the title-scroll.
While this is in principle acceptable, there is a problem where the Customs
senior command badge is concerned. The Customs' senior command badge is similar
to the service badge but lacks the national arms. Thus technically, the badge
used by the senior rank-and-file members should have a higher status than the
Directors-General's badge given that it includes the national arms. It would
also be perhaps worthwhile if Customs were to standardise their insignias with those of
the other enforcement services.
A starburst contained within a pentagon comprising fifteen rays have been adopted for the following reasons. In the Honours system in the United Kingdom, in particular of the various Orders, there may exist differing grades for members. The star used by the different grades (i. Knight/Dame Grand Cross and ii. Knight/Dame Commander) differ in their complexity of appearance (number of points and colours used for instance) and this useful symbol hierarchy principle could be followed. Currently, the local starburst rank badge (pips) used by the command and management ranks is contained within a square diamond and comprises twenty rays. Where shape is concerned, a junior shape would be a triangle. However, a starburst is not visually appealing when appearing within a triangle. It may also be confused with the civil defence emblem where the shield from the national arms is set on a triangle. A pentagon is the next distinctive shape available. Instead of twenty rays as used in the diamond starburst badge, the number of rays have been reduced to fifteen as an indicator of a junior standing. A pentagon also seems better at accommodating a fifteen-rayed starburst. vii) Summary of critique: The concerns raised above and the proposed rectifications may seem like a tedious task. Unfortunately, if a complex rank insignia system involving the use of complex charges is desired, a thorough consideration is required. It is encouraged that symbols of the nation be used in rank insignias of public service officers. However, when state/national symbols are used, the already existing protocol of precedence governing state symbols must be maintained and a system that effectively parallels rank hierarchy is required. The suggested rectifications may not be the only desirable system available and I am sure other permutations are possible. I have decided to work with the existing model rather than drawing up an entirely new rank insignia model in the above analysis. In passing, if the simplest rank insignia model is desired for instance, complex charges should be avoided (or used sparingly only by the top-most ranks) and simple charges adopted instead. The following are a few actual examples where symbol hierarchy and rank hierarchy are positively correlated:
Also, it is in my opinion that the use of colours to differentiate ranks should be avoided as difficulties may arise when colour coordination for different coloured uniforms is required. While the rank insignias on page 1 are the primary visual representation of ranks within a service, there are also secondary visual forms of rank identifiers. These other forms of rank distinguishing identification are the gorget patches, peaked cap markings, and also cap/beret badges. They may not be rank specific and may be shared by several ranks. Their application is also less universal, adopted by some services but not others, and even in application within a particular service itself. i. Gorget Patches Gorget patches were first worn on the British Army khaki uniforms towards the end of the 1800s. With regard to the police's adoption of gorget patches, the king's court dress, uniforms, and insignia instructions of 1921 was an early instance where gorget patches were mentioned to be worn on the general duty uniforms of the senior command and management officers of the London Metropolitan Police and City of London Police. Senior police officers, senior fire brigade officers, and senior prisons officers were also wearing gorget patches by the 1950s in colonial Singapore. Gorget patches were not adopted by the Royal Navy nor the Royal Air Force when the latter came into being. The tradition of wearing gorget patches by the terrestrial services has been retained in Singapore today. Gorget patches are used by the terrestrial services only and are not worn by the officers of the Republic of Singapore Navy and the Republic of Singapore Air Force; Singapore Police Force's Police Coast Guard excepted. Gorget patches are worn in pairs on the collars by officers of the senior-most ranks. The gorget patches of the Army and Civil Defence are worn only on the ceremonial no. 1 uniforms - making them extremely rare sightings - while the gorget patches of the enforcement services are generally worn on other orders of dress as well. Overall, there are four gorget patch designs used by the Singapore services as shown below. (It is assumed here that the unconfirmed cases do not deviate from the four designs. This may be subject to correction/s. This excludes the trainee gorget patches as well). Each service typically uses three or two designs only. They are, in order of decreasing complexity and correlating to decreasing seniority, a solid coloured patch with a triangular end with: a) a row of oak leaves with
acorns down the centre terminating at a button, Some of the Singapore gorget patch designs are quite unique and their origins are unclear. This is because the British Army, British police, and British fire brigades had quite different gorget patch ornamentations apart from the one with oak leaves. The British Army, British police, and British fire brigades gorget patches are limited to: a) a row
of oak leaves with acorns for ranks of and above Major-General in the British
Army; ranks of and above Chief Constable and Assistant Commissioner in the
British police services; and rank of Chief Officer of the British fire brigades
except in Scotland (thistle). The oak leaves is replaced with a gold braid for smaller gorget
patches in the British Army. The Singapore gorget patches shown below are typically for use on the ceremonial dress, and are longer in dimension. The enforcement services use slightly shorter gorget patches without changes in design nor colour for the other uniforms. It is however common that the acorns may not be depicted on shorter gorget patches. There are three colour combinations in all; gold on red/crimson for the Army, gold on black for the SCDF and Customs, and silver on black for the Police, Prisons, and ICA. The specific breakdown of service, rank, and gorget patch for Singapore is as follow (the list is incomplete at the moment - underlined italicised text indicates assumptions to be confirmed):
ii. Peaked Cap Markings The peaked caps of the various services will also be distinguished by several differentiated markings on the peak to indicate different levels of ranks, just as is the case for services in other countries. The additional designs are embroidered on the visor of the peaked caps and are embroidered at the base of the crown of the women's peaked cap. Singapore Customs and the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority do not wear any form of head-dress as part of their uniforms at present. Overall, there are three designs for the peaks as shown below, in addition to the fourth plain charge-less peaks. The highest ranking officers will wear a peak charged with two rows of embroidered oak leaves. The second junior peak design has only one row of embroidered oak leaves towards the front of the peak, and the third junior-most peak design has a single band running parallel with the edge of the peak. There are only two colour combinations for peaks and peak markings, silver on black as used by the Police and Prisons, and gold on black as used by the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Civil Defence. The breakdown for the Singapore services is listed below. The list is incomplete at the moment - underlined italicised text indicates assumptions to be confirmed. Ranks not listed below are to wear wear caps with plain peaks. These markings do not apply to beret-wearing-only units within a service (such as Army Commandos, Prisons SPEAR Team, etc.). Peaked caps are not worn with all orders of dress within the service. The selected orders of dress with which the peaked cap is typically worn with is listed below.
iii. Cap/Beret Badges The services' cap (and/or beret) badges may also indicate different levels of rank generally within a particular service. Overall, the Police and Prisons are the only services that does not differentiate cap badge designs for the different groups of rank. While the SAF is a unified force, the cap badge policy differs between the three component services. Service badges are derived from the service emblems as depicted and elaborated upon in the Military and Paramilitary Flags of Singapore pages. Officers of Singapore Customs and the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority do not wear any form of head-dress as part of their uniforms at present. Comparatively, the Singapore Army cap/beret badges practice parallels the British Army system and pattern. The cap badge used by the current general level ranks is similar to those used by the ranks of Major Generals to Generals of the British Army which comprises a baton and sword in saltire within a wreath surmounted by the British Royal Crest (lion on crown). The royal crest is replaced with the national arms in Singapore's case. British Army Colonels and Brigadiers use the British Royal Crest (lion on crown) as a cap badge, while all other ranks use their respective formation/unit cap badge. Similarly, the Singapore Army Colonel is given a distinctive badge while the remaining ranks are to use the SAF service cap badge or military police formation cap badge. The Singapore navy cap badge practice also parallels the Royal Navy style. Officer badges have a fouled anchor completed with laurels (which was adopted as the navy service emblem as well) while the remaining ranks use the fouled anchor without the laurels. The Singapore air force does not follow the Royal Air Force style, the latter having badges for the Air Officers (Army General equivalents), one for other commissioned officers, and one for the other remaining ranks. The colonial fire services, based on certain photographs, seemed to suggest the use of differing badges for the command and management group as compared to the rank-and-file group. The former had the colonial crest (lion and coconut palm) within a laurel wreath while the rank-and-file group used the colonial crest (lion and coconut palm) on the commonly used emergency services 8-pointed starburst. This distinction seemed to have disappeared nearing the period of self-governance and independence with the 8-pointed starburst badge being used by all ranks. When the Singapore Fire Brigade became the Singapore Fire Service and adopted a new service emblem, all ranks throughout used a common badge, the Singapore Fire Service badge, until the merger of the fire service and civil defence force. The civil defence commissioners used a distinctive cap badge upon the establishment of the force. Initially, there were only two cap badges as used by the SCDF, one for all commissioner ranks (a civil defence triangle with the national arms [shield and charges only] within a laurel wreath surmounted with the national arms) and the general service badge based on the service emblem (as used today) to be used by the remaining ranks. Sometime later, a third badge was introduced for use by personnel holding the ranks of Colonel to Deputy Commissioner - the civil defence service badge without a title-scroll (as used today as shown below). The original Commissioner of Civil Defence's cap badge used since inception was changed in design in 2005 to one bearing two axes in saltire within laurels surmounted with the national arms as shown below. The police force and prisons service, since the colonial period, did not distinguish cap badges for its personnel of different ranks in the matter of cap badge design, differing only in its physical make (metal versus embroidery).
Number 1
(Ceremonial Dress):
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All
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1968 
1970s 
The Singapore Army General-level ranks
from the mid-1970s to 1982 were represented by insignias based on the following pattern: a
national arms above five-pointed star/s (one star for a Brigadier-General,
two stars for a Major-General, three stars for a Lieutenant-General, and
four stars for a full General) above a generals' badge comprising a baton
and sword in saltire within a laurel wreath. This marks a first departure
from the British Army rank insignia model for the general-level ranks in
the military. The new insignia pattern was however somewhat similar in
style to that used by the Royal Navy admirals. The other junior and
senior officer ranks (2nd Lieutenant to Colonel) however continued using the pips and arms model
that was adopted since independence. The second departure from the British
Army rank insignia model occurred in 1982 when the pips and national arms
model were dropped for a new system altogether.
1989 
Prior to
the above-mentioned change, the Customs and Excise Department had the
following ranks and insignias: Director-General (two five-pointed stars above a
national arms and flat laurels), Deputy Director-General (a five-pointed
star above a national arms and flat laurels), Senior Director (two pips
above a national arms), Director (a pip above a national arms), Senior
Superintendent (a national arms), Superintendent (three pips), Assistant
Superintendent (two pips), Chief Customs Officer (four bars couped),
Senior Customs Officer (three bars couped), Higher Customs Officer (two bars
couped), and Customs Officer (a bar couped). The rank insignias of the senior officers of Customs while
featuring pips and the national arms for the first five ranks differed from the
traditional British Army /
Singapore police pips and crown/arms model.
2001 
The
Singapore Prison Service director-level ranks were changed. The new
director-level rank structure and insignia now comprise: Assistant
Director (pip above directors' badge), Deputy Director (national arms
above directors' badge [up from two pips above the directors' badge
previously] and oak leaves gorget [previously a twisted braid gorget]), and the Director of Prisons (national arms above
a pip above a directors' badge). Previously, there was the rank of Senior Deputy
Director (national arms above the directors' badge). The rank insignia
comprising two pips above a directors' badge is no longer used in the
service. A similar looking rank insignia is used in the Singapore Civil
Defence Force and Singapore Police Force with the title of Senior
Assistant Commissioner.
