1/09/2006

northstar v

the emergency drill conducted on sunday is something that singapore is very good at. our uniformed groups and the civil servants are highly efficient when come to matters like security. we can expect them to be ahead of things, things that can be planned will be carefully planned. so many agencies were tested on sunday. it was a very comprehensive and well thought of exercise. and given the number of people involved, the complexities of events and people, it can be very chaotic even as a drill. just imagine when it is real. the tension, anxiety, panic and nervousness, and fear, will be ten fold. i was thinking, what would happen if, just before the first simulated bomb blows off, a call came from a non exercise station telling the controller that it is the real thing. a bomb has exploded in say jurong east and there were casualties. caught in the midst of a major exercise and a call came in and it is real. the authentication and confirmation and the redirection of the forces to a real and new destination can be a very massive exercise. let us pray that it will not happen. somehow i think it will, only when.

4 comments:

Speedwing said...

Let us all hope you are wrong about it happening in Singapore. However, it is always good to be prepared for all eventualities.

I understand the exercise went off well and people were all calm and orderly. Well done Singapore!!

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

morning speed,

practically every male singaporean has been in some uniformed group before. and for such matters of national interest when people are not clouded by vested interests, you can imagine that they will be very clear and focus in what needs to be done.

some of our best minds are in charge in these areas and you can expect them to be very meticulous. what they lack is a little experience and a little wisdom in what they are doing. i mentioned wisdom for this element cannot be learned in textbooks. wisdom are mainly acquired after many mistakes are made, whether by self or by others.

i was involved in a minor exercise, an accident involving a 3 tonner in the middle of the night, somewhere in uk, when i was a young man.

no advance notice, and because it was dark, it was so real. some went hysterical, some were crying. everyone was so nervous and fear crept all over us.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

Fuck the government and its fat-assed civil serpents lah.

This was extremely disruptive - to people just minding their own business and going thier way...

When (not if) the terrorists strike, no amount of preperation is going to count.

Dhoby Ghaut. Yeah, this is almost poetic. Remember McDonald House 1965?

This sort of shit is unnecessary. Anyway here's a clear example of an Open Society, which is not a Free Society.

The fact that the state can come in without a moments notice and STOP or DISRUPT the lives of innocent people - even though those folks may express an opinion OPENLY - is the state showing the people who really is The Boss.

What we need is LESS govt not more. If we had LESS govt, we probably would not have a terrorist threat anyway. Never lose sight of the fact that this "terrorist threat" has been started and continued by the biggest govt in the world.

Terrorists disrupt the lives of peaceful citizens going about their lives in peaceful and productive ways.

Operation Northstar and the disruption it caused shows clearly WHO THE REAL TERRORISTS ARE :-)

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

this case my views differ from yours in a few areas. i share your view who the world's number one terrorist is. also we have acted in some way that increases our risk level. but i also believe that the stage has been set by the number one terrorist and we have also been dragged into it much earlier, even before we went to bed with the number one terrorist.

we are in the shit either way.

as for the exercise, i look at it quite positively. if i am not wrong, it was a complete simulation of early warning of threat, detection of threat, damage control and followup actions to apprehend the terrorists. it is very disruptive as an exercise. but it helps in many ways.

one thing for sure, it can't do anything to prevent an attack. but it does help in damage control and how salvage operations, including search and rescue and the operational readiness of all the supporting agencies, including hospitals and civil defence.

it is a necessary exercise. and who is in control, with or without the exercise, makes no dif.