President Tharman makes inaugural visit to Digital Intelligence Service's Open Source Unit

President Tharman Shanmugaratnam visited the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF) youngest service — the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS) on Tuesday (Nov 3).

The visit to the DIS' Open Source Unit (OSU) also marks his inaugural unit visit to the SAF, the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) said on Tuesday.

According to a MINDEF factsheet, the unit supports the SAF by monitoring news and information relating to global military and security developments, as well as natural disasters in the region.

It explained that the SAF's situational awareness is enhanced by keeping abreast of developments in the evolving information landscape, thereby enabling commanders to make timely, well-informed decisions in response to developments at home and abroad, while contributing to broader national security efforts.

The President was hosted by the DIS chief Major-General Lee Yi-Jin, along with Chief of Defence Force Vice-Admiral Aaron Beng and other senior SAF officers.

During the visit, President Tharman was briefed on the DIS and its Joint Intelligence Command, including its role in providing accurate, relevant and timely intelligence for early warning and decision-making for SAF's operations.

He observed demonstrations of OSU’s monitoring operations and engaged its service personnel, including full-time national servicemen and operationally ready national servicemen.

Said President Tharman: "The DIS plays a more important role than ever, as digital threats can only be expected to grow in frequency, scale and sophistication. I commend our service personnel for their efforts to continually stay abreast of developments and keep the nation safe."

The DIS was officially inaugurated at a parade officiated by then-President Halimah Yacob on Oct 28, 2022.

11月3日（星期二），新加坡总统尚达曼视察了新加坡武装部队（SAF）最年轻的部门——数字与情报服务部（DIS）。

国防部周二表示，此次对国防信息系统局开源部门的访问也是他首次访问新加坡武装部队。

根据新加坡国防部的情况说明书，该部队通过监测与全球军事和安全发展以及该地区自然灾害相关的新闻和信息来支持新加坡武装部队。

它解释说，新加坡武装部队通过密切关注不断变化的信息环境的发展，增强了态势感知能力，从而使指挥官能够及时、明智地应对国内外事态发展，同时为更广泛的国家安全努力做出贡献。

总统由国防情报局局长李义进少将、国防军总长阿伦·本海军中将及其他新加坡武装部队高级军官接待。

访问期间，尚达曼总统听取了有关国防情报局及其联合情报司令部的简报，包括其在为新加坡武装部队的行动提供准确、相关和及时的情报，以进行预警和决策方面所发挥的作用。

他观摩了俄亥俄州立大学的监测行动演示，并与包括全职国民服役人员和随时准备作战的国民服役人员在内的服务人员进行了交流。

尚达曼总统表示：“鉴于数字威胁的频率、规模和复杂性只会不断增加，数字情报局（DIS）的作用比以往任何时候都更加重要。我赞扬我们的服务人员为不断掌握最新动态、维护国家安全所做出的努力。”

DIS 于 2022 年 10 月 28 日在时任总统哈莉玛·雅各布主持的阅兵式上正式成立。