SAFTI Military Institute The SAFTI Military Institute ( Abbreviation : SAFTI MI , Simplified Chinese : 新加坡武装部队军训学院 ) is a tri - service military training institution for officers of all ranks of the Singapore Armed Forces ( SAF ) . Located within an 88 hectare campus in Jurong West , it was officially opened by the then - prime minister Goh Chok Tong on 25 August 1995 . Officers from the Singapore Army , Republic of Singapore Navy and Republic of Singapore Air Force begin their training at the Officer Cadet School ( OCS ) , before proceeding on to the SAF Advanced Schools and the Singapore Command and Staff College ( SCSC ) at various stages of their careers . History . Although the SAFTI MI is an amalgamated institution , it draws much of its heritage from the original Singapore Armed Forces Training Institute ( SAFTI ) , which was officially opened on 14 February 1966 at Pasir Laba Camp . The link to the past is preserved in both the name of the new institute , as well as the name of the bridge connecting Pasir Laba Camp with the new SAFTI MI . Officially named SAFTI Link , it is referred to by insiders as MI Bridge . Architecture . There is much symbolism in the SAFTI MI campus . The Officer Cadet School HQ is described by the architect to be shaped like a cradle , from which officers are born ( paraphrased ) . SAFTI MI sits on a hill . The locations of each school are metaphors for the career of an SAF officer . The lower reaches house the barracks for Officer Cadets . Advancing up the hill , SAF Advanced Schools are encountered . Finally , at the pinnacle , is Singapore Command and Staff College . A prominent feature is the Tower , approximately 60 m tall and visible from many parts of western Singapore . It is a three - sided tower , for the tri - service nature of the SAF . It is served by a lift and a 265 step stairway which symbolises the days a cadet requires to take towards commissioning day . This number should not be taken literally as the various commissioning courses vary in length . The OCS parade square is 120 m by 170 m in area . It is designed to reduce the heat and glare of the sun . The viewing stands are able to accommodate up to 5000 people . SAFTI MI was originally intended to be an " open camp " like the United States Military Academy ( West Point ) and the United States Naval Academy ( Annapolis ) . Indeed , prior to the September 11 terrorist attacks , civilians did not need passes nor security checks before entering the complex . The only restricted areas were the offices and living quarters . Since 9 / 11 , armed sentries are now posted at the main entrances , and side entrances have been barricaded with concertina wire . Passes and security checks are now mandatory for all , including military personnel in uniform , in military vehicles . Organisation . The Commandant , a Brigadier General or Rear Admiral , heads SAFTI MI HQ . MI HQ overlooks all training and training support within the complex . Schools . There are a total of five schools in SAFTI MI : the Officer Cadet School ( OCS ) for cadets , SAF Advanced Schools ( SAS ) - one for each Service - for Captains , and the Singapore Command and Staff College ( SCSC ) for Majors and Lieutenant - Colonels . To meet changing needs , curriculum and various exercises of the schools go through major revamps about once every five years . The first revamp was in 1999 , led by then - Permanent Secretary Peter Ho , and the most recent was led by BG Tan and his team in 2004 . In between the five years , there were smaller reviews to maintain currency . For example , after mission like Operation Flying Eagle , some of the course content in SCSC and other schools was tweaked . New doctrine is also infused into the curriculum by SAFTI MI after various exercises carried out by the SAF . Leadership development is the means by which SAFTI MI tries to inculcate values , and better align the value in officers . " People don ' t come in with zero values , all of us have values from our parents , our upbringing , from the schools that we have attended . With this set of values , it is now a question of reaffirming some of them and realigning some of them to the SAF ' s core values which have been in place since the late 1980s , " said BG Tan . SAFTI MI has a branch called the Centre of Leadership Development ( CLD ) . This is a full - time SAF centre with psychologist and headed by a former brigade commander . These people focus their entire attention on how to develop officers in leadership . As for helping officers in handling uncertainty , a lot of different methodologies are incorporated in courses . Officer Cadet School . Officer Cadet School ( OCS ) is the only commissioning route in the Singapore Armed Forces . Outstanding conscripts from Basic Military Training and the School of Infantry Specialists ( Specialist s are NCO - equivalents in the SAF ) are sent to OCS to train to be officers . On completion of their National Service , these officers will continue to serve with their men in the Operationally - Ready NSmen battalions . After commissioning , some officers may choose to continue to serve as career soldiers . Regular Specialists may also attend OCS on application , recommendation , and selection . Prior to moving to the SAFTI MI complex , it was at the old SAFTI at Pasir Laba Camp . Singapore Command and Staff College . Singapore Command and Staff College conducts the Command and Staff Course ( CSC ) for career officers , and the National Service Command and Staff Course ( NSCSC ) for selected reserve officers who have demonstrated potential for higher command and staff appointments in the SAF . Before moving to SAFTI MI in 1995 , SCSC was located at Fort Canning , Marina Hill , and Seletar Camp . SAFTI Services Centre . SAFTI Services Centre provides security , medical , dental , physiotherapy , transport , estate , signal and logistics support for all units within the camp complex . Facilities . Sport facilities . SAFTI MI has extensive sporting and recreation facilities including a stadium with a soccer field and running track , an Olympic - sized swimming pool with a diving tower , and an indoor rock - climbing wall . Library . SAFTI MI Library houses the best collection on military history in Singapore . Previously , membership was only available for military personnel . Since , the management of the library has been taken over by the National Library Board , and ordinary library members may borrow books . The collection is available through inter - library loan to any of its other branches . This is especially convenient because SAFTI MI can be rather inaccessible to civilians due to its location and its security checkpoint . Since 1 April 2007 , National Library Board had handed the operations of the SAFTI MI library back to MINDEF . Along with the handover , the book return service has also been terminated . Ordinary library members need to apply for individual membership from then on . Mess . As is the case for almost all camp complexes in the SAF , all the tenant units share a single Officers ' Mess and a Warrant Officers ' and Specialists ' Mess . The Officers ' Mess is located near the officers ' living quarters , beside the artificial lake adjacent to the Singapore Discovery Centre . The Warrant Officers ' and Specialists ' Mess is similarly located near their accommodation blocks . The Officer Cadets have a mess too . However , they have much less liberty to use the facilities compared with the other personnel not under training .