Questionnaire For National Security Positions - Us Navy: Fill & Download for Free

You being a US citizen, in this case, is ONLY partially the beginning of obtaining a security clearance.Ok, lets take this random job announcement as an example “Systems Administrator-TOP SECRET CLEARANCE at TSC GLOBAL SOLUTIONS INC Mechanicsburg, PA” Systems Administrator-TOP SECRET CLEARANCE job at TSC GLOBAL SOLUTIONS INCWhile the ad mentions development of security for Windows systems of its company, what it doesn’t state is that the position would probably involve their 22nd Century Technologies, Incorporated (TSCTI) company, which is a government focused Services and Solutions provider which has around 120 Prime Federal Contracts with a mix of 70/30 DoD and Civilian contracts. their federal client list includes US Air Force, Army, Navy, DLA, DLI, Marine Corps, DIA, FBI, USDA, DOE, DOT, DOL and many other agencies. Amazing what a few minutes of light digging will turn up.Being such, there are probably contracts that involve having a security clearance dependent on the nature of the support.As far as the clearence goes, here is what you are looking at https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf86-non508.pdfThis is a link to the dreaded Standard Form 86 “Questionnaire for National Security Positions”. This will be used in your “Security Background Investigation”.If your clearance is just for Confidential or Secret (not everybody is required to have a TS or TS/SCI clearance), you’ll only be subjected to a National Agency Check, which is a computerized search of investigative files and other records held by federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigations and Office of Personnel Management and a Local Agency Check. Which is a review of appropriate criminal history records held by local law enforcement agencies, such as police departments or sheriffs, with jurisdiction over the areas where you have resided, gone to school, or worked. Or course you will also be subject to a review of your Credit Record.If your position requires a Top Secret, as this position does, with or without a compartmented clearance (SCI) then be prepared to have your life put under a microscope with a Single Scope Background Investigation. This will include the above AND field interviews of references to include coworkers, employers, personal friends, educators, neighbors and other appropriate individuals. As well as checks of records held by employers, courts and rental offices. And last but not least a subject interview. The Defense Investigative Service uses two types of investigators to conduct these investigations; actual DSS Agents and contractors. Neither have a sense of humor.One thing…don’t lie if you ever do apply for a job that requires a government security clearance. Never, never, never lie. You WILL be found out and it WILL cause you grief.I should note that many employers want you to already have the SBI done so that they don’t have to pay for it. I first got a TS/SCI ages ago and even though you are read out when you leave, getting read back in is infinitely less troublesome. In fact it can actually be a useful tool to help market yourself in future jobs.

I have always wanted to be in the armed forces to serve the nation, being from a defence background, my father inspired me greatly and set an example of the kind of citizen I should become upon growing up. This admiration turned into an unwavering determination to join the armed forces. I had tried for NDA NAVY after my 12th grade, but my whole batch was washed out from the 33rd Bhopal SSB. After that I got busy in my college life, but the zeal to join the defence forces was still present. In the 6th semester of my college, the Indian Navy came to our college and gave an orientation on the UNIVERSITY ENTRY SCHEME . According to the orientation I could join the Indian Navy as an Executive IT Officer. I filled in the necessary details, and the shortlisted candidates were made to participate in 2 group discussions at my campus's premise. Further shortlisting was done on the basis of the group discussions, and I was shortlisted for my SSB interview at 12 SSB board, Service Selection Center, South, Bangalore. I had to report with the documents and items mentioned in the call up letter at the railway station in Bangalore at 14:00 hrs on 31st October. Around 250 candidates had reported in my batch. The bus came at 14:30 hrs and we were taken to the centre. This was followed by document verification of each candidate, and candidates with insufficient documents were asked to leave. We were then instructed to stay in the barracks and on the dress code to be followed, and we were told to report at 06:30 hrs the next day for the screening process. Our phones and electronic gadgets were taken by the board. The next day, we were asked to stand into groups of Freshers (candidates appearing for the first time), Screened Out(candidates who've been screened out in earlier attempts), Repeaters (candidates who got screened in but were not recommended) and recommended candidates (candidates who have been recommended for other entries). I was a repeater and stood in line accordingly, there were no recommended candidates in our batch. We were then taken to a hall and our OIR test was conducted, which consisted of verbal as well as non verbal tests. Our OIR test was followed by the Picture Perception and Discussion test. The picture shown to us was a blurred image of a man giving instructions to some people in a working environment. I wrote a story about an entrepreneur who had a business in automobiles and was currently going in loss ( the automobile industry was suffering at that time) and how he endured the losses and came out victorious by using various technologies such as IoT, 3D printing,etc. Later we were divided into groups of 14 approximately and I was grouped with other repeaters. The discussion took place with 3 officers as observers, we were instructed to narrate our stories along with our observations in turn (according to chest numbers). I was chest number 8 and the last candidate was chest number 14. The moment Chest Number 14 finished narrating his story, almost every candidate started shouting his own opinion, because of this our group was bifurcated into 2, and each group discussed their points seperately. Once all the groups were finished with their discussions and all the candidates had had their lunch, we were taken to the same hall and the chest numbers of the screened in candidates were called, my chest number was the first to be called out and I was then given chest number 1. Subsequently 31 more candidates were called out, the rest were given their phones and gadgets back, and were instructed to return back home. 32 of us were instructed to shift into the the candidate lines, and be ready for the psychological tests that were to be conducted the next day. We were also told that the personal interviews for candidates will be starting from tomorrow and can take place in any order, so we should be prepared for that as well. The same evening we were made to fill out Personal Information Questionnaires (PIQ) which asked about details of our native place, family, extra curricular activities, achievements, hobbies, marks ,etc. I would suggest that you fill this form very cautiously, because your interview will depend on it. We were made to fill 3 copies of the form. The next day we reported at 06:30 hrs in the morning. We were taken to a hall and were given instructions on how the tests will be conducted. Our tests started around 07:45-08:00 hrs It was hard to keep track of time as there were no wall clocks in the hall and we were not allowed to wear wrist watches. The first was the Thematic Apperception Test, where we were shown 12 images of which the last one was a blank image. We were given four minutes to write a story for each image. This was followed by Word Association Test which consisted of 60 words and we were given 15 minutes in total for the test. The next test was Situation Reaction Test, where we were given 30 minutes to attempt 60 Situations. I could attempt all in TAT and WAT but could only attempt 48/60 in SRT. Then we were given a 10 minutes break, the break was followed by a self assessment analysis, we were asked to write paragraphs on each of the following:1) What do your friends think about you?2) What do your parents think about you?3) What do your teachers think about you?4) What do you think about yourself?5) What qualities would you like to improve in yourself?As soon as we got done with the psychological tests I was summoned for my interview. I reached the waiting room along with my documents, and waited till my chest number was displayed on the screen. I took my documents and headed for the designated room number, and to my surprise, it was the cabin of the President of The Board. I entered the room, greeted the interviewing officer, closed the door gently and was requested to take a seat in front of the IO( Interviewing Officer). The IO wasted no time in casual greetings and started asking me rapid fire questions straight off the bat. He asked me around 10 questions regarding :° My marks in 10th,12th,and current marks in University.(3 questions asked separately)° How many family members I have?° Who are my friends in college, school, colony I reside in?(3 questions asked separately)° Which is my favourite subject and why?and a couple of more questions which I cannot recall at the moment. I kept a count of the number of questions being asked and tried to answer all of them accordingly. The conversation after that is as follows:IO: Do you know what job role you're applying for?Me: Sir it's that of an IT Executive Officer in the Indian Navy, according to the website my job roles would mainly consist of networking, patching older softwares with new ones, data base management and Data Science.IO: What is Data Science?Me: Sir it's the science of inferring information and insights from a given datasets after applying certain statistical models on the dataset.IO: How will it help the Indian Navy?ME: Sir, we can infer important information and pass it on to the executive officers to make the decisions.IO: Give me an example.Me: Sir, there are buoys in the sea which measure the parameters of the waves, we can collect this data through live sensors and use it to predict the trajectory of a vessel in the region (I explained it more elaborately at that time)IO: What B*llsh*t? Give me another example.Me: (I was taken aback and took 2-3 seconds to start my answer) Sir, we use drones for surveillance, the data being sent through drones can be monitored more effecientlyb with the help of data science. (Went on to explain about regional convolutional neural networks,and how they can increase accuracy by even identifying pixelated images).IO: Hmm, okay. So what improvements have you made since the last time to ensure that you get selected this time?Me: Sir, after last time I realised I lacked general awareness and worked on that by reading newspapers daily, improved my routine, included exercising, read more novels,etc.IO: Okay, have you been placed yet?Me: Yes sir, I've been placed in TCS.IO: What's your package there and what's your job role?Me: I've been assigned the destination of SYSTEM ENGINEER C, and my package there is 7.5 LPA, our specific job roles will be assigned to us after our introductory training.IO: How do you think that job will be any different from what you're going to do here?Me: Sir, the Indian Navy is not just an organisation, but as they say, it's a Way of life, it's been my aspiration to join the defence forces and here I would be pursuing my dream of serving in the armed forces as well as putting my technical knowledge to use.IO: So if I call you at 1 in the morning to provide me with some data, will you come?Me: Surely Sir, goes without saying.IO: Okay, you've mentioned that you have been till the clusters in swimming U-17 , but the year that you've mentioned clearly shows that you were way underage. Are you lying?Me: No sir I'm not, I was in KV IIT Powai, at that time and our school didn't have any seniors who were into swimming, so I was sent in the under 17 category from my school in the fourth grade.IO: What events did you participate in?Me: Sir, 50 M Freestyle, 50 M Breaststroke.IO: What were your timings?Me: Sir I didn't measure then because I couldn't secure a position in the first three in both the events.IO: Hmmm, okay. You've mentioned that your father is in the Indian Coast Guard, tell me the difference between the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard.Me: Sir, the Indian Coast Guard was born out of the Indian Navy in 1978. The Coast Guard monitors the exclusive economic zone in accordance with the customs, maintains the Marine Flaura and Fauna,and-IO: How do they maintain the Marine Flaura and Fauna?Me: Sir The Indian Coast Guard conducts many beach cleaning exercises, sprays the seas with essential chemicals,-IO: Exactly, they prevent anyone from disturbing the Marine Flaura and Fauna, they don't maintain it. Now you mentioned the exclusive economic zone, how big is it?Me: Sir it's approximately 2.01 Million Sq Ft.IO : Hmm, okay, Digaant how would you define the boundary of the EEZ of a country?Me: Sir, I don't know the exact way.IO: Take A guess.Me: Sir we would take certain nautical miles from the coast of the country and uniformly define the EEZ throughout the coastal region of the country.IO: How much is 1 Nautical Mile in Km?Me: Sir Approximately 2kmsIO: I don't want approximate answers give me an exact one.Me: Sir 1.8 kmsIO: If you knew then why didn't you answer before?Me: Sir I wasn't sure, and didn't want to provide you with the wrong information.IO: Hmm, okay, how much is 1 Nautical Mile Sq in Km Sq?Me: Sir, I don't remember the square of 18, so I'll say approximately 4km sq .IO: Fair enough, how much is 4km sq in m sq?Me: Sir 4 million m sq.(I realised what mistake I had made, it was 2.01 million sq Km and not ft), Sir I realise the mistake I made, it's 2.01 Million Sq km and not ft.IO: Exactly, according to you our EEZ would've been bloody less than a Nautical Mile Sq. Now tell me how many positions has your father taken in the Indian Coast Guard at the various stations he's been posted to? What is his rank?I told him all the ranks and positions my father has assumed till now.( not stating them here for personal reasons)IO: So which AOPV (Advanced offshore petrol vessel) has he commanded?Me: Sir he has commanded ICGS Sankalp,ICGS Chandbibi, etc.IO: What's the number on ICGS Sankalp?Me: 46IO: What's the length of that ship?Me: Approximately 116 metres sir. (Same question had been asked in my NDA NAVY interview, hence I was prepared this time).IO: Name the various cheifs of the Armed forces at present.Me : Indian Navy : Admiral Karambir SinghIndian Army: General Bipin Rawat (this was in early November 2019).Indian Airforce: Air Cheif Marshall R.K Bhadauria.Indian Coast Guard : Director General K Nattrajan.IO: I notice you mentioned the head of Indian Coast Guard too, do you know him personally?Me: Yes sir.IO: How?Me: Sir he was our neighbour in Mumbai.IO : (smiling for the first time) Okay. So tell me Digaant, has your father ever caught a pirate?Me: Yes sir, he has caught a few.IO: But I don't see any news regarding all this in the news papers or TV channels, does it mean that the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard are not doing their job?Me: Sir, I'm sure the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard are selflessly doing their job extremely well, the officers in the armed forces do their job in order to protect the civilians and not for recognition from the media houses. As the saying goes sir, Service before Self.IO: hmm okay, what is Somalia famous for?Me: Sir, due to economic backwardness of the country many civilians have resorted to piracy for a living.IO: So which area is affected by them?Me: Sir I don't have an idea.IO: Take a guess.Me: Sir, the area to the west of India in the Arabian Sea.IO: That's like asking for my address, and me telling you that I live in Asia. Any how where is Somalia located? Is it an island?Me: Sir it's located on the continent of Africa, and (made a mistake here) it's an island.IO: Okay, what is AFSPA?ME: AFSPA Stands for Armed Forces Special Powers Act. Which gives them a certain autonomy to make decisions regarding arrests and other matters.IO: Which states is AFSPA active in?Me: Sir in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.IO: There is another state, do you know?Me: No sir (it was Arunachal Pradesh)IO: Alright, which states had their elections recently and which states have their elections coming up?I could tell him about the states which had their elections recently, but couldn't answer about the states which had their elections coming up.IO: What is cyber security and how can we improve it?I told him about cyber security, told him about VPN, FIREWALL, ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE, Etc.IO: I'm not satisfied with your answer but let's continue.( he went on to ask me more questions related to Gk, some of which I couldn't answer, but I cannot recall then at the moment)IO: What do you think are your strengths?Me: Sir my strengths are courage, confidence and determination.IO: How do you know you're courageous?Me: Sir you can see that I've mentioned trekking and outdoor activities as my hobby in the PIQ, there are certain activities which requires a person to overcome their fears in trekking, and overcoming your fears is courage according to me.IO: What do you think you need to improve in yourself?Me: Sir I need to improve my general awareness as I couldn't answer all your questions and also increase my knowledge on the supporting branches of my stream as I couldn't give you a satisfying answer related to networks.IO: Very well, would you like to ask me something?Me: No sir.IO : Okay, you may leave now.So, that's how my interview went, it lasted around 1 hour. I was nervous that I had not performed well, but I didn't let that affect my performance in GTO the next day, I got Role of Media on Governance as my Lecturette topic and a pretty simple command task. Our group came second in Group Obstacle Race out of 4 groups. The GTO was constantly provocating us during our tasks, but that's what he has to do in order to check your determination and endurance. My individual obstacle course went pretty well as I was able to complete all the obstacles in given time period. Finally it was the day of reckoning, CONFERENCE DAY. I was the first candidate to be called in and was asked why I didn't give NDA after my first attempt, I told them that it was clashing with my college exams and wasn't feasible at the time, they asked for any suggestions, and I said I had none.After the conference was done for every candidate we were called into the same hall and the results were announced. The Deputy President gave a pep talk before announcing the results to keep the morale high. Then the moment I had been waiting for arrived, he started announcing the chest numbers of the recommended candidates. And lo and behold mine was the first chest number, I was so taken aback, and happy, I stood up and said my name. Another 8 candidates from our batch were recommended. It was an amazing emotion to experience, I had finally achieved a lifelong dream.

Q. What militaries today exemplify 'quality over quantity'?A. Due to the small size of their population/military, their existential requirement to not lose any war, and relative large war chest, Israel and Singapore are kindred in having quality state of the art weaponry and hard training.Articles discuss Quality vs Quantity views from various sources/think tanks, including the Moscow Times. In addition lively Quora discussions over the subject using WWII as proof. Finally analysis of IDF and Singaporean Armed Forces, their wikipedia links and discussions of current relative military strengths and ranking.Future War: Why Quantity Will Trump Quality (thediplomat.com) counterintuitiveQuality and quantity (defenseissues.net) long treatiseQuality Over Quantity (moscowtimes.com)In war is quantity over quality better? (Quora)Can it be said WWII was a war of quantity against quality? It has been alleged that WWII can be seen a war between quality(Germany and Japan) and quantity-oriented powers (the USSR, USA, and China), so that the quantity prevailed. (Quora)In WWII it seemed that quantity trumped quality. The current US arsenal seems to have both quality and quantity. What would it take for the US to shift from quality to quantity in their military? (Quora)Singapore, a military power in South Asia built on the Israeli modelNathalie BoehlerIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Singaporean counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong, April 19, 2016The ties between the two countries started even before diplomatic relations were formally established in 1969The current Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, responded to the invitation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The third head of government in the history of Singapore is its first leader to visit Israel, where he arrived on Monday as part of a historic visit consolidating nearly fifty years of relations and cooperation between the two states.The link between the Lion City and the Jewish state goes back to the first years after the establishment of Israel, even before diplomatic relations were officially established in 1969.It was then that the premier — and the father of the current prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew — quit the Malaysian Federation in order to found Singapore. His army was then comprised of merely two infantry regiments commanded by British officers and two thirds of the soldiers were foreign. Like Israel in 1948, Singapore has very quickly felt the need to build a defense amid a turbulent local and regional situation.Defense Minister Goh Ken Swee and Major General Rehavam Zeevi (Gandhi), 22 July 1967Seized by the urgent task, Lee Kuan Yew first turned to India and Egypt, the "natural" allies of the "nonaligned," eventually choosing to secretly deploy Israeli military advisers.General Rehavam Zeevi (Gandhi), Colonel Yaakov Elazari and Colonel Yehuda Golan and other officers nicknamed "the Mexicans" by the Singapore government who wanted to hide their presence in the region, have overseen the creation of the current Singaporean army and were the source of its military doctrine: the "brown Book.""The Singapore army was built, trained and equipped following the model of the Israeli army. Singaporeans are surrounded by Muslim countries, making their islands susceptible to paranoia. For this reason the State has developed a disproportionate military, broad and powerful. And from this point of view, their army is for them very similar to the Israeli army," said Yossi Melman, Israeli security and intelligence expert.Singaporean men, whether they are Chinese or belong to small Malay and Indian minorities are subjected to two years of military service followed up by reserve duty that can amount to up to forty days a year until they reach the age of 40.The Singapore Armed Forces, an army modeled on the Israeli armyThe Singaporean army, today considered one of the most powerful in Southeast Asia has, since the late 1960s, used the same type of weapons as Israel's military and can mobilize hundreds of thousands of reservists within a few hours.Since Israeli military advisers gradually left the city-state in the mid-1970s, close relationships have developed in the field of defense industry and technology in general.For Israel, Singapore is now one of the main customers of its military industry, the outcome of forty years of cooperation carefully kept as a secret.Singapore's Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen considering purchase of Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighter jet"We find in Singapore almost all the types of weapons produced by the Israeli army. The research projects or prototypes of some of them are sometimes partly funded by the city-state, which then has a license to produce these systems," says Melman.The arms trade contracts between Israel and Singapore include the sale of tanks, air-to-ground "Barak" missiles and the "Hermes" drone system, fighter jets equipped with the latest Israeli electronic devices and warships.Recently, cooperation between the intelligence services of the two states has increased due to the terrorist threat posed by the Islamist organization "Jemaah Islamiyah," responsible for the Bali bombings in 2002 and the Marriott Hotel bombing in Jakarta the following year.Guided missile corvette "RSS Victory." Israeli electronics and SAM "Barak""Israel has a significant presence in Singapore with experts, delegations and military installations. In addition, there is close cooperation in terms of exchange of information in the field of intelligence, particularly due to the presence in Asia southeast of terrorist groups such as al-Qaida and Hezbollah-affiliated networks," Melman says.In 2014, the Israeli military industry unveiled at the Singapore Airshow its drone Super Heron, touted as "the world's most advanced MALE or super-tactical UAV," developed by IAI (Israel Aerospace Industries) whose characteristics surpassed those of its predecessor, the Heron ("Shoval" in Hebrew), operational since 2005.Singapore Land Systems,Singapore Military Power Force, Military SingaporeIn addition, the show was an opportunity for the Israeli weapons producer Rafael to unveil for the first time its "Iron Beam" defensive shield, inspired by the famous "Iron Dome" and capable of intercepting mortars and missile fired from a very short range by using a laser.Additionally, the visit of Lee Hsien Loong is returning the friendly gesture and declarations of Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, who went to Singapore to pay his last respects to the first premier who died last March at the age of 91."I will represent the State of Israel and its citizens, not only to express our condolences on the death of a founder of Singapore, but also to express our appreciation for his work as valuable and important leader. And I have no doubt that relations between the two countries will continue to strengthen," Rivlin asserted.Nathalie Boehler is journalist for i24newsThe Singapore Armed Forces: Protecting Singapore in 2030Intelligence File: The ties that bindIsrael and Singapore’s discreet but flourishing defense relationship.BY YOSSI MELMAN MAY 1, 2016 12:38In first visit ever by Singapore PM, leader thanks Israel for defense aid over the yearsPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with visiting counterpart from Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong. (photo credit: HAIM ZACH/GPO)Last week Lee Hsien Loong, the prime minister of tiny Singapore, paid an official visit to Israel. It was the first visit of its kind. Accompanied by ministers and businessmen, he and his host, Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, issued statements praising the good relations and joint ventures between the two countries in the fields of hi-tech, cyber, water, environmental conservation and more.Netanyahu also mentioned the first prime minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, who happens to be the father of the current one and is considered in his country as the founder of the republic. Netanyahu “forgot” to mention the first chief minister, David Marshall, who was a local Jew, whose legacy has been erased from Singaporean history books by the dictatorial regimes of father and son.However, what was missing during the visit in all public declarations was the glue that binds the two countries. That glue, according to foreign reports, is the military, intelligence and security ties between the two countries. The ties are very close to the extent that Singapore has over five decades become a very important market for Israel’s military industries not only in Southeast Asia but on a global level, and a partner in joint research and development ventures of advanced weapon systems. The country attracts hundreds of former Israeli military and intelligence officers and hosts major security corporations such as Israel Aerospace Industries, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Elbit Systems, in addition to the Israeli Embassy with its military attachés.Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd: Iron DomeSurprisingly, it was the guest who recalled the secret past military ties by saying, “We thank Israel for your assistance when Singapore was forced to get its independence in 1965, when our security and survival were in doubt. Israel Defense Forces helped to build our armed forces when other states refused.”Lee also recalled how he first visited Israel in 1977 when he was a junior military officer while escorting Lt.-Gen. Winston Choo, then his country’s chief of staff and now the ambassador in Tel Aviv.Singapore is a modern-day city-state spread over 700 square kilometers, with a population of 5.5 million. Seventy-five percent are of Chinese descent, 13% Malayan Muslims and 10% Indians. It is surrounded by two large Muslim nations – Malaysia and Indonesia.In that sense Singapore sees parallels between its situation and Israel’s: two small nations with advanced economies, surrounded by hostile states with different backgrounds, religions and cultures.Israeli soldier with Spike anti-tank missile launcherThis seeming similarity brought Singapore in the mid ’60s to ask Israel to build its armed forces, after India, Egypt and Britain declined.In 1965 Israel sent a military delegation led by Col. Yaakov Elazari and later by Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, who years later would be the defense minister. The Israeli advisers advised Singapore to form an army based on the IDF’s experience, tactics and doctrines.To conceal the presence of their nationality the Israeli advisers were locally referred to as the “Mexicans.”After forming the armed forces, Israel began supplying Singapore with weapons of all sorts and, according to foreign reports, it continues to do so today. According to these reports, the arms deals have included patrol and missile boats, upgrading of fighter planes, intelligence equipment, missiles and control and command centers.Defense News reported that the Singaporean air force is flying two squadrons of Israeli- made drones. One is composed of the Hermes model manufactured by Elbit, and one the Heron made by IAI.The French newsletter Intelligence Online wrote last year that Singapore also purchased dozens of Israel made Merkava tanks to be used as artillery to repel any future invasion of the country.Merkava Mk.4 - Israel Main Battle Tank [Review]Since the Defense Ministry doesn’t name the countries that purchase weapons from Israel, it is unknown what the export volume to Singapore was. But if all the deals, as reported in the foreign media, are added up, it is possible to conclude that Israel has sold Singapore over the years weapons worth billions of dollars.It was also reported that the two countries’ military industries cooperate in joint ventures in third countries.For example, IAI and its Singaporean counterpart won a tender to upgrade Turkish fighter planes. Another pattern revealed by some foreign reports is that Singapore invests money in the research and development of Israeli weapons systems and in return gets to manufacture them in its own industries.One example stands out. For the last five years there were consistent reports in the foreign media that Singapore was financially involved in the Israeli-made Iron Dome, a system to “kill” rockets and missiles, which was used in the last two wars in Gaza.Both Israel and Singapore didn’t comment.Last week during Lee’s visit, it was the Singaporean Ministry of Defense that broke its own silence by announcing that it had bought advanced radar from Elta, a subsidiary of IAI. This radar is part of the Iron Dome system.US grants $225 million more to Israel’s anti-missile Iron DomeIn the last decade-and-a half, since 9/11/2001, intelligence cooperation between the two nations to combat terrorism has been on the increase. Together with foreign intelligence agencies, Singapore exposed terrorist cells of al-Qaida and recently Islamic State that originated in neighboring Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.The cells planned to hit ships anchoring in or sailing to the port of Singapore, embassies and other Western installations, including Israel’s.The Mossad, for its part, uncovered a Hezbollah plot that spread from the Philippines to bomb the Israeli Embassy in Thailand.One can expect that after the visit of Lee, who invited Netanyahu for a reciprocal visit, Israeli-Singaporean relations will develop even further.The 25 most powerful militaries in the worldSkye Gould and Paul Szoldra Mar. 15, 2017, 1:16 PMUS NavyAn all-out fight may be the only real way to compare military strength, but fortunately, the world hasn't had many opportunities lately.Despite an increasingly tense situation in the South China Sea , continued fighting in Ukraine , and proxy wars throughout the Middle East , warfare between nation-states has mostly taken a backseat to peacekeeping missions and fights against terror groups.Still, a simple evaluation of pure military power can be interesting, so we turned to the Global Firepower Index , a ranking of 106 nations based on more than 50 factors — including each country's military budget, manpower, and the amount of equipment each country has in its respective arsenal, and its natural resources.It's important to note the index focuses on quantity while ignoring significant qualitative differences. For example, North Korea's 70 submarines are old and decidedly low-tech compared to what the US and others have. The index doesn't take into account nuclear stockpiles , which are still the ultimate trump card in geopolitics. And it doesn't penalize landlocked nations for lack of a standing navy.We've created a chart to compare the top 25 militaries according to the Global Firepower Index. The ranking was released in April (before events like the Russian invasion of Eastern Ukraine in August, ISIS's blitz through Iraq, and the flare-up between Israel and Hamas) and involves a complex set of data that is subject to ongoing adjustments and corrections.Skye Gould/Business InsiderHere Are The Key Findings From The Index :America's investment in being the world's leading military force.The US leads the world in military spending at nearly $600 billion a year. China is in a distant second, at nearly $160 billion — less than one-third of America's overall spending.The Ministry of Defence of the Russian FederationAccording to a report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) , the US has reduced its defense budget by 7.8% chiefly because of America's gradual withdrawal in overseas military operations, such as in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, President Donald Trump's proposed budget would effectively reverse that downward trend.Russia, meanwhile, has increased its arms spending and continues to modernize its military equipment and implement higher quality training for its personnel.Aircraft carriers are key, but few countries have even one.Aircraft carriers contribute greatly to a country's overall military strength. These massive vessels allow nations to project force far beyond their borders and across the entire face of the globe. They're essentially mobile naval and air force bases.Aircraft carriers can also carry unmanned aerial systems — drones — which significantly change the global surveillance game.The US's absolute monopoly on super-carriers significantly boosts its forward operating power. The US has deployed an aircraft carrier toward the Persian Gulf to bolster its sea and air power before possible strikes against ISIS in Iraq. It also has others keeping a close on the Korean peninsula.Russia has previously deployed an aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean to support the Assad government in Syria.KCNA/ReutersNorth Korea's submarines are pretty much useless.At first look, it seems North Korea is amazing when it comes to submarine warfare, but there's a little more to the story.Pyongyang does command one of the largest submarine fleets on earth, but most of its vessels are unusable.A third of North Korea's subs are noisy diesel-powered Romeos, which have been obsolete since 1961 . These submarines have a weapons range of only four miles, whereas a modern US submarine has a range of 150 miles. The Hermit Kingdom's fleet is unsophisticated but still durable, according to the Pentagon.In a fight with a more sophisticated adversary, North Korean subs would be toast.Here's the hardware the world's top 25 militaries have in their arsenalsAndrew Renneisen / Stringer / Getty ImagesThe US is the world's most powerful military, according to firepower.Russia and China aren't far behind.President Donald Trump has reemphasized military strength, reportedly planning to ask for $716 billion in defense spending in 2019 — a 7% increase over the 2018 budget (though spending is currently limited by budget caps).US defense spending is the highest in the world, more than the combined budgets of the next several countries. But US plans to ramp up acquisitions of military hardware will only add to an already booming arms industry.Between 2012 and 2016, more weapons were delivered around the world than during any five-year period since 1990.Below, you can see the world's top 25 militaries and the assets they can deploy to the battlefield, as ranked by Global Firepower Index.The ranking assesses the diversity of weapons held by each country and pays particular attention to the manpower available."Balance is the key — a large, strong fighting force across land, sea and air backed by a resilient economy and defensible territory along with an efficient infrastructure — such qualities are those used to round out a particular nation's total fighting strength on paper," the ranking states.But a few defining aspects of those countries' ability to muster military power are not directly related to their armed forces.Employees stand in front of the Indian navy's first Scorpene submarine at Mazagon Docks in Mumbai, April 6, 2015.REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade/FileGeographical factors, logistical flexibility, natural resources, and local industry all influenced the final ranking, Global Firepower said.Each of the top 10 countries have a labor force of more than 30 million people. Three of the top five — the US, China, and India — have more than 150 million available workers.The following 15 countries vary more widely in labor-force size — from 123.7 million in Indonesia to 3.9 million in Israel — but they still have more than 37.2 million workers on average.Industrial and labor capacity are complemented by robust logistical capabilities, including extensive railway and roadway networks, numerous major ports and airports, and strong merchant-marine corps. Extensive coastlines and waterways also facilitate the movement of goods and people.For the US, those logistical capacities have been tested by increasing activity in Afghanistan as well as efforts to built up its presence in Europe.The US Army's 1st Armored Division Sustainment Brigade served as the logistics headquarters in Afghanistan in 2017. During its six-month deployment, the unit distributed more than 380 million gallons of fuel throughout Afghanistan — a landlocked country roughly the size of Texas."It's not easy to [transport] fuel. You have to get it to the right place at the right time. You have to make sure it's of the right quality, and you have to make sure you have storage on one end and distribution capability on the other end," Col. Michael Lalor, the brigade commander, said in late February. "That's what always kept me up at night."Vehicles and other cargo are unloaded from the USNS Bob Hope by the soldiers of the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, US Army/Sgt. Jaccob HearnUS Military Sealift Command (MSC), which oversees the US Navy's fleet of mostly civilian-crewed support ships, is adding ships to boost its presence around Europe and Africa, in response to both insurgent activity and growing tensions with Russia — all of which have added tension to the US's already strained supply lines.In 2017, MSC moved twice as much ordnance, three times as many critical parts, and one-third as much cargo in Europe and Africa as it did in 2016."I definitely don't see (activity) going down any time soon," Capt. Eric Conzen, MSC commander in Europe and Africa, told Stars and Stripes of his unit's workload. "There's a desire for it to increase."NOW WATCH: How Russia's most advanced military equipment stacks up against NATO hardwareIsrael Defense Forces - WikipediaSingapore Armed Forces - WikipediaThe Value of Sustainability for the Singapore Armed Forces by LTA Julie Lim Yee Sin (www.mindef.gov.sg)Singapore vs. Israel: Who’s the better role model?“The grass is always greener…” may be a banality, but it’s an appropriate one for what is turning out to be an internal debate in two countries known for their technology – Israel and Singapore.At an event in Tel Aviv Monday, both Economics Minister Naftali Bennett and Google Israel chairman Meir Brand bemoaned (or at least expressed concern) over why Israel, despite its reputation as the Start-Up Nation, was failing to “cash in” the way Asian tiger countries like Singapore have.But in conversations with the Times of Israel, it’s Israel that students, entrepreneurs, and business figures from south Asia, including Singapore, feel that their countries should emulate. “The Asians just don’t have the start-up spirit,” said Singaporean Adry Lee, who in a recent interview described himself as a serial entrepreneur.Lee’s comments were typical of those of numerous Singaporeans the Times of Israel has interviewed at several events geared to promoting Israel-Asia business relations, such as last May’s Israel-Asia Business Summit. “It’s very hard for Singaporeans to think out of the box and come up with non-traditional ideas as Israelis do,” he said.That wasn’t the feeling in Israel, or at least among the speakers — including Economics Minister Naftali Bennett and Google Israel chairman Meir Brand — at the launch of an initiative called E-nnovate Israel, a hub initiated by Google Israel for projects and studies to promote innovation and economic growth in Israel, with an emphasis on strengthening the country’s information infrastructure.As its first project, E-nnovate introduced on Monday a report by consulting firm Trigger-Foresight Group Deloitte — the report was funded by Google Israel — which compared the impact of Israel’s tech economy on the country’s overall economy. Israel, according to the study, is a world leader in the size of its “internet economy,” the term used to describe industries that produce “information economy” internet-related products and services (like most high-tech companies). Those companies represented 6.4% of Israel’s GDP in 2009, and will exceed 8% by 2015 — on a par with most advanced European countries, like Germany and the UK, and not far behind the US.But somehow Israel’s tech savvy has not translated into economic benefits, as it has elsewhere. The study took Singapore as a good example of how well Israel hasn’t done. The GDP for both countries was similar throughout the 1980s — but then Singapore’s fortunes took off, leaving Israel in the dust. Today, the Asian tiger’s GDP is about $60,000 — nearly double that of Israel.What happened? It’s not about military spending, as many believe; surprisingly, Singapore’s per capita defense spending for 2012 ($1,593) wasn’t that much less than Israel’s ($1,882); Singapore, it turns out, ranked 23rd in the world in military expenditures in 2012, compared to Israel’s 17th-place ranking.What it is about, said the report, is that Singapore has much more successfully leveraged its Internet technology to make its economy more efficient. Israel hasn’t, and that has been very bad for the economy. The report cited an analysis of productivity in Israel which said that despite Israel’s position as a high-tech country, it’s only 24th (out of 30) in the OECD in terms of productivity. “Even though Israel, in its early years, narrowed the productivity gap between itself and the OECD countries, it stagnated on par with the OECD average from the 1970s until today,” said the study.It was a future told by American economist Robert Solow, who won the Nobel Prize in 1987 for proving the close connection between economic growth and increased productivity and innovation, the study said. “However, innovation also necessitates creatively providing useful, efficient and effective solutions to non-economic problems. This is the only way to increase productivity and create growth in advanced economies.” The way to do that, the study said, was for Israel to implement Internet-efficient communications and technologies in a much wider manner.And the only way to make that happen, said Google chairman Brand, was for the government to embark on an aggressive Internet infrastructure investment campaign. “A program like this would require an investment in infrastructure, but could save the economy millions,” he said. The money could go towards direct funding for infrastructure projects, or be available for low-cost loans for organizations that wanted to upgrade their communications and network systems to make themselves more efficient.For example, said Google’s Doron Avni — who heads Google’s Middle East, Israel, and Africa government relations department — the government here could fund a project similar to one in the UK, where the National Health Service borrowed money to set up an online portal for information, appointments, and self-diagnosis for certain conditions (via apps, questionnaires, etc.) The money was given as a loan to the NHS, which paid it back in full within four years, and saved the organization 110 million euros in 2008 alone.Another example is that of the Virtual High School in Florida, a special online and in-person school that has students doing much of their work through the internet via videoconferencing with teachers, remote submission of reports and homework, and more. Costs to the state for students in such schools are $1,000 less than for students in “regular” schools.According to entrepreneur Lee, Singaporeans ‘don’t have the chutzpah you need to buck trends… We are taught to listen to our elders’The secret to getting this done, said Brand, is instituting an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policy, as successful countries — such as Singapore, Germany, Japan, and others have. Such a policy, he said, would ensure that Israel could enjoy the economic benefits of the technology developed here, instead of just making others richer. “The likelihood that Israel will develop the next big thing in telemedicine, for example, but that the device will be used in Denmark, Singapore, and Finland – but not here – is very high,” said Brand. “In order to avoid this, Israel must learn from other countries that have developed successful ICT policies, to develop the Internet and make it into a tool that can be used in many areas.”But is Singapore the right role model for Israel? According to Singaporean entrepreneur Lee, “the government has been spending a lot of money setting up incubators and accelerators for entrepreneurs, but the program has been less successful than they hoped it would be.” While Singapore has the “form” of a start-up nation, Singaporeans “don’t have the chutzpah you need to buck trends and come up with something truly innovative. We are taught to listen to our elders,” he said, “and of course to teachers.” Whereas stories about Israeli or American tech heroes who were dropouts are not uncommon, said Lee, no Singaporean in his or her right mind would drop out of college, much less high school, for fear they would be frozen out of jobs at large corporations.It’s the same Asian mindset described by another Asian entrepreneur, Bowei Gai, in a recent interview with the Times of Israel. Describing why Israelis start-up entrepreneurs are more creative and innovative than those in China, Gai said that China — considered by many to be the most dynamic and creative economy in Asia — concentrates on what he calls “commodity innovation,” a rehashing of existing technology and methodologies that builds on widely known models. “In the end it’s about making money, and the best and easiest way to do that in a place like China is by using proven models that have been successful elsewhere. There are so many ways to make money in China using these models because there are so many people to market to, and they don’t need to innovate or invent something new to succeed. It’s much easier to go for the ‘low hanging fruit’ of commodity innovation by basically duplicating existing technology,” said Gai.But you can’t argue with the bottom line, Bennett said at the E-nnovation event Monday. Israelis may have “creative genes,” he said, “but genes alone, like a seed, cannot grow unless planted in the right kind of soil. The government’s job is to prepare that soil so that the seeds can sprout. Entrepreneurs and the private sector are racing ahead, while the government remains behind. We must invest in physical infrastructure, and develop the human infrastructure.”