The 2nd People's Defence Force traces its origins to October 1965 when the People's Defence Force Headquarters (PDF HQ) was established as part of the Ministry of Interior and Defence and tasked with recruiting 3,200 volunteers to defend Singapore. In 1968, the PDF was reorganised to take on operational roles in maintaining internal security within Singapore.[2]
In May 1974, facing dwindling numbers of volunteers, the 101 People’s Defence Force Battalion (101 PDF) was formed, amalgamating various other volunteer units.[3]
On 1 April 1985, the 101 People’s Defence Force Battalion was disbanded and split between two commands, the 1st People's Defence Force (1 PDF) and 2nd People's Defence Force,[3] the latter of which became HQ of the PDF.[4] On 6 December 2004, 1 PDF disbanded and had its units transferred across the three combined arms divisions.[3]
After 9/11, HQ 2 PDF Command was reorganised to form the multi-agency Island Defence Headquarters (IDHQ) to protect Singapore against terrorism. They initiated operations to provide round-the-clock protection of key military and civilian installations around Singapore.[2]
In 2010, the IDHQ became the Island Defence Task Force (IDTF) and the 1st Singapore Infantry Brigade (1 SIB) was created, taking command of the 6th, 8th and 9th Battalions, Singapore Infantry Regiment (SIR). The Military Police Command, Military Band and Gombak Base (Ministry of Defence headquarters) came under the 2nd People's Defence Force's command in 2011.[2]
In 2015, the 2nd People's Defence Force introduced the Peacekeeper Protected Response Vehicle (PRV)[5] to replace the V-200s previously used for island defence operations.[2]
Singapore
Singapore Army