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- 1996/05 - Peace Prairie Detachment
1996/05 - Peace Prairie Detachment
Peace Prairie Detachment
CH-47 Chinook
F-16 Fighting Falcon
1996
The RSAF launched Peace Prairie in the US, training Chinook crews alongside US forces to boost operational proficiency.
The Peace Prairie detachment was inaugurated on 22 May 1996, when an agreement was signed between Singapore and the United States to base the RSAF's CH-47 Chinooks at the Grand Prairie Army Aviation Support Facility in Dallas, Texas. The RSAF aircrew underwent flight training in Alabama while ground crew trained with the Chinook manufacturers in Philadelphia. Upon completion, both crews began advanced training alongside their US counterparts in Dallas.

In 2005, a 47-man team from the Peace Prairie detachment was deployed for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief operations in New Orleans.

“Due to our lack of training airspace, the Chinooks and their crew will initially be training in the US with the US Army National Guard. From our experience with the F-16s, such an arrangement will shorten the learning curve and enable us to quickly gain operational proficiency.”
Dr Tony Tan, Minister for Defence, 1994 on the mutually beneficial and fast-paced Peace Prairie Detachment