For half a century, the Safti Military Institute has trained Singapore's military leaders.

Yesterday, a book detailing its achievements and heritage was released at a ceremony for its latest batch of graduates.

The Goh Keng Swee Command and Staff College command and staff course graduation ceremony was held at the Istana, where Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen, the guest of honour, presented certificates to 220 officers.

In his opening speech, Dr Ng called on the graduates to build on the values of the founding leaders to "become a co-creator of a better unit, a better department, a better SAF (Singapore Armed Forces), a better Singapore or a closer family".

He said the threats faced by Singapore are evolving, but good leadership would ensure that the country continued to blossom.

"Our birthing experience was an arduous one but made Singapore healthy," he said. "Our founders left us good values and fundamentals upon which to build this nation. Each of us has that capacity and privilege to initiate another virtuous circle."

Dr Ng also launched The Safti Golden Jubilee Book, which tells of the institute's history since it trained its first batch of military leaders in 1966 at Pasir Laba.

In 1995, it moved to its present location in Upper Jurong Road. Now, the education and training of SAF leaders is carried out at its four main schools - the Specialist and Warrant Officer Institute, the Officer Cadet School, the SAF Advanced Schools and the Goh Keng Swee Command and Staff College.

A total of 3,000 copies of the book, published by Safti and written by its members, will be distributed to public libraries, tertiary institutions, various Ministry of Defence (Mindef) units and departments, and officers.

The book will also be available for download on the Mindef website.