Like many Commonwealth countries, the SAF draws its heritage from the British military, however Singapore no longer uses British-style rank insignia across its armed services and also does not use the corresponding Royal Navy and Royal Air Force rank titles for its navy and air force. The three branches of the SAF was unified in 1972, but prior to 1982, the three component services maintained their own distinct sets of uniform insignia, particularly for officer-level ranks. In 1982, the SAF implemented identical rank insignia across all three services along with a new service dress uniform. Rank titles are also largely identical, with only two exceptions in the Republic of Singapore Navy, where general officers have admiral ranks while officer cadets are referred to as midshipmen.
