Road trips and an EDM concert: How this couple met and got married while serving in the RSAF

Sometimes love finds us in the most unlikely of places.

For this couple, Cupid's arrow struck them while they were carrying out their duties with the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF). 

Back in March 2017, Military Expert (ME) 2 Yogaraj Kunaseelan was deployed to the Peace Carvin II Detachment (PC II) in Arizona where he met ME2 Lai Huiyan who arrived in September of that year. 

"We happened to hang out with the same group of friends, that's where we got to know each other better during the weekends," Yogaraj told AsiaOne on Wednesday (April 26) during the detachment's 30-year celebration of F-16 fighter aircraft training at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Arizona that day. 

The celebration was officiated by Senior Minister of State for Defence Heng Chee How and hosted by Chief of Air Force, Major-General Kelvin Khong and Commander of the RSAF's Air Combat Command, Brigadier-General Lim Kok Hong.

For Yogaraj and Lai, there was no romantic spark at the beginning as the pair was always in the company of their colleagues.

"We never considered ourselves dating initially because we were very good friends who regularly shared stories of our lives with each other and gave each other advice in tough times," said Yogaraj. 

However, he soon found himself attracted to Lai's personality, as she is a good listener. 

"Although we were not together at that point of time, our colleagues will tease me about us being a couple. Before I realised it, I [had] developed feelings for her but we never talked about being a couple then," he recounted. 

Yogaraj also fondly added that they went on several road trips together as a group, which made up some of their most memorable experiences in Arizona.

Despite not being a couple, Yogaraj recalled that they once went on a 'date' in 2019.

"It was to The Chainsmokers' concert in Phoenix back in 2019, when no one else in our group wanted to go. We bonded over our shared love for music back then as well!" 

Although Lai was eventually posted back to Singapore in December 2019, the duo kept in contact. 

"It was only when I came back to Singapore in December 2020 that we went out with each other and decided to talk about our future together."

The two got married in 2022. 

Now that Yogaraj has been re-deployed to PC II back in Arizona once again, Lai has also decided to accompany him — but this time as his spouse. 

Lai told AsiaOne: "When I first heard that Yoga had an opportunity to go back to PCII for work, we both thought this could be the best time for me to take a break from work and accompany him since I’ve also been there before.

"The decision was tough initially but the organisation was supportive for me to be on no-pay-leave during the posting." 

With his wife accompanying him during this posting, Yogaraj couldn't be happier. 

"It feels great to return to the same place as we are already familiar with it and had many good memories here, and being a servicewoman herself, Lai is able to better understand my work schedules and requirements, which made it easier for her to adjust and settle back here," he told AsiaOne.

Although Yogaraj's long hours at work make it hard for the couple to see each other, they said that they try their best to make time for each other during the weekends. 

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Established in 1993, PC II is the RSAF's longest-running overseas detachment. 

Speaking at the celebration on Wednesday, Heng noted several achievements of the detachment which is led by a USAF-RSAF command team.

The detachment has clocked in more than 75,000 hours of flying time and participated n in Large Force Employment exercises.

"These have allowed our aircrew the chance to train in realistic and challenging environments to sharpen their aerial combat skills and flying competencies – capabilities that are so crucial to the RSAF given Singapore's land and airspace constraints," Heng said.

"I once again record our deep appreciation to the US Government and the USAF for your wonderful support and partnership."

As part of the celebration, Heng also inspected a parade and witnessed the unveiling of a commemorative tail flash on the F-16 fighter aircraft.

The tail flash design symbolises PC II's 30 years of fighter training in the US and signifies the strong partnership between the RSAF and the USAF.

The event was also witnessed by senior officers from the USAF as well as key members of the local US communities.

In addition to PC II, other overseas training detachments in the US include the Peace Vanguard detachment with the AH-64D Apache helicopter, also in Arizona, and the Peace Carvin V detachment with the F-15SG fighter aircraft in Idaho. 

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claudiatan@asiaone.com