The U.S. Navy's first presence in Singapore was in the 1960s to aid the Vietnam War and continues to today. Unlike other locations in the Western Pacific such as Japan, there is no Status OF Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the Singapore government and the U.S. government; thus, there is no U.S. military base in Singapore. Instead, the Singapore government and the U.S. government signed a Memorandum of Understanding "Regarding United States Use of Facilities in Singapore" so that U.S. Military commands can tenant at various locations in Singapore (Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) Sembawang and RSN Changi Naval Base). 

Commander, Logistics Group Western Pacific, or COMLOG WESTPAC, was established at the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) Sembawang Terminal, in July 1992, after the command’s relocation from Naval Station Subic Bay, Republic of the Philippines. Originally known as Commander, Naval Surface Group Western Pacific, Commander Task Force CTF 73/CTF 75, its mission included command readiness, administrative oversight responsibilities and control of the Naval Surface Force, United States Pacific Fleet ships assigned in Japan, Guam and the Philippines.

Likewise with the closure of Naval Station Subic Bay, the few remaining personnel from Ship Repair Facility Subic Bay merged with the small contract oversight team in Singapore, called Ship Repair Unit, and became the N43 Maintenance and Engineering Department under COMLOG WESTPAC. This small but mighty team of 8 personnel were responsible for the oversight of all surface ship maintenance outside Japan in the C7F AOR. With the increased workload and complexity of the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) executing extended deployments and forward operating out of Singapore, the command size increased to 40 with an annual maintenance budget of ~$90M. Seeking realignment of the surface ship maintenance responsibilities under NAVSEA, CPF directed that Ship Repair Facility Detachment Singapore be established on 01 August 2023, under SRF Yokosuka.

SRF Det Singapore is responsible for the maintenance, modernization and repairs for United States Navy ships deployed throughout the more than 48 million square miles of the 7th Fleet Area of Operations outside of Japan. The team provides the work specification development, engineering deisgn, contract management oversight, material procurement, safety and quality assurance to ensure optimum material readiness of Fleet assets needed to deter, fight and win. The team works closely with partners and allies in Singapore, Korea, Philippines, Australia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and India to execute repairs for the units under the 7th Fleet Operational Commander.

Their tireless efforts are summarized in the vision for SRF Det Singapore:

“Maintaining the ships that maintain a free and open INDOPACIFIC”