We must therefore continually strengthen the training and commitment of our soldiers, which is why
chair Work Groups. Our National Servicemen are a critical part of
our fighting force and together with the regulars, are crucial to our defence and this is why
we have to ensure that Singaporeans give full commitment to their duties during NS.
I think Singaporeans should be heartened that NS continues to enjoy widespread support.
Many of you would have read the independent survey conducted by the Institute of Policy
Studies. It was randomised, rigorous in statistical terms. We outsourced it so
that it would not be connected to MINDEF. They surveyed 1,200 people last July. 98%
of respondents acknowledged that NS is crucial for national defence and for securing Singapore's
peace and prosperity. When they presented these results to me, I tried very hard to
poke holes in their methodology, I said "These were people that you knew would say that defence
is important." The researcher was somewhat taken aback and said, "No". He defended it
well and I kept probing him. He was satisfied that his methodology was rigorous. I know
of no issue in Singapore where 98% of the respondents give support. The Committee also
engaged nearly 40,000 people from all walks of life to draw ideas and as well as to find
ways that we think we can improve. I would say that while the majority of Singaporeans
support NS, many also said that time committed to the SAF during full-time National Service and In-Camp
Training (ICTs) could be better utilised. I think that that is fair comment. The SAF
takes this criticism to heart because those who gave feedback were not asking for lighter
loads or less involvement. They in fact wanted NS to better strengthen our national identity
social cohesion, and instil discipline and values, which I think many members of this House
have echoed. They said there should be less time wasted and more effective training systems.
I agree that these are good outcomes, even if people are committed to National Service and that we
should find ways to improve the system, seriously look at the system to see if we can improve
it. So I asked the SAF to take a serious view, take a serious look. Let me share with members
some preliminary responses from the SAF. We need and we can improve training, but
we will need to employ more professional trainers, especially for the Army. Let me explain why.
The current system has second-year Full-time National Service train and lead new recruits and servicemen. You
would have gone through it yourself or you would have children or relatives who gone
there. In other words, the older batch second-year NS training and command the first-year NS.
And I think there are merits in this. You really build commanders, you build leadership skills,
you build a sense of stakeholdership, ownership. But there are limitations. Compared to having
professional trainers which will have greater impact on training outcomes, inculcating discipline
and more important, transmitting values. There is a limit to which what a 22-year-old
NSF second-year can transmit to a 21-year-old. Some of them do it very well and I am very proud
of them but we have to accept that there are limits. And in fact, using only full-time regular
trainers is how the Commandos train their recruits in basic training. They have always
done that for years; all their trainers are professional trainers. So for the Basic Military
Training Centre (BMTC), which I think your relatives and your children go to, only 1 in 6
trainers are professional regulars. Of all the trainers, 5 are National Service Full-time,
1 of them is a professional regular.
So arising from the CSNS, Committee to Strengthen National Service,
the SAF has decided to employ more regulars as full-time
trainers, as a career path. We are studying the details about how many we need but we
could employ as many as 1,100 more regulars to fill this vital role. This will increase
the proportion of professional regular trainers in the Basic Military Training Course from 1 in 6 to 1 in 3, which is a
significant improvement, which I think will strengthen the training of our NSmen.
Full-time Army trainers will make the training of NS men more effective and efficient; possibly
even shorten the training duration. Now, as quickly I have said that, let me quickly dispel unrealistic
expectations. The number of In-Camp Trainings that NSmen have to perform will not be reduced. Let me
say that again, "Will not be reduced." The reason is this: we reduced it from 13
In-Camp Trainings to 10 In-Camp Training cycles in 2006. And, I think as many of you have pointed out,
including Mr Ong Teng Koon, the demographic
challenges are there and we need these 10 In-Camp Training cycles and those in MINDEF reserves to maintain
the strength in our standing force. This will meet our defence needs, even with falling
birth rates, until 2040. The largest impact of employing more regular
trainers I think will be on the training of our Full-time National Servicemen and I think there can be some time
savings. Because in the present system, some time is required for the second-year NSF trainers
to adapt themselves to the training environment in their units and training schools. So having
regular trainers will smoothen this transition. But here again, let me quell unrealistic expectations.
The time savings will be a few weeks at most, if any. I am not making any promises here
because the Army has to study many details to ensure that we can continue to generate
operationally ready units. But if there are time savings in terms of weeks, we will pass
it on and we will operationalise it but the Army is under no pressure to deliver on that
score. But there is an area that we can improve in,
arising from the feedback, and that is to reduce the waiting time before enlistment.
Many of you know this problem because the reason is because Singaporeans before enlistment have
different educational pathways. Some go to JC, some go to Polytechnic, some
go to ITE and they have different waiting times. Some are longer than others. I
asked the SAF to respond to this feedback, to develop a system where we can commit to
all enlistees, except for some exceptions, that all of them can start their BMT and NS
within a fixed time frame, say within 4-5 months. I think this is possible. But please
remember that we are dealing with nearly 20,000 enlistees every year, so the logistics are
very challenging. But the Army is studying this seriously and expects to complete its
detailed studies on the issues raised by the CSNS in the second half of this year.
The Committee also noted that many Singaporeans supported the idea of more women and first-generation
PRs and New Citizens volunteering for roles in national defence. The idea of
a SAF Volunteer Corps for women, PRs and new citizens, I think has gained wide acceptability.
Mr Pritam Singh talked about his own session that he was involved in and we think that
this is a very good idea that we will adopt. Second Minister Chan Chun Sing will speak more on this
idea. MOS Maliki will also share ideas from the
CSNS, how we can enhance recognition and benefits for our NSmen.
Some of you here, the members here have asked how we are good stewards of another precious resource
apart from dollars - land - and I agree with you. MINDEF is mindful to use land efficiently,
given competing needs. I think Dr Lim Wee Kiak and Ms Sylvia Lim asked about. This is
why MINDEF and the SAF on its own undertook studies to relocate Paya Lebar Airbase. I
want to remind everybody here that this will free up the 800 hectares in Paya Lebar for
redevelopment, as announced by Prime Minister last year. Where we can, we also train overseas. But
we do need local land for training, which we optimise. The Multi Mission Range Complex
(MMRC) is an example. I encourage you to visit it. We will arrange for you to visit this.
The Multi Mission Range Complex houses seven ranges which can simulate both day and night conditions, and it occupies
the site of what used to be just one single 100m range. Seven ranges on one site.
We have consolidated our training into two main training areas - the live firing areas
and manoeuvring areas in the West and the offshore training area in Pulau Tekong. We
have intensified the use of our camps and equipping centres to fulfil operational, security
and safety requirements.