NS enlistment hits 900,000

MP urges each soldier to do his part for SAF to remain an effective force
By Jermyn Chow, The Straits Times, 9 Apr 2012

SINGAPORE reached a milestone yesterday - the 900,000th man to undergo national service (NS) since it was introduced in 1967.

Joining the previous generations who have gone through the familiar rite of passage in the last 45 years were 3,462 recruits, who became newly minted soldiers after they successfully completed their Basic Military Training (BMT).

They graduated as privates in an end-of-course parade held at Marina Bay's floating platform yesterday morning, after completing the nine-hour, 24km route march, the traditional final phase of recruit training.

The parade's reviewing officer, MP Intan Azura Mokhtar, said the route march served as a timely reminder to the citizen soldiers about NS.

'The pain and discomfort on your shoulders symbolises the heavy responsibility that you have to bear as sons of Singapore. It is the role of every Singaporean son to make the sacrifice of answering that call of duty.'

Dr Intan, a member of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Defence and Foreign Affairs, urged the young soldiers: 'Do not shelter yourself in complacency with the knowledge of the size of our force, as we cannot prevail on sheer numbers... every single Singaporean soldier thus needs to pull his or her weight in order for the SAF to remain a credible and effective force...'

Today, about 355,000 Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) servicemen can be activated during wartime or emergencies - 50,000 are regulars and NSFs while the rest are NSmen.

Responding to queries from The Straits Times, army chief Ravinder Singh said having 900,000 enlistees perform NS over the last 45 years is significant. 'BMT not only lays the foundation for recruits by equipping them with the basic military skills and knowledge, but also aims to instil a deeper sense of purpose in their service.'

Major-General Singh added that completing BMT is a defining moment as it brings together recruits of different walks of life with a shared commitment and experience.

Defence analyst Ho Shu Huang said as NS enlistment hits 900,000, close to 50 per cent of the Singaporean male population will have served in the army, making military service a common experience.

'It's a double-edged sword. The SAF has 900,000 ambassadors who can speak well about the SAF, and conversely, say negative things.'

The associate fellow at Nanyang Technological University's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies said the focus for the SAF in the years ahead will be to better engage all NSmen to ensure they have a positive NS experience.

'While the SAF is moving towards that, there is still room for improvement. It becomes even more important because the generation that has lived through tumultuous times in the 1950s and 1960s will pass on and succeeding generations who have only benefited from the fruits of labour may not understand the significance of defence.

'Some may even start to question even more the relevance of national service, which will be a slippery slope.'

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