Jun 13 2008
Singapore National Service
It’s a pity to hear about the 2 national servicemen who recently passed away here in Singapore. I feel sorry for their families and I’m sure they will soon be asking why Singapore even bothers with National Service. After all, it’s not like we will ever go to war and even if we do, we’re so small, what can a few hundred thousand soldiers do?
I just want to offer my opinion on that because I personally think National Service is a good thing especially for a country such as Singapore. Why? Well, most of us have grown up in such a sheltered environment so we’ve never had to “test” ourselves. Ironically the Singapore government has done such a great job in providing for all of our basic needs that so we’ve never had to fend for ourselves and in some way, we have not learnt to be as resilient as we should be.
But National Service you ask? Yes and for me, it was one of the best learning experiences I have had in my life. I admit that it was a big switch for me going from the comforts of my home, friends and family to an environment where, as they used to say – “you are the scum of the earth” (though I’m sure it’s no longer politically correct to say that). So the switch was drastic, not to mention losing your hair and being made to wear some of the most awful camouflage shorts ever designed. As a kid coming from a safe, sheltere, comfortable background, it was scary to suddenly meet guys who were totally different. And I think that worked both ways, meaning the well to do kids were afraid of the “hokkien pengs” (thugs) and vice versa.
It was a growing up experience for me and I made many friends and learnt many important lessons. For instance, I learnt that it was the “hokkien pengs” that would stand by you if you earned their respect whereas the “rich kids” would generally be more self centered. And the first few months of basic military service is where it’s really all about team work, so you learnt quickly who your real friends are.
And it is really such life lessons that are important. In every aspect of life, we relate to people and being thrown into such a place and being forced to learn to get along, you mature quickly. Furthermore, the bond that is created among your peers is one that cannot be replaced. To this day, some of my closest friends are from my time in Officer Cadet School.
National Service is not the best way and by no means, the only way to gain such maturity, but for a small country like Singapore, I think it’s an effective way. Love it or hate it, it often depends on what your attitude to it is. If you wish to make the best out of the time, it can be a fruitful experience. If not, then yes, it will be a long painful 2 years…
Is the National Servive in Sigapore compulsory? To much of my knowledge, we Chinese youngsters do not usually have such an opportunity to recieve such a military baptism to enhance our mentality and spirit. But we do end up growing mature in the long process of ordinary life.
Yes, NS is compulsory in Singapore for all men unless you have special exception.
Hey Steven, I am on your side. Lots of Singaporeans think that NS is such a waste of their time but I beg to differ (Perhaps its because we went through the same OCS journey?). NS is one of the most enjoyable, carefree and precious time in my life. Of course there are still the tiring and physical demanding outfield, but most of the time we are in the office/unit doing some admin or some daily routine.
I have long committed both my full time service and 13 years cycle reserve requirement long ago. To be very honest, I do miss not having the chance to take time off from work and go back to the group of “buddies” (of very diverse backgrounds) for the much-missed “talk cock sessions”.
Yes, full time training was siong … and one of my BMT friends also died in one of the topo exercises (near SAFTI) during his OCS days; but these had not negate the fact that NS is still a very much vital part of our nation, as well as ourselves’ character building.
NS could have been a positive experience of you but i believe it is every Singaporean guy’s duty to speak negatively of National Service.
It is, after all, still a gross violation of human rights and blatant slavery.
you may be one of the lucky few who have enjoyed NS but the majority of them are suffering hell no matter how optimistic they try to be.
to be concise, friendships are what made life great.
Not NS.
it has only brought pain and sufferings.
Yes, I agreed NS had gave me an opportunity which I
would not be able to do as an ordinary citizen. Teamwork, leadership, self defence, etc, are essential
ingredients in moulding us.
I have benefited from it, so can you. It is all up to you.
National Service is about defense, full stop. To prevent spending too much money on defense,conscription is the only choice. That way every man is a soldier, only in times of war. In times of peace everyone is a tax paying citizen. Everything else, life lessons, character building is secondary. Economical yes, effective, we may never know.
Actually being very cautions about your health status is never about outweighing costs as pointed out by some cardiologist.
There are always plenty of incidents where let’s say a normal routine treadmill procedure is ordered and incidentally a heart condition is detected. Be it young or old, one has the right to find out if there are any underlying conditions that may only surface when a certain extent of stress is inflicted upon the heart and a person.
Maybe doing one single test of a stress treadmill is a good baseline for one to understand the basic condition of the heart.
NS is great thing to happen, but the health screening needs to have a more elaborate checking. And if found any abnormal signs, it should be brought up.
normally an ordinary person is never fully aware of his real health condition because most people overlook any discomfort or pain signal from their body. i think the army should help the soldiers by promoting customized training that is suited for each individual depending on their health conditions. don’t over exercise or training is no good. good rest is also important.
Hi Steven, i agree when you mentioned about the resilience part. It’s one of those memories singapore guys relate to each other and laugh over it. However, it kind of worries me to see youths getting worried over this NS thingy and start to ask questions about schedules and all. Is this a sign of anxiety and worries? Somehow, i felt it is… To go to NS, just adopt the Nike mindset ‘just do it’. You may hate it when serving NS, but when you look back, its quite a good laugh!
Just caught the news and it was really sad watching the report on the funeral on one of the soldiers.
Perhaps I have read too many novels by Robin Cook. I am imagining that these sudden deaths are caused by the long term effect of vaccines given to babies.
Dear Steven, I just want to say I enjoy PTN that you host with Suzanne very much. I have no issue with doing National Service. What I am very uncomfortable about is what kind of medical precautions we are taking to protect our young NS entrants. Isn’t there anything else that MINDEF can do to ensure that we do no lose more young and dynamic men? It is such passionate and idealistic men who are going to be move Singapore forward. Frankly, I am not satisified with what I have heard and read about MINDEF’s efforts in this matter.
hello gege steven:)
it is meee priscilla
its weird how theres so many people dying .just like that
though they may seem fit but somehow ,they just die..
i really hope there will be less cases like these:(
anyway,hows lucy?i really miss her and help me say hi to jie jie tania:)
A strong military is important for Singapore. Singapore must ensure the waterways (Malacca and South China Sea) are free for everyone to passage.
Also, Singapore is surrounded by bigger countries. Although war is extremely unlikely, the big countries can easily dictate terms that may be to Singapore’s disadvantage. The territorial dispute with Malaysia is one such example.
Singapore also has to combat terrorism. Singapore Airlines Flight 117 is one such example.
The fact is, Singapore’s armed forces is very small. The only way to even credibly deter any threat is to supplement the career force with NS. Don’t undererstimate what a few hundred thousand soldiers can do. Just ask Israel.
That said, it is still sad and tragic to lose 2 people in training.
National Service or Military Service in our language (vietnamese) is sth noble to me. I’m weak but if the nation call me i will do my best to serve her.
But i’m afraid that there will be a lot of difficult to a weak person, but we must try. It’s our duty. Thanks Steven
(sorry for my English)
National Service is a necessary evil to counter a greater possible evil. That’s all it is and all the glamour are but marketing gimmick.
I’ll gladly do my part for NS, and I did have fun during those 2.5 years, but only because of the friendships forged then. The rest of National Service was pain, pain and great lost of time. Time sacrificed by individual males like me. Time lost to take advantage of a business boom cycle, and time lost to maintain relationships that mattered.
IMHO, if National Service is portrayed by anyone as a relaxing time of fun and games, perhaps they should make it opt-in. But it is compulsory and when it’s compulsory, the system should acknowledge that no individual is the same. Some people like regimentation, some hates it. Some take 2.4 km run like a walk in the park, some struggles with it, and may sustain harm from it. There’s no such thing as a standard for everybody, and when lives are lost fulfilling this necessary evil, something needs to change.
It may seem unfashionable to say so, but I truly believe NS is necessary for a small country like ours. Not having a defence policy to deter aggression from outside forces, no matter how unlikely, is simply untenable.
Life was no bed of roses, but, overall, I enjoyed my NS and continue to serve in the reserves today, putting up with some of the inconveniences that entails. But, hey, it’s a price I’m willing to pay, knowing that for the rest of the 50 weeks in the year that I’m a civilian, I can go about my daily life feeling secure and protected.
Hey steven,
as i read through abt ur entry, i agree that NS is a must have, given we are responsibile for our own security and defense.
as for what happened to the 2 deaths, i seriously it’s time for a big review on how do they do medical reviews and checkups. I know that as far as possible MINDEF wanna prevent any malingering. However, for those who have a genuine case, and something happens, can MINDEF shoulder such responsibility? it’s not abt the money and visitations anymore. It’s time i feel for MINDEF to take a serious view on their way of doing medical checks.
Well, National service is said to be the bridge from boys to men. But i guess even after two years of training, for one to grow up, requires conscious effort and hardwork.
Offering external service (lipservice) doesn’t help to grow that much but in an environment like NS, it only helps your experience of accountability to increase.
Ultimately the choice is still the boy whether he wants to grow up to be a man or not.
A little on the cynical side: without NSmen, where will some many of the career officers have units to command?
Whether NS is a waste of time depends on your vocation and appointment. Many of those who chow kheng or medical problem become clerks or storemen are really wasting their time, in the sense that many of them are very smart and could be contributing to the country in other ways e.g. as entrepreneurs, computer programmers etc. I think Singapore really needs to expand the definition of NS to include more useful roles for people who may not be up to the task of soldiering, rather than forcing all and sundry to become part of the defence force regardless of suitability.
So your justification as to why NS is important for us is because it makes us a better person? Sure some would view NS as an effective way to improve a person maturity and independence levels, however it is NOT the most effective way. In reality, we start to get mature and independent when we start to survive on our own in the world without depending on our parents and having a family of our own. The reasoning behind NS being mandatory because singapore is a small country is flawed.
Mandatory national service is pointless to a certain extent and is a waste of taxpayers money, which could have otherwise be used for more important causes and reasons like helping the unfortunate ,subsidizing educational fees or even sponsoring new businesses. There is no good reason to enforce national service on those who do not wish to join the army, because they obviously would not protect Singapore in times of war due to political,religious or personal beliefs. By getting these people to join the army, the government is wasting millions of dollars of taxpayers money!
Why didn’t the government utilized their minds to think properly and logically? Do they assume that every Singaporeans are loyal to the country OR that national service would make them loyal to the country?
National Service should only be voluntary and never involuntary.
i strongly think NS should be voluntary and notmandatory. WHY? sometimes NS guys in NS gets injured, and the injuries remained throught theirlife. If its mandatory and such injuries occured, isnt it the same as, FORCING them to get injured? thats so cruel and selfish.