This website serves to inform employers and NSmen on NS matters
pertinent to them.
As an NSman, you have certain rights, responsibilities and
privileges. During your 2 years of service as an NSF, you have been
trained as a fighting soldier. Now, you will be joining the rest of
the NSmen, as part of our frontline soldiers and the main fighting
force that defends our nation.
You will find information on your responsibilities as an NSman in
this website. It also outlines the various NS initiatives and
subject matter which you will need to be familiar with as an NSman.
For instance, the NS Training System (NSTS), NS call-up, deferment,
disruption, Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT), NS pay,
medical services as well as the recognition and benefits for
NSmen.
As an employer, you will naturally have employees who have a dual
role as a citizen soldier. This website will equip you with the
necessary information on Make-Up Pay (MUP), the NS
requirements of your NSmen employees, as well as how you are able
to support Total Defence through the Total Defence Awards
(TDA).
www.mindef.gov.sg/nsmen
Conscription in Singapore, called National Service (NS), requires all male Singaporean
citizens and second-generation permanent residents who have reached
the age of 18 to enroll for national service. They serve a 22- or
24-month period as Full Time National Servicemen (NSFs), either in
the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Singapore Police Force (SPF), or the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
When a conscript completes his full-time service, he is
considered to be "operationally ready", and is thereafter known as
an Operationally-Ready National Serviceman (NSman). NSmen are the
equivalent of other countries' reservists.
The overwhelming majority of the conscripts serve in the
Army, as part of the SAF. The reasons for this
include the relative manpower needs of the Army compared with the
other armed services, the SPF, and SCDF. In addition, as compared
to the Army, the Air Force (RSAF) and Navy (RSN) are smaller services composed primarily
of regular servicemen. As the RSAF and RSN's manpower needs tend to
be more specialized, a constant turnover of staff is considered to
be very disruptive.
Singapore is among the list of countries with a national service
exceeding 18 months and a reservist obligation lasting up to age 40
for enlisted men and 50 for officers.[1] Until June
2004 it had a mandatory national service periods of 30 months.
The NS (Amendment) act was passed on 14 March 1967, as the
Singapore government felt that it was necessary to
build a substantial military force. The country had only about
1,000 soldiers at independence. In the late 1960s, the British government had decided to withdraw its
troops and bases East of
Suez, including troops stationed in Singapore. That prompted
the government to implement a conscription program for the
country's defence. It adopted a conscription model drawing on elements of the
Swiss and Israeli national conscription schemes. This was done
with the help of Israeli military advisers, who were closely
involved in the establishment of the Singapore armed
forces.[2]
The stated rationale behind conscription is twofold. Firstly,
because Singapore has a population of about four million (as of
2004), an army solely of regulars would be too small to defend the country.
Secondly, national service is supposed to support racial harmony
among the Chinese, Malay and Indian communities. Malays were virtually excluded
from conscription from the beginning of the draft in 1967 until
1977[3] and, after
the policy was eased, were assigned mainly to serve in the police
and civil defence (fire brigade), not in active combat
roles.[3] In 1987,
Lee
Hsien Loong (then Second Minister for Defence) stated that "If
there is a conflict, if the SAF is called to defend the homeland,
we do not want to put any of our soldiers in a difficult position
where his emotions for the nation may be in conflict with his
religion"[4] and in
The Roar of the Lion City (2007), military analyst Sean
Walsh claimed that "official discrimination against the Malay
population remains an open secret".[5] The Ministry
of Defence contests the charge, noting that there are "Malay
pilots, commandos and air defence personnel" and stating
that "the proportion of eligible Malays selected for specialist and officer training is similar to the proportion for
eligible non-Malays."[6]
According to the Enlistment Act, conscription is mandatory for
all "persons subject to [the] act", defined as those who are not
less than 16 years and 6 months of age and not more than 40 years
of age, with some exemptions and with no specific bias to gender
(not limited to males).[7]
In practice however, male Singaporean citizens and
second-generation permanent residents who registered NRIC at 15 years are required to register for
National Service upon reaching the age of 16 years and six months,
during which they would also be required to undergo a mandatory
medical examination (PULHHEEMS) to determine their medical status, known
as Physical Employment Status (PES), which is used as a guideline
as to which vocation the person is placed in.
Male children who take up permanent residency status through
their permanent resident parent's sponsorship will be required to
serve National Service like other Singaporean males.[8] However,
most male citizens enlist in Basic Military Training (BMT) at the age of 19 for
junior
college graduates or 20 for polytechnic graduates.
Exemptions are rare and are usually due to disability or serious
medical conditions certified by the SAF Medical Board. One instance
of rare cases of exemption would be if the enlistment would cause
hardship to the enlistee's family, financially or otherwise,
although this exemption is rarely granted.[citation
needed]
They are then called up for enlistment at the age of 18, but
most Singaporean males would usually choose to complete their
tertiary education in the respective polytechnics, high schools,
junior colleges, pre-university courses or other institutions
before starting the mandatory duration which they are required to
serve. Those who voluntarily opt for early enlistment with the
consent of their parents are allowed to begin full-time national
service at the age of 16 years and six months.
In the past, the duration of the conscription for a typical
Singaporean male spanned over a period of either 2 or 2 years and
six months depending on his educational qualifications. In 2004,
the duration was reduced to 2 years, driven by the transformation
into the 3rd Generation SAF and enabled by the surge in NS intake
for the next 10 years.[9] As a further
incentive, the NS duration may be cut by a further two months, if
potential enlistees are able to obtain a silver or gold for their
physical fitness test (NAPFA) prior to enlistment.
Those who are liable to serve national service but refuse are
charged under the Enlistment Act.[11] If
convicted, they face three years' imprisonment and a fine of
S$10,000. Controversy arose when the penalties were increased in
January 2006 after Melvyn
Tan, who was born in Singapore, received a fine for defaulting
on his National Service obligations. Tan left for London to study music during his enlistment age and
later acquired British nationality. In parliament, Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean provided some illustration of the
punishments defaulters would face:[12]
Each year, a small number of people are convicted for their
failure to enlist or refusal to be conscripted.[13] Most of
them were Jehovah's Witnesses, who are usually
court-martialled and sentenced to three years' imprisonment, but
they are usually held in a low-security detention facility and
separated from other conscription offenders. The government does
not consider conscientious objection to be a legal reason for
refusal to serve NS. Since 1972, the publications of Jehovah's
Witnesses have been outlawed in Singapore.[14] This is
commonly misinterpreted to mean that Jehovah's Witnesses themselves
are outlawed in Singapore.
There are several types of Basic Military Training (BMT) conducted by the
SAF at its BMT Centre on Pulau
Tekong, an island off the north-east coast of Singapore, or at
the various military units which directly accept mono-intake
recruits. Medically fit NSFs undergo a 9-week Enhanced BMT program.
Those from lower educational backgrounds and mono-intake recruits
undergo a similar program (standard BMT program), but without a
Situational Test (Sit Test), used to assess trainees for posting to
command schools like the Specialist Cadet School (SCS) and Officer Cadet School (OCS), occasionally a
select few will later be posted to the police service for training
as an Inspector. Only a few from lower education
backgrounds are selected to undergo the Sit Test model.
NSFs who are less medically fit, depending on their medical
condition, either have to go a 9-week Modified BMT or just 4-week
induction program for recruits with certain medical
conditions.[16] NSFs who
are medically fit, but have failed the pre-enlistment National Physical Fitness Award (NAPFA), will have
to undergo an additional 2-month Physical Training Phase
(PTP),[17] making it a
17-week BMT program for them. Conscripts who are considered
medically obese go
through a special BMT program, lasting 19 weeks. The obesity of a
conscript is determined by his body
mass index (BMI) during the pre-enlistment medical checkup. A
BMI of above 27 is considered indicative of obesity, as opposed to
the World Health Organization's guideline of 30 and
above.[citation
needed]
Medically fit NSmen also have to take the IPPT every year as
part of their training program.
Refers to conscripts who are directly enlisted into units and
undergo their basic military training there, bypassing the Pulau
Tekong BMT. This usually applies to non-obese, low-education level
conscripts. The Pulau Tekong BMT is mostly meant for those who have
the potential to become commanders, i.e. have an education level of
polytechnic or A-level or equivalent. Lowly educated obese recruits
also go to Pulau Tekong for BMT but do not participate in the
selection for commanders.
Though a majority will serve in the army for their National
Service, a number of enlistees will serve their NS years in the
Singapore Police Force (SPF). Those who have been
chosen to serve in the SPF undergo training at the Home Team Academy where they study the Penal Code and standard police protocol. After
training at the Academy, they will be posted to various departments
of the SPF, such as Special Operations Command (SOC), Logistics,
Land divisions, Airport Police. Those posted to the Police Coast Guard (PCG) or Police KINS will undergo
further training. Selection of Officer Cadets (OCTs) to undergo the NS Police
Inspector Course (NSPI) is a stringent process for Police National
Servicemen (Full-time). Usually, a very small number, about three,
from each cohort will be selected, with the majority of the OCTs
being the Singapore Armed Forces' National Servicemen (Full-time)
who have completed their Basic Military Training (BMT).
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) is the
emergency rescue force of Singapore and they provide firefighting, rescue and
ambulance services, and has been one of the
three National Service postings since 1972. Those enlisted into the
SCDF typically undergo seven weeks of training at the Basic Rescue
Training Centre (BRTC), where they are given basic rescue training
(BRT), exposed to regimental discipline, and trained to maintain a
level of fitness required of all NSFs in Singapore.
Much like the SAF's SISPEC course, selected NSFs are also posted
to the Civil Defence Academy (CDA) to undergo the Firefighter
Course (FFC) or the Emergency Response Specialist Course (ERSC)
within the first two weeks of their BRT stage, passing out as
Firefighters for FFC trainees, and as Fire & Rescue Specialists
for ERS trainees who would also simultaneously be conferred with
the Sergeant rank (Firefighters mostly pass out as Privates prior
to station posting). Firefighters would typically be posted out to
the various fire stations island-wide after passing out, while Fire
& Rescue Specialists would be posted as Section Commanders at
territorial division, fire stations or at the Special Rescue
Battalion; based largely on rankings at the time of course
completion, a small number may also be posted as Instructors back
in the CDA to staff the Command and Staff Training Center (CSTC),
Specialist Training Center (STC), or Firefighting Training Center
(FFTC).
While a certain level of health and fitness pre-requisites are
expected by both the FFC and ERSC administrators before one can be
selected for these courses, admission into the ERS course typically
requires a certain set of additional qualifications, namely either
a minimum of a GCE Advanced Level certificate, a Diploma or a Higher Nitec Certificate. These added
pre-requisites are viewed as necessary in the light of a Section
Commander's operational and administrative role when posted out.
One marked difference between the FFC and ERSC is the added rescue
and emergency training received by ERS Specialist Cadet Trainees
(SCTs), as well as the General Command & Control Term, which
includes the Basic Home Team Course held at the Home Team Academy
and an outward-bound Brunei
trip which serves to equip and develop the necessary leadership
skills required of a specialist junior officer. In terms of
administration and duration, the FFC is under the charge of the
FFTC and lasts three months, while the ERSC is under the purview of
the CSTC and lasts six months.
In addition, there is also the Basic Officer Course under the
charge of the CSTW, designed to train NSFs and regulars as Senior
Officers of the SCDF, with NSFs graduating as Lieutenants (LTA). While the BOC is traditionally
largely made up of NSFs from the SAF who had just completed their
Basic Military Training (BMT) at Pulau
Tekong, the top 5-10% of the ERSC will also be offered to cross
over to the Basic Officer Course (BOC) to be trained and
commissioned as Senior Officers after passing out, spending the
last three months of the BOC together with Officer Cadet Trainees
(OCTs).
NSFs who undergo the full 7-week basic rescue training at the
BRTC are subsequently posted and trained to become medical
orderlies (medics), dog
handlers, provosts, information and communications and
logistics specialists or instructors (such as Physical Training
Instructors) among many other vocations upon passing out from the
BRTC.[18]
Second Generation Permanent Residents are required to go through
compulsory full-time national service as well as reservist duties
after they have completed their full-time national service and
turns operationally-ready.
After completing full-time national service, they are eligible
to apply for Singapore citizenship. However, citizenship is not
guaranteed for all applicants, as there are certain criteria that
must be met such as educational qualifications and income
qualifications. From 2006 to 2010, about 2% of 3,000 Second
Generation Permanent Residents who completed full-time national
service and applied for Singapore citizenship were
rejected.[19]
If the person does not hold Singapore citizenship but still
holds Singapore permanent residency, he is still required to serve
the service requirement, i.e. reservist duties after he turns
operationally-ready.[20]
Singapore Permanent Residents who served national service but
did not acquire Singapore citizenship will be treated equally to
those permanent residents without service obligation; they would
not have access to the privileges granted to Singapore
citizens.