Remember, Please seek your own chain of command to address your
issues and not your MPs!
SAF servicemen can seek redress through the chain of command on
all matters arising from his military service and on all matters
concerning the SAF, said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for
Defence Mr Teo Chee Hean in the second session of the Eleventh
Parliament of Singapore.
If the serviceman is dissatisfied with the action taken by his
commanders or the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) department involved,
he can raise the issue through the chain of command to the Armed
Forces Council, which is chaired by the Minister for Defence.
Mr Teo was responding to a query on whether MINDEF prohibits
full-time national servicemen or regular servicemen from seeking
assistance from their Members of Parliament to submit petitions on
their behalf to the Ministry.
Mr Teo added that these proper prodecures - set out in the General
Orders of MINDEF - need to be adhered to in a military
organisation, in order to maintain discipline, uphold morale, and
protect confidential information.
Furthermore, SAF servicemen, like their fellow Singaporeans, are
free to approach their Members of Parliament for assistance on
their personal matters. However, when it concerns matters related
to the SAF or their service in the SAF, they should take them up
through their chain of command.
When a Member of Parliament sends a petition on behalf of the
serviceman on matters pertaining to the SAF, the SAF will conduct a
thorough investigation and, depending on the outcome of the
investigation, take appropriate action to address the serviceman's
concerns. This includes advising the serviceman to go through the
proper channels through which he could seek redress.