By logging on to the MIW Internet portal, NSmen will get
to see their training programmes even before they go to
camp
By Natalie Soh
NSMEN will soon have one more reason to log on to the MIW Internet
portal before they go for in-camp training (ICT): By next March,
the training programme will be posted online in
advance, so they will know exactly what they will be doing
during their ICT.
Now, most NSmen have no idea what kind of training they will
undergo until they show up in camp.
For those with work and family responsibilities, this is a
less-than-perfect situation. It means they don't know when they
will be out in the field, for how long, and which nights they can
go home to be with their family.
With training schedules posted about one month before the ICT, this
will change.
As Mr Daniel Soh, a ship broker, 23, explained: 'It will definitely
allow me to plan better. As a civilian now, I have other things I
want to do, and there are work and family commitments.
'Planning mentally and physically ahead for the training is
important. Besides, I can tell my wife when I'm coming home!'
Posting of training programmes online is one of several
improvements to be made to the MIW - originally Mindef Interactive
Web, but it now stands for My Internet World - portal at
www.miw.com.sg as it turns three years old.
Now, for instance, NSmen can create a personal homepage on the
site, where all Mindef-related transactions such as booking fitness
test dates, can be carried out.
The site also allows them to update personal particulars. By March
next year, it will replace the NS Booklet, which serves as a
training record, with an online version.
To most NSmen, though, the announcement of training programmes was
the most exciting addition.
Mr Adrian Lim, 28, who has his own IT training company, said: 'It
will be very good if we know what we're in for, whether it will be
a field training exercise or if we'll be desk-bound.'
But will the posting of a tough training programme in advance lead
to more NSmen applying for deferment?
As Mr Ivan Lee, 35, put it: 'I can just imagine how people will
find ways and means to get out of the training if they know
beforehand it will be very strenuous.'
A Mindef spokesman would not comment on whether there will be more
deferments, but said applications are still subject to
approval.
MIW, run by private start-up Green Dot Interactive Services, was
set up three years ago as a modern way for NSmen to communicate
with the Ministry of Defence.
Already, NSmen can tell the ministry they leave the country, book
appointments for fitness tests and even buy army supplies
online.
At a ceremony to mark the portal's third anniversary yesterday, the
Permanent Secretary for Defence, Mr Peter Ho, remarked: 'It's hard
to imagine that three years ago, to book his IPPT and notify Mindef
of his overseas trip, an NSman had to either remember different
telephone numbers to call, or send off a letter or fax, or take
time off work to queue up at some Mindef office.'
--ST
