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Speech by Senior Minister of State for Defence, Mr Heng Chee How, at the MINDEF Committee of Supply Debate 2020 02 Mar 2020 ENHANCING THE NS EXPERIENCE Introduction Mr Chairman, Minister for Defence Dr Ng just spoke about how our geopolitical environment was becoming increasingly complex. The SAF must evolve with these challenges to mount a strong national defence. What remains our greatest asset is our people, with National Service, or NS, as the cornerstone of our defence. MINDEF and the SAF must therefore continue to invest in capable national servicemen, enrich their NS experience, and strengthen Singaporeans' support for NS. Strengthening Training Safety and Medical Support in the SAF The SAF is committed to training our national servicemen effectively and safely. Families entrust their sons to us. We must and we will uphold their trust in us. Mr Charles Chong asked about improvements to training safety. Last February, the SAF Inspector-General's Office, or IGO, was formed to scrutinise and enforce safety measures in SAF units. IGO inspectors go to each unit to assess the robustness of their safety systems, as well as their practices. They interview servicemen at every level – from commanders, to safety appointment holders and soldiers in order to understand how safety measures are practised on the ground and whether the soldiers themselves feel confident and comfortable to provide feedback on safety. The IGO has already audited 70% of all formations and their sub-units across the SAF, and they will complete this first round of audits by September this year. Safety audits aside, there must also be concrete and consistent action at all levels and at all times. The Army has introduced 100% inspections of all high-risk activities and field training. Existing equipment are regularly reviewed, while new equipment are designed with inbuilt safety features. For instance, the newly commissioned Hunter Armoured Fighting Vehicle comes with emergency stop features, as well as audio and visual alerts to prompt the crew about surrounding hazards. As Mr Arasu pointed out, we want every soldier to consciously keep safe while they train, so it is not a compromise. To achieve this, unit commanders conduct before- and after-action reviews and risk assessments with their units as part of their daily work. The 6th Army Maintenance Base is an example. During morning roll calls, their commanders and soldiers discuss openly about possible lapses or near-misses. For example, if you use the wrong tools, or soldiers not wearing the helmets, and so on. Using a simple Think- Check-Do routine, the soldiers systematically plan their steps, check their equipment, and pre-empt risks before each maintenance task. Over time, every soldier will internalise these safety practices. We are also harnessing technology. Last year, I spoke about 'SafeGuardian', which is a one-stop mobile app for on-the-go access to safety checklists, instant sharing of hazards among servicemen, and notification of danger zones. By placing safety information within easy and instant reach of our servicemen, we foster a culture of safety, 'By All, For All'. The app was trialled in our Naval Bases, and feedback has been positive. We will be progressively rolling this out throughout the SAF. I have spoken thus far about preventive measures to keep our soldiers safe as they train. Mr Charles Chong asked how the SAF is improving its response to medical emergencies when accidents happen. SAF Medics undergo an 11-week training on life-saving skills. To enhance their competencies, the SAF has partnered the SCDF, under an initiative known as Project Serve, to create a six-month attachment within the SCDF's national emergency ambulances. In other words, the SAF medics go with the SCDF paramedics in their ambulances, attending to real cases. And by doing so, they put their knowledge into practice under real-life, time-pressured situations. Recently, we also piloted the attachment of our medics to the NUH Emergency Medicine Department. Such hands-on trainings are very valuable for our medics – they have emerged from such trainings more confident and more competent in casualty management. Discussions are currently underway with both the SCDF and the other hospitals to extend and expand such programmes. Through these initiatives, we will build a capable fighting force that will always train effectively and safely. Moving from safety to health, Mr Seah Kian Peng asked about the precautionary measures that the SAF has put in place to protect our servicemen in light of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) threat. MINDEF/SAF takes reference from the government's advisories, guidelines, and requirements. We gave pre-enlistees who have travelled to China and are due for enlistment a mandatory Leave of Absence (LOA) of 14 days, and deferred In-Camp Training for NSmen who have travelled to China. Last week, we extended these measures to pre-enlistees and NSmen who have travelled to Daegu City or to Cheongdo County in South Korea, in line with the Ministry of Health's (MOH) revised advisory. In other words, we keep a very close eye on the situation and we adjust accordingly. All SAF Medical Centres have a Pandemic Readiness Response Plan, and we hold sufficient supplies of Personal Protective Equipment. We also have medical personnel ready to manage suspect cases in line with MOH's requirements. With the change to DORSCON Orange, the SAF has also stepped up preventive measures within camps, requiring our personnel to take their temperature twice-daily, conducting more frequent disinfection of workplaces, as well as staggering meal times. We will continue to do our utmost to protect our servicemen. Enhancing the NS Experience for Every National Serviceman Let me now talk about enhancing the NS experience. While our robust training safety measures and medical support give our soldiers the confidence to train well and to train hard, the enduring strength of the SAF ultimately rests on the commitment of our soldiers. This is why we constantly look for ways to improve the NS experience for every serviceman, at every stage of his NS journey. This point was raised by Mr Chong Kee Hiong. Preparing Pre-Enlistees Adequately For pre-enlistees, we are better preparing them for NS, both physically and mentally. As Mr Chong Kee Hiong pointed out, our pre-enlistees come from diverse backgrounds. While the vast majority are citizens born and bred in Singapore and have family members that have undergone NS, there are also new citizens and PRs who may not have family or friends who have undergone NS before. In other words, they may know less compared to Singaporeans born and bred here. To better equip this group, we have partnered ACCORD to appoint dedicated NS Coordinators in Foreign System Schools and Privately Funded Institutions in order to assist with questions and clarifications about NS. We are also facilitating mutual learning and exchange among such NS coordinators. One such exchange was hosted by the United World College (South East Asia) last year. I was there and the discussions were very enriching, frank and open. Everybody found it very useful. There will be another round, and I look forward to attending it as well. We are also aware that many pre-enlistees want to be more physically prepared before they enter NS. Hence, MINDEF is collaborating with SAFRA to make gym facilities more accessible through the Pre-Enlistees Exercise Programme for National Service, or PREP4NS. Under PREP4NS, pre-enlistees can sign up for a one-year complimentary membership to six SAFRA gyms conveniently located in different parts of Singapore. The trial is ongoing, and so far, we have about 6,000 pre-enlistees signed up for the membership since its launch last November. We are also looking at more such avenues, and for this, we are working with SportSG to extend the membership access to its 24 ActiveSG gyms. More details on this will be provided later. Supporting Aspirations of our NSFs Let me move on now to our full-time national servicemen, or NSFs. NSFs devote two full years to serving the nation. It is therefore incumbent upon us as stewards of their time and talents to make sure that we support their aspirations. Take for instance, the Vocational Interest initiative. This was started in 2016, and under this initiative NSFs may indicate their interest in 33 NS vocations, and what MINDEF/SAF does is that we do our best to match them as far as possible to the vocation of their choice, subject to our operational requirements. This has been very well- received amongst the NSFs. We are encouraged to see more than 60% indicate interest in demanding vocations such as in Infantry, Guards, or Armour, and strong interest by our NSFs to also become commanders. To help our NSFs acquire new skills as they transit to studies or work after their Operationally Ready Date (or ORD), MINDEF introduced the "SkillsFuture@NS"initiative last year where NSFs can use their $350 worth of E-PREP credits, and they may access training and choose from a pool of about 3,000 courses. These courses range from SkillsFuture Series courses, to those offered by Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), that will aid NSFs in their admission or gain them credit exemptions. Mr Chong Kee Hiong asked for an update on this. For this year, we will be introducing further enhancements. First, NSFs can look forward to a full subsidy of the E-PREP courses, as opposed to allowing the E-PREP credits to fund up to 90%, as is the case currently. You can fund it all. Second, we will raise the number of E-PREP courses that are available, expanding the pool of E-PREP courses.

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