SINGAPORE: Since last year, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) has deployed more than 600 servicemen in vocations they were previously ineligible for, Second Minister for Defence Ong Ye Kung revealed in his Committee of Supply debate speech on Friday (Mar 2).
This comes after the SAF announced last year that it was reviewing vocation deployment criteria to tackle manpower challenges, with the pool of full-time national servicemen expected to shrink by a third by 2030.
“So, the imperative is to do more with less, to work with fewer but more capable servicemen,” Mr Ong said, adding that technology has allowed the SAF to review vocation requirements.
“With technology, you can no longer draw a firm line between being combat fit and non-combat fit. The personnel operating an autonomous system in the control room is in combat, even though he is not physically exerting.”
Such technologies have reduced physical requirements in certain vocations, the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) said in a release.
The 600 servicemen were deployed to technical vocations in areas like maintenance, where the role of an automotive technician has evolved with technology.
AdvertisementAdvertisement“The use of new technologies such as telemetry analytics systems has reduced the physical demands on automotive technicians when they operate in the workshops,” MINDEF added.
Some frontline vocations will also see the same shift.
For instance, operators of warfighting platforms like the next generation armoured fighting vehicle will face less physical stress as the vehicle comes with automated features that can be managed from a user-friendly interface.
“So many more servicemen can now perform what could only have been done by servicemen who met the most stringent physical requirements,” Mr Ong said. “For example, physical demands for vocations like combat engineers and security troopers are now much less as we leverage more technology.”
To that end, MINDEF said it expects to deploy another 1,500 servicemen to more vocations this year, adding that the SAF will continue to review its vocation deployment criteria.
“This has opened up opportunities for us to more meaningfully deploy national servicemen according to their fitness and abilities,” Mr Ong said.
IMPROVING ABILITIES
As servicemen start to qualify for more vocations, Mr Ong stressed the need to improve individual abilities. “The foundation for operational readiness is physical fitness,” he stated.
Therefore, operationally ready national servicemen will get to attend the quick high-intensity interval training (HIIT) programme at community spaces and sports facilities as part of a pilot project starting in April, with full implementation from May.
“The aim of the programme is to provide NSmen with an alternative fitness programme in addition to those conducted by the fitness conditioning centres in SAF camps, and greater accessibility to fitness training in the community,” MINDEF said.
Meanwhile, the Centre of Excellence for Soldier Performance (CESP) will also launch a multi-phase project starting this year to introduce wearable devices and “data-driven approaches” into soldiers’ training.
The first phase involves an observational study that examines the correlation between training, performance and injury risk in a group of about 150 soldiers.
“Physiological information such as heart rate, body temperature, calories consumed and physical activity levels can be captured,” MINDEF said, adding that the data will be used to enhance training programmes.
Based on the insights gained, the CESP will assess whether to extend wearable devices to other training schools and units.
“The future capability and effectiveness of the SAF will not be based on the quantity of people we have,” Mr Ong said. “Instead, it will be based on their quality and ability."
Let's block ads! (Why?)
More...