SINGAPORE: The announcement on Monday (Apr 13) that the medical grading system for national servicemen will be changed beginning in October next year caught the attention of many in Singapore.
National Service (NS) is a rite of passage for male Singaporeans and permanent residents. The shift away from the Physical Employment Standard (PES) system, which has been in place since the 1970s, marks a departure from something familiar to those who have served NS.
But the announcement by Minister of Defence Chan Chun Sing is important for Singapore’s defence and security, now and in the years ahead, for a number of reasons.
Under the PES system, there was a more binary classification for those who were fit for combat and those who were not.
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The refreshed medical classification system seeks to be more granular in its analysis and evaluation, with the net effect being that more servicemen would be able to contribute meaningfully to national security. It takes a more surgical approach in identifying causes for medical exemptions among national servicemen, and hence makes it possible for them to be trained more effectively and deployed to a broader range of roles.
This addresses two issues at the personal and operational levels.
From an individual perspective, this allows servicemen more opportunities to contribute to national defence and security. Currently, three in four appeals by pre-enlistees to review their assigned PES status are requests to upgrade their PES status.
While Mr Chan shared that fewer than 1 per cent of pre-enlistees seek a PES status review, it is interesting that the majority of such individuals want to take on more operational roles.
The updated medical classification system will enable about 1,200 servicemen to be deployed annually to vocations and roles they would have previously been ineligible for.
At the operational level, the impact is likely to be significant as well. The traditional view of war being waged and won through brute force and the muscles of soldiers has changed, as demonstrated by wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Iran.
In many of these and other less intensive conflicts around the world, the advent of cyber warfare, the use of drones, more sophisticated intelligence capabilities and information operations have shown how military combat has evolved with developments in science and technology.
The creation of the Singapore Armed Forces’ (SAF) Digital and Intelligence Service in 2022 underscores how Singapore is thinking about current and future defence challenges. Having a broader conscript force from which to draw means that the SAF and Home Team will be better placed to tackle these challenges.
Despite Singapore’s falling birth rate, Mr Chan took pains to state that the changes to the medical classification system were not aimed at addressing the SAF’s current or future manpower needs.
He said this was because the SAF has visibility of the number of people who will enlist 18 years ahead of time, given that 18 is the standard age of enlistment for NS. It is thus able to design its operational concepts and fighting units with these constraints in mind.
While the SAF and Home Team have been conducting trials of the new system and will continue to do so ahead of it taking effect later next year, there are some aspects which warrant more attention in the lead-up to the launch.
For a start, something never far from the minds of servicemen and their families and loved ones is the issue of safety. The updated medical classification system must ensure that the safety during training and operations of national servicemen is not compromised.
The Ministry of Defence said that safety has been and will remain a key priority for the SAF and Home Team. Critically, this must be communicated to trainers and unit commanders on the ground, who will need to be equipped with the knowledge and systems to carry out training and operations safely for all under their command, while adapting to changes in the medical classification system.
At the same time, the deployment of more servicemen into a broader range of roles may require adjustments to concepts of operations for both the SAF and Home Team. This could lead to changes or refinements to strategies and tactics at varying unit levels, which would also need to take into consideration the evolving threat landscape.
Thankfully, this is nothing new for defence and security organisations like the SAF. For example, since 2021, it has redesigned 2,000 roles across 25 vocations – including combat medics, infantry platform operators and army technicians – enabling more than 1,800 full-time NS soldiers to be deployed in a wider range of operational roles than they were previously eligible for.
As we approach the 60th anniversary of NS in 2027, it is fitting that servicemen will have more opportunities to participate in an institution that underpins much of Singapore’s success, peace and stability, and align individual capabilities with modern operational needs in an increasingly complex world.
Nicholas Fang is a former journalist and Nominated Member of Parliament, and currently chairs a strategic communications expert panel for the Ministry of Defence. He writes a monthly column for CNA.
Continue reading...
National Service (NS) is a rite of passage for male Singaporeans and permanent residents. The shift away from the Physical Employment Standard (PES) system, which has been in place since the 1970s, marks a departure from something familiar to those who have served NS.
But the announcement by Minister of Defence Chan Chun Sing is important for Singapore’s defence and security, now and in the years ahead, for a number of reasons.
EVOLVING THREATS
Under the PES system, there was a more binary classification for those who were fit for combat and those who were not.
CNA Games
Show More Show Less
The refreshed medical classification system seeks to be more granular in its analysis and evaluation, with the net effect being that more servicemen would be able to contribute meaningfully to national security. It takes a more surgical approach in identifying causes for medical exemptions among national servicemen, and hence makes it possible for them to be trained more effectively and deployed to a broader range of roles.
This addresses two issues at the personal and operational levels.
From an individual perspective, this allows servicemen more opportunities to contribute to national defence and security. Currently, three in four appeals by pre-enlistees to review their assigned PES status are requests to upgrade their PES status.
While Mr Chan shared that fewer than 1 per cent of pre-enlistees seek a PES status review, it is interesting that the majority of such individuals want to take on more operational roles.
The updated medical classification system will enable about 1,200 servicemen to be deployed annually to vocations and roles they would have previously been ineligible for.
At the operational level, the impact is likely to be significant as well. The traditional view of war being waged and won through brute force and the muscles of soldiers has changed, as demonstrated by wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Iran.
In many of these and other less intensive conflicts around the world, the advent of cyber warfare, the use of drones, more sophisticated intelligence capabilities and information operations have shown how military combat has evolved with developments in science and technology.
The creation of the Singapore Armed Forces’ (SAF) Digital and Intelligence Service in 2022 underscores how Singapore is thinking about current and future defence challenges. Having a broader conscript force from which to draw means that the SAF and Home Team will be better placed to tackle these challenges.
Despite Singapore’s falling birth rate, Mr Chan took pains to state that the changes to the medical classification system were not aimed at addressing the SAF’s current or future manpower needs.
He said this was because the SAF has visibility of the number of people who will enlist 18 years ahead of time, given that 18 is the standard age of enlistment for NS. It is thus able to design its operational concepts and fighting units with these constraints in mind.
Related:
SAFETY MUST REMAIN A PRIORITY
While the SAF and Home Team have been conducting trials of the new system and will continue to do so ahead of it taking effect later next year, there are some aspects which warrant more attention in the lead-up to the launch.
For a start, something never far from the minds of servicemen and their families and loved ones is the issue of safety. The updated medical classification system must ensure that the safety during training and operations of national servicemen is not compromised.
The Ministry of Defence said that safety has been and will remain a key priority for the SAF and Home Team. Critically, this must be communicated to trainers and unit commanders on the ground, who will need to be equipped with the knowledge and systems to carry out training and operations safely for all under their command, while adapting to changes in the medical classification system.
At the same time, the deployment of more servicemen into a broader range of roles may require adjustments to concepts of operations for both the SAF and Home Team. This could lead to changes or refinements to strategies and tactics at varying unit levels, which would also need to take into consideration the evolving threat landscape.
Thankfully, this is nothing new for defence and security organisations like the SAF. For example, since 2021, it has redesigned 2,000 roles across 25 vocations – including combat medics, infantry platform operators and army technicians – enabling more than 1,800 full-time NS soldiers to be deployed in a wider range of operational roles than they were previously eligible for.
As we approach the 60th anniversary of NS in 2027, it is fitting that servicemen will have more opportunities to participate in an institution that underpins much of Singapore’s success, peace and stability, and align individual capabilities with modern operational needs in an increasingly complex world.
Nicholas Fang is a former journalist and Nominated Member of Parliament, and currently chairs a strategic communications expert panel for the Ministry of Defence. He writes a monthly column for CNA.
Continue reading...