SINGAPORE: As warfare evolves, greater adoption of technology will lead to more decentralised military operations, with smaller units opening up more opportunities for leadership, according to Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing.
In an interview ahead of Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Day on Jul 1, the minister addressed the SAF’s training and manpower needs amid an uncertain global security situation and new warfighting capabilities, including cyber threats.
“Going forward, we can expect operations to be conducted in a more decentralised way, with smaller units operating compared to the large-size forces that we have in the past,” he told reporters.
“You will see that there will be more leadership opportunities for many of our NSF and NSmen, because we are going to increase the amount of technology that is required, and we are going to have more decentralised operations based on this.”
The former chief of army said the SAF has always used technology as a multiplier, and new generations of technology will allow it to multiply its manpower capabilities even more.
The past structure of a big unit of a few hundred people operating in two or three subunits may change to a smaller unit with more subunits operating technology in a decentralised way.
This plays to the strengths of the SAF, which lie in the quality of its manpower and leadership, he added.
“It’s quite different to say that I have one commander for 100 men. It’s another thing to say that now I can have 10 commanders, and each one of them operating with 10 men.
“The quality of leadership is much tougher, the ability to use the technologies to operate with the 10 men, to have the effect of the 100 men, is much more difficult.
“You can only do so if you can bring in the best people from across the whole society to do this,” said Mr Chan.
The minister also noted that there are now more opportunities for women and volunteers to experience and contribute to the SAF.
Technology has changed the demands of being in the military, opening up more opportunities for female officers to be deployed across the force, he said.
In 2022, there were more than 1,600 uniformed servicewomen in the SAF, making up 8 per cent of regulars. At the time, more than 500 women were trained and deployed as part of the SAF Volunteer Corps (SAFVC).
Since the SAFVC started in 2015, more than 1,000 volunteers have enlisted in the corps, which is intended for women, new citizens and first-generation permanent residents.
The SAFVC now has an acceptance rate of one in eight applicants, said Mr Chan, calling this a “very strong signal” of public interest and support.
Asked about the possibility of conscription for women, Mr Chan said this has not been done in the past because the government did not see the operational need for it.
Any decision on whether to conscript women must be driven by “real operational need” and principles like universality, he said.
“The question is that, even without full conscription, are there calls for more women to be given the chance to experience National Service? I think we have heard that loud and clear,” he said, pointing to the support for SAFVC.
“Over time, even without making that decision (on conscription), I think there will be a demand for more exposure, and I think this is where MINDEF is thinking through how we can also respond to this demand for greater exposure. But I don’t think we are making that decision now,” he said.
Deployments in the SAF will continue to be made based on merit and making the best use of the individual’s ability, he added.
“We will never apply tokenism to any deployment. It does injustice to the individual, it does injustice to the system.”
Addressing a question on whether racial minorities will take up senior positions in the SAF, Mr Chan said this was “not a here-and-now issue” but a “continuous effort”.
“For us to get a chief warrant officer, for us to get a brigadier-general … that person must be in the force for the last 20 over years,” he said.
“What we are seeing today, this year, is the result of our effort to step up our outreach and recruitment for the SAF we want 20 years ago.”
Mr Chan was also asked about meeting the SAF’s training needs, after a recent incident in which a cyclist suffered a gunshot wound after entering a restricted area during a live-firing exercise.
“There will always be a requirement for us to have live-firing out in the open for a certain calibre of weapons, especially the longer-range weapons,” he said.
But the SAF also considers how to optimise and intensify the usage of available land, leading to training facilities like the Multi-Mission Range Complex and SAFTI City, he said.
The army is exploring the possibility of another Multi-Mission Range Complex that will allow operationally ready national servicemen to practise shooting more regularly and keep their skills sharp, the minister added.
The SAF is also constantly looking at new training areas overseas, which allow servicemen to train in more varied environments and different operational scenarios, said Mr Chan.
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In an interview ahead of Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Day on Jul 1, the minister addressed the SAF’s training and manpower needs amid an uncertain global security situation and new warfighting capabilities, including cyber threats.
“Going forward, we can expect operations to be conducted in a more decentralised way, with smaller units operating compared to the large-size forces that we have in the past,” he told reporters.
“You will see that there will be more leadership opportunities for many of our NSF and NSmen, because we are going to increase the amount of technology that is required, and we are going to have more decentralised operations based on this.”
The former chief of army said the SAF has always used technology as a multiplier, and new generations of technology will allow it to multiply its manpower capabilities even more.
The past structure of a big unit of a few hundred people operating in two or three subunits may change to a smaller unit with more subunits operating technology in a decentralised way.
This plays to the strengths of the SAF, which lie in the quality of its manpower and leadership, he added.
“It’s quite different to say that I have one commander for 100 men. It’s another thing to say that now I can have 10 commanders, and each one of them operating with 10 men.
“The quality of leadership is much tougher, the ability to use the technologies to operate with the 10 men, to have the effect of the 100 men, is much more difficult.
“You can only do so if you can bring in the best people from across the whole society to do this,” said Mr Chan.
Related:
WOMEN, VOLUNTEERS AND MINORITIES
The minister also noted that there are now more opportunities for women and volunteers to experience and contribute to the SAF.
Technology has changed the demands of being in the military, opening up more opportunities for female officers to be deployed across the force, he said.
In 2022, there were more than 1,600 uniformed servicewomen in the SAF, making up 8 per cent of regulars. At the time, more than 500 women were trained and deployed as part of the SAF Volunteer Corps (SAFVC).
Since the SAFVC started in 2015, more than 1,000 volunteers have enlisted in the corps, which is intended for women, new citizens and first-generation permanent residents.
The SAFVC now has an acceptance rate of one in eight applicants, said Mr Chan, calling this a “very strong signal” of public interest and support.
Asked about the possibility of conscription for women, Mr Chan said this has not been done in the past because the government did not see the operational need for it.
Any decision on whether to conscript women must be driven by “real operational need” and principles like universality, he said.
“The question is that, even without full conscription, are there calls for more women to be given the chance to experience National Service? I think we have heard that loud and clear,” he said, pointing to the support for SAFVC.
“Over time, even without making that decision (on conscription), I think there will be a demand for more exposure, and I think this is where MINDEF is thinking through how we can also respond to this demand for greater exposure. But I don’t think we are making that decision now,” he said.
Related:
Deployments in the SAF will continue to be made based on merit and making the best use of the individual’s ability, he added.
“We will never apply tokenism to any deployment. It does injustice to the individual, it does injustice to the system.”
Addressing a question on whether racial minorities will take up senior positions in the SAF, Mr Chan said this was “not a here-and-now issue” but a “continuous effort”.
“For us to get a chief warrant officer, for us to get a brigadier-general … that person must be in the force for the last 20 over years,” he said.
“What we are seeing today, this year, is the result of our effort to step up our outreach and recruitment for the SAF we want 20 years ago.”
TRAINING AREAS
Mr Chan was also asked about meeting the SAF’s training needs, after a recent incident in which a cyclist suffered a gunshot wound after entering a restricted area during a live-firing exercise.
“There will always be a requirement for us to have live-firing out in the open for a certain calibre of weapons, especially the longer-range weapons,” he said.
But the SAF also considers how to optimise and intensify the usage of available land, leading to training facilities like the Multi-Mission Range Complex and SAFTI City, he said.
The army is exploring the possibility of another Multi-Mission Range Complex that will allow operationally ready national servicemen to practise shooting more regularly and keep their skills sharp, the minister added.
The SAF is also constantly looking at new training areas overseas, which allow servicemen to train in more varied environments and different operational scenarios, said Mr Chan.
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