Introduction into National Service
It has occured to me that I have not addressed the concept of National Service to my fellow readers (many of whom I have lost readership due to my lack of posting over the past 8 weeks), especially considering that most of my readership comes from the US and the UK.
In 1967, the Singapore Enlistment Act was issued to say that all Singaporean sons (which extended to people under the second generation citizens and permanent residences status) are to attend a two and a half year course to enlist in the army. This was in light of the Japanese occupation during the Second World War, where the English used second rate weapons and troops to defend Singapore before surrendering after three days and leaving. Singapore decided that it will never again be defended by the hands of other people and after our independence day in 1966 we decided to make our own armed forces.
The problem we faced is that Singapore is a small country, with a relatively small population at the time. Allocating men for the purpose of military defence will not help in our growth, so instead of taking particular men to sign on in the army for the rest of their lives, we took all men to sign part of their lives. All those under the Singapore Enlistment Act is required to spend two years of their lives in military training and operation, and is expected to be able to be readily deployed over the next ten to twenty years. As such there are about 100,000 people in the army at all times, not to mention others in the Air force and Navy aged around 18 to 22, and about 300,000 ready to be deployed at all times. For such a small country, we do have a powerful army strength.
I do think National Service is a good idea. It allows people to carry on with their lives yet allows one to be deployable at any moment based on their roles in the army. However for the individual it may not be so fun. Having to spend 2 years of your life in preparation for something that is unlikely to happen (and many think unlikely to be successful) may cause one to have a negative attitude towards National Service. That was me before I enlisted, but that's for another blog post.
Recruits are made to stand in formation to wave goodbye to their parents before they join the army. This was me 8 weeks ago.
Cheers,
Matthew Tan
In 1967, the Singapore Enlistment Act was issued to say that all Singaporean sons (which extended to people under the second generation citizens and permanent residences status) are to attend a two and a half year course to enlist in the army. This was in light of the Japanese occupation during the Second World War, where the English used second rate weapons and troops to defend Singapore before surrendering after three days and leaving. Singapore decided that it will never again be defended by the hands of other people and after our independence day in 1966 we decided to make our own armed forces.
The problem we faced is that Singapore is a small country, with a relatively small population at the time. Allocating men for the purpose of military defence will not help in our growth, so instead of taking particular men to sign on in the army for the rest of their lives, we took all men to sign part of their lives. All those under the Singapore Enlistment Act is required to spend two years of their lives in military training and operation, and is expected to be able to be readily deployed over the next ten to twenty years. As such there are about 100,000 people in the army at all times, not to mention others in the Air force and Navy aged around 18 to 22, and about 300,000 ready to be deployed at all times. For such a small country, we do have a powerful army strength.
I do think National Service is a good idea. It allows people to carry on with their lives yet allows one to be deployable at any moment based on their roles in the army. However for the individual it may not be so fun. Having to spend 2 years of your life in preparation for something that is unlikely to happen (and many think unlikely to be successful) may cause one to have a negative attitude towards National Service. That was me before I enlisted, but that's for another blog post.
Recruits are made to stand in formation to wave goodbye to their parents before they join the army. This was me 8 weeks ago.
Cheers,
Matthew Tan
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