Take it positively! the word 'wasted' shall not be used. U gone through NS?Originally posted by crazy monkey:if not so much time is wasted. 1.5 years enough already.![]()
Originally posted by zenden9:long time ago. reservist liao.
Take it positively! the word [b]'wasted' shall not be used. U gone through NS?[/b]
Originally posted by Unsung_Hero:when the danger is clear, it might be already too late?
The only comparable citizen soldier armies that serve as long or longer than Singapore are those that have been in a constant state of war or war-footing for 40 years or longer; viz. Korea, Israel, Taiwan.
The Swiss, as an alternate example, serve only 6 months upfront and the same sort of number of weeks/year as reservists, and their defenses were sufficient such that they held off the Germans in WWII from invading. The Germans, who during the cold war were front-line against Warsaw Pact countries, only serve 9 months active duty.
2.0 years (let alone 2.5 yrs) is an extreme length given there is no clear and present danger and no state of war has existed in Singapore since the end of WWII -- accepting that Konfrontasi was really a skirmish between a still colonial Malaysia and a recently independent Indonesia. That long a service detracts heavily from fundamental developmental years in a young man's life and career, and is an unnecessary burden IMO under the current geopolitical environment Singapore finds itself.
We cannot afford this.Period.It's the economy.We are not a military state.Originally posted by Sardaukar:Found a link relating to national service.South Korea currently has a conscription term of 2 years as well and they are one of the most competent and well trained armed forces around,but preferably we should look at something approximating an Israeli Active NS cycle of 36 months at maximum and 24 months at minimum.This would help by allowing for additional training and retention of manpower.
http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com/Conscription#Singapore
There may be no clear and present threat to us at this point in time,but in the waters we currently face,there are murky threats lurking that could swallow us whole,with a recent and increasingly assertive Indonesia as a possible indicator and a possible play between the major powers with the continuing rise of China and India which affect us as well.
Currently there are no less than 3 countries involved in counter-insurgency operations around us,in Aceh,Pattani and in Mindanao,and there are tensions between Malaysia and Indonesia due to overlapping terrotorial claims.
I think this is enough to warrant increasing our military strength in quality and numbers.
hire more regulars.Originally posted by Sardaukar:I think this is enough to warrant increasing our military strength in quality and numbers.