What the HELL is happenig to the SAF?
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We are subcontracting out vital services to private corporations,even leasing out our 5 tonners to companies for use.We hire ppl to clean and maintain the barracks,to cater our food,to help in training our soldiers.
Doesn't this affect operational effectiveness?Is the SAF granting out contracts to the benefit of companies while compromising our self sufficiency as a military organisation?
Please air your views.I find this very disturbing as I feel it cimpromises national security. -
Please, it's not 100 percent. The external training programmes as reported in the news was just transport plane pilots. And you need to cut cost and save manpower! It's just those 5 tonners and maybe some other non-essential vehicles you don't see us leasing out helos do we?
Other countries such as the US hire external companys to help in certain training too as i've heard. -
they r subcontracting services tt do not compromise on operational readiness, such as food and logistics. as for the 5 tonners, their position is since they idle most of the time, might as well lease them out - those tt are "redundant" tt is. o cos saf wont be so silly as to do things to compromise readiness and security. and their subcontracting out is meant more to save their own budgets rather than fatten some companies' wallets.Originally posted by Sardaukar:We are subcontracting out vital services to private corporations,even leasing out our 5 tonners to companies for use.We hire ppl to clean and maintain the barracks,to cater our food,to help in training our soldiers.
Doesn't this affect operational effectiveness?Is the SAF granting out contracts to the benefit of companies while compromising our self sufficiency as a military organisation?
Please air your views.I find this very disturbing as I feel it cimpromises national security. -
all this will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the singapore army.... So more helps to create more jobs....
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Well, that's what happens when u have more trucks than drivers. U end up with a whole bunch of spanking new trucks with nothing to do. U think that subcontracting is not a good position to maintain? Easy solution: get married, have lots of kids, and encourage all your frens/relatives to do the same to help our SAF maintain sufficient manpower. "Stand up for Singapore" indeed.
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Originally posted by Sardaukar:
yes... isn't that cool... excess capacity pays for themselves instead of sitting around and wasting taxpayer's money...
We are subcontracting out vital services to private corporations,even leasing out our 5 tonners to companies for use.We hire ppl to clean and maintain the barracks,
not really lah... just certain tasks like cleaning the toilets and waste disposal... everyone knows that sembcorp operates all the garbage trucks... so what's the big deal?
the individual barracks are still the soldier's responsibilities...to cater our food,to help in training our soldiers.
my only issue with the food is that despite spending so much money, its not not up to standard!!!
as for training, i don't think its a big problem. it frees up NS instructors to do other stuff... and since training is modular, it makes sense to out-source some areas that are not your core expertise.
like certain courses in ayer raja camp are mostly technical in orientation... could be anything from learning to operate a diesel generator or a chainsaw, or teaching operators how to do basic servicing on the bulldozer they are assigned to drive in combat engineers... isn't it better to get professional instructors than NSF ones in cases like these?Doesn't this affect operational effectiveness?Is the SAF granting out contracts to the benefit of companies while compromising our self sufficiency as a military organisation?
i haven't heard any company say that its earning a lot on $$$ from SAF yet... but i have heard the opposite... that competition is stiff, it drives prices down and its not all that rosy...
as u pointed out about the 5-tonners... if saf never lease them out, they'll just be sitting idle... and if u don't warm up the engines every now and then, it actually breaks down from lack of use.
to be " self-sufficient " also means that u take on ALL the costs and responsibilities of every single nuts and bolts operation, which is very expensive and inefficient.
it means that u have to procure (or manufacture) ALL your parts, have your own pple store it, distribute it, and install it... every light bulb, every spare tyre...
and because your core competency is not say... construction, estate management, or vehicle maintenance, it distracts resources to provide in-house capabilities.
it basically means that u gotta arrow NSFs to do stuff like drive garbage trucks, empty cook-house waste, play plumbers when the toilets choke, change lightbulbs, and specially train them to be mechanics... mostly, by the time they are trained, they are ready to ORD liao... no point.Please air your views.I find this very disturbing as I feel it cimpromises national security.
in times of war, these companies are not gonna vanish... they'll still be there to support operations... like when the air force flew to Iraq, ST Aero went with them...
its not helpful to draw a line between "civillian" and "military" personnel anymore... in a modern war, everybody's involved. -
ermm.. I know at least one company making tones or $$ from SAF.. its call ST..Originally posted by CX:i haven't heard any company say that its earning a lot on $$$ from SAF yet... but i have heard the opposite... that competition is stiff, it drives prices down and its not all that rosy...
Anyway, i think leasing out the 5 tonners are quite strange.. can u imagine SAF 5 tonners at construction sites unloading sand? If there so many "spare" 5 tonners.. how come our unit dun get them?
Btw, why are we buying so many "spare" 5 tonners? coz ST happen to be the agent for Styer?
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I have a few more areas where they can consider outsourcing.
1)Employing proffesional gym trainers or instructors to replace PTIs when conducting weight training, circuit training, IPPT and other physical training.
2) Employing TKD instructors from Singapore Taekwondoe Federation to conduct unarmed combat lessons instead of using UCI. -
Sure why not.... even the cleaning of toilets during my National service was outsourced...
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A large part of the reason why SAF's budget is always hovering near the red is because a lot of its assets sit around doing nothing, sucking up cash for their upkeep.
The logical next step would be to lease out all those RE leg-shaking chao-keng positions to the civillian sector, and earn some money instead of paying them to make the occasional bad desision... -
administrative ones.Originally posted by SingaporeTyrannosaur:A large part of the reason why SAF's budget is always hovering near the red is because a lot of its assets sit around doing nothing, sucking up cash for their upkeep.
The logical next step would be to lease out all those RE leg-shaking chao-keng positions to the civillian sector, and earn some money instead of paying them to make the occasional bad desision...
but on the other hand, we need to keep these positions to staff the medically unfit for combat deployment.
wat a dilemma... -
Ha low
first fierce competion , so price down , then standard down , then safety down , then lives down
Ah............
another tekong commando case coming up
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I dunno, I think it varies from place to place. I've taken army cookhouse food back in the old days, and the SFI stuff from 4-5 different camps from 1997 till now, and they have varied from the passable to pretty good.Originally posted by CX:my only issue with the food is that despite spending so much money, its not not up to standard!!!
Still, even at it's worst, it still beats the army food hands down! -
agreed! at least i don't have to greet the stupid army cook who have nothing except for that attitude of his.....Originally posted by Viper52:Still, even at it's worst, it still beats the army food hands down! -
The reason why we have so many "spare" tonners is because the SAF's full time orbat is much larger then the peacetime orbat. The war-time orbat will be fleshed out by the recalled NSmen.
The additional tonners will be used to support the enlarged orbat. There will be NSmen drivers to operate these vehicles.
In peacetime, these tonners have to be maintained but have to use. So it would be better off to lease them out and at least get some revenue.