Hi, I'm a Singapore citizen educated and currently living in New Zealand.
In December 2012, I went back to Singapore for my NS pre-enlistment medical screening. Gotten PES A, and then came back to New Zealand after to await my enlistment letter, which I received just today.
I will be in the SCDF (Fire fighting/ Rescue/ Emergency Ambulance/ Civil Defence).
My elder brother has already completed his NS in the Singapore Police Force (SPF).
What are the substantial differences between all 3 tri-services, in particularly SCDF?
Will I learn how to shoot with a rifle at all? Or just with a water hose?
I was looking forward to that, but I hardly think I'll be learning that now.
Is SAF the only one who goes to camp in jungles? Or is SCDF has similar as well?
Thanks!
Conscription in Singapore, called National Service (NS), requires all male Singaporean citizens and non-first-generation permanent residents who have reached the age of 18 to enroll for national service. They serve a 22- or 24-month period as Full Time National Servicemen (NSFs), either in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Singapore Police Force (SPF), or the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
When a conscript completes his full-time service, he is considered to be "operationally ready", and is thereafter known as an Operationally-Ready National Serviceman (NSman). NSmen are the equivalent of other countries' reservists.
The overwhelming majority of the conscripts serve in the Army, as part of the SAF. The reasons for this include the relative manpower needs of the Army compared with the other armed services, the SPF, and SCDF. In addition, as compared to the Army, the Air Force (RSAF) and Navy (RSN) are smaller services composed primarily of regular servicemen. As the RSAF and RSN's manpower needs tend to be more specialized, a constant turnover of staff is considered to be very disruptive.
Singapore is among the list of countries with a national service exceeding 18 months and a reservist obligation lasting up to age 40 for enlisted men and 50 for officers.[1] Until June 2004 it had a mandatory national service periods of 30 months.
The NS (Amendment) act was passed on 14 March 1967, as the Singapore government felt that it was necessary to build a substantial military force. The country had only about 1,000 soldiers at independence. In the late 1960s, the British government had decided to withdraw its troops and bases East of Suez, including troops stationed in Singapore. That prompted the government to implement a conscription program for the country's defence. It adopted a conscription model drawing on elements of the Israeli national conscription schemes. This was done with the help of Israeli military advisers, who were closely involved in the establishment of the Singapore armed forces.[2]
The stated rationale behind conscription is twofold. Firstly, because Singapore has a population of about five and a half million (as of 2012), an army solely of regulars would be too small to defend the country. Secondly, national service is supposed to support racial harmony among the Chinese, Malay and Indian communities. Malays were virtually excluded from conscription from the beginning of the draft in 1967 until 1977[3] and, after the policy was eased, were assigned mainly to serve in the police and civil defence (fire brigade), not in active combat roles.[3] In 1987, Lee Hsien Loong (then Second Minister for Defence) stated that "If there is a conflict, if the SAF is called to defend the homeland, we do not want to put any of our soldiers in a difficult position where his emotions for the nation may be in conflict with his religion"[4] and in The Roar of the Lion City (2007), military analyst Sean Walsh claimed that "official discrimination against the Malay population remains an open secret".[5] The Ministry of Defence contests the charge, noting that there are "Malay pilots, commandos and air defence personnel" and stating that "the proportion of eligible Malays selected for specialist and officer training is similar to the proportion for eligible non-Malays."[6]
According to the Enlistment Act, conscription is mandatory for all "persons subject to [the] act", defined as those who are not less than 16 years and 6 months of age and not more than 40 years of age, with some exemptions and with no specific bias to gender (not limited to males).[7]
In practice however, male Singaporean citizens and second-generation permanent residents who registered NRIC at 15 years are required to register for National Service upon reaching the age of 16 years and six months, during which they would also be required to undergo a mandatory medical examination (PULHHEEMS) to determine their medical status, known as Physical Employment Status (PES), which is used as a guideline as to which vocation the person is placed in.
Male children who take up permanent residency status through their permanent resident parent's sponsorship will be required to serve National Service like other Singaporean males.[8]
However, most male citizens enlist in Basic Military Training (BMT) at the age of 19 for junior college graduates or 20 for polytechnic graduates, and those who are involved in several events (like sports), will be enlisted after they finish one of the several event. Those who are jailed in Changi Prison are never released into Singapore Armed Forces.
Exemptions are rare and are usually due to disability or serious medical conditions under the PES F for the SAF Medical Board. Several instances do include -
They are then called up for enlistment at the age of 18, but most Singaporean males would usually choose to complete their tertiary education in the respective polytechnics, high schools, junior colleges, pre-university courses or other institutions before starting the mandatory duration which they are required to serve. Those who voluntarily opt for early enlistment with the consent of their parents are allowed to begin full-time national service at the age of 16 years and six months.
In the past, the duration of the conscription for a typical Singaporean male spanned over a period of either 2 or 2 years and six months depending on his educational qualifications. In 2004, the duration was reduced to 2 years, driven by the transformation into the 3rd Generation SAF and enabled by the surge in NS intake for the next 10 years.[9] As a further incentive, the NS duration may be cut by a further two months, if potential enlistees are able to obtain a silver or gold for their physical fitness test (NAPFA) prior to enlistment.
Those who are liable to serve national service but refuse are charged under the Enlistment Act.[11] If convicted, they face three years' imprisonment and a fine of S$10,000. Controversy arose when the penalties were increased in January 2006 after Melvyn Tan, who was born in Singapore, received a fine for defaulting on his National Service obligations. Tan left for London to study music during his enlistment age and later acquired British nationality. In parliament, Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean provided some illustration of the punishments defaulters would face:[12]
Each year, a small number of people are convicted for their failure to enlist or refusal to be conscripted.[13] Most of them were Jehovah's Witnesses, who are usually court-martialled and sentenced to three years' imprisonment, but they are usually held in a low-security detention facility and separated from other conscription offenders. The government does not consider conscientious objection to be a legal reason for refusal to serve NS. Since 1972, the publications of Jehovah's Witnesses have been outlawed in Singapore.[14] This is commonly misinterpreted to mean that Jehovah's Witnesses themselves are outlawed in Singapore.
There are several types of Basic Military Training (BMT) conducted by the SAF at its BMT Centre on Pulau Tekong, an island off the north-east coast of Singapore, or at the various military units which directly accept mono-intake recruits. Medically fit NSFs undergo a 9-week Enhanced BMT program. Those from lower educational backgrounds and mono-intake recruits undergo a similar program (standard BMT program), but without a Situational Test (Sit Test), used to assess trainees for posting to command schools like the Specialist Cadet School (SCS) and Officer Cadet School (OCS), occasionally a select few will later be posted to the police service for training as an Inspector. Only a few from lower education backgrounds are selected to undergo the Sit Test model.
NSFs who are less medically fit, depending on their medical condition, either have to go a 9-week Modified BMT or just 4-week induction program for recruits with certain medical conditions.[16] NSFs who are medically fit, but have failed the pre-enlistment National Physical Fitness Award (NAPFA), will have to undergo an additional 2-month Physical Training Phase (PTP),[17] making it a 17-week BMT program for them. Conscripts who are considered medically obese go through a special BMT program, lasting 19 weeks. The obesity of a conscript is determined by his body mass index (BMI) during the pre-enlistment medical checkup. A BMI of above 27 is considered indicative of obesity, as opposed to the World Health Organization's guideline of 30 and above.[citation needed]
Medically fit NSmen also have to take the IPPT every year as part of their training program.
Though a majority will serve in the army for their National Service, a number of enlistees will serve their NS years in the Singapore Police Force (SPF). Those who have been chosen to serve in the SPF undergo training at the Home Team Academy where they study the Penal Code and standard police protocol. After training at the Academy, they will be posted to various departments of the SPF, such as Special Operations Command (SOC), Logistics, Land divisions, Airport Police. Those posted to the Police Coast Guard (PCG) or Police KINS will undergo further training. Selection of Officer Cadets (OCTs) to undergo the NS Police Inspector Course (NSPI) is a stringent process for Police National Servicemen (Full-time). A very small number, usually one who is awarded the Best Trainee Award, from each cohort will be selected, with the majority of the OCTs being the Singapore Armed Forces' National Servicemen (Full-time) who have completed their Basic Military Training (BMT).
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) is the emergency rescue force of Singapore and they provide firefighting, rescue and ambulance services, and has been one of the three National Service postings since 1972. Those enlisted into the SCDF typically undergo seven weeks of training at the Basic Rescue Training Centre (BRTC), where they are given basic rescue training (BRT), exposed to regimental discipline, and trained to maintain a level of fitness required of all NSFs in Singapore.
Much like the SAF's SISPEC course, selected NSFs are also posted to the Civil Defence Academy (CDA) to undergo the Firefighter Course (FFC) or the Emergency Response Specialist Course (ERSC) within the first two weeks of their BRT stage, passing out as Firefighters for FFC trainees, and as Fire & Rescue Specialists for ERS trainees who would also simultaneously be conferred with the Sergeant rank (Firefighters mostly pass out as Lance Corporals prior to station posting). Firefighters would typically be posted out to the various fire stations island-wide after passing out, while Fire & Rescue Specialists would be posted as Section Commanders at territorial division, fire stations or at the Special Rescue Battalion; based largely on rankings at the time of course completion, a small number may also be posted as Instructors back in the CDA to staff the Command and Staff Training Center (CSTC), Specialist Training Center (STC), or Firefighting Training Center (FFTC).
While a certain level of health and fitness pre-requisites are expected by both the FFC and ERSC administrators before one can be selected for these courses, admission into the ERS course typically requires a certain set of additional qualifications, namely either a minimum of a GCE Advanced Level certificate, a Diploma or a Higher Nitec Certificate. These added pre-requisites are viewed as necessary in the light of a Section Commander's operational and administrative role when posted out. One marked difference between the FFC and ERSC is the added rescue and emergency training received by ERS Specialist Cadet Trainees (SCTs), as well as the General Command & Control Term, which includes the Basic Home Team Course held at the Home Team Academy and an outward-bound Brunei trip which serves to equip and develop the necessary leadership skills required of a specialist junior officer. In terms of administration and duration, the FFC is under the charge of the FFTC and lasts three months, while the ERSC is under the purview of the CSTC and lasts six months.
In addition, there is also the Basic Officer Course under the charge of the CSTW, designed to train NSFs and regulars as Senior Officers of the SCDF, with NSFs graduating as Lieutenants (LTA). While the BOC is traditionally largely made up of NSFs from the SAF who had just completed their Basic Military Training (BMT) at Pulau Tekong, the top 5-10% of the ERSC will also be offered to cross over to the Basic Officer Course (BOC) to be trained and commissioned as Senior Officers after passing out, spending the last three months of the BOC together with Officer Cadet Trainees (OCTs).
NSFs who undergo the full 7-week basic rescue training at the BRTC are subsequently posted and trained to become medical orderlies (medics), dog handlers, provosts, information and communications and logistics specialists or instructors (such as Physical Training Instructors) among many other vocations upon passing out from the BRTC.[18]
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription_in_Singapore
Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF):
http://www.scdf.gov.sg/
Thanks for the replies and edits.
Among SCDF recruits, only a few will be selected in CDA to undergo the courses?
The rest will just undergo the normal BRT?
Now with effect from 2004, NS are within 2 years?
I was told that the majority of those who went to SCDF/ SPF are non-Chinese races.
Convicts go to Singapore Prison Service (SPS).
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_Prison_Service
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_Prisons_Emergency_Action_Response
In 2004, the duration was reduced to 2 years, driven by the transformation into the 3rd Generation SAF and enabled by the surge in NS intake for the next 10 years. As a further incentive, the NS duration may be cut by a further two months, if potential enlistees are able to obtain a silver or gold for their physical fitness test (NAPFA) prior to enlistment.
NS requires 2 years in active service as a Full-Time National Serviceman (NSF). After the 2 years of NS, you will serve as an Operationally Ready National Serviceman (NSman) up to the age of 40 for WOSE ranks. Officers or those with special skills may serve until the age of 50.
Thank you so much for all the help!
So even if I'm posted to any CDA courses, I'll still complete my NS all within 2 years to ORD, right?
For example, if I enlist on 18 April 2013, I will ORD on 17 April 2015. Regardless?
In 2004, the duration was reduced to 2 years, driven by the transformation into the 3rd Generation SAF and enabled by the surge in NS intake for the next 10 years. As a further incentive, the NS duration may be cut by a further two months, if potential enlistees are able to obtain a silver or gold for their physical fitness test (NAPFA) prior to enlistment.
NS requires 2 years in active service as a Full-Time National Serviceman (NSF). After the 2 years of NS, you will serve as an Operationally Ready National Serviceman (NSman) up to the age of 40 for WOSE ranks. Officers or those with special skills may serve until the age of 50.
Prepare for PTP/BMT: http://iprep.ns.sg/
Secrets to Pass IPPT:http://lifestyle.www.ns.sg/features/fitnessxchange
Source: www.ns.sg
Source: http://iprep.ns.sg/
Are you physically fit? If you have been found to be fit for full Basic Military Training (BMT) i.e. PES A or B1, you may want to take the NAPFA test.
Should you attain a NAPFA Gold or Silver award at least 2 weeks prior to your Physical Training Phase (PTP) enlistment date, you will attend a 9-week Basic Military Training (BMT) and enjoy a 2-month reduction in your full-time National Service. Those who fail to attain the required fitness level will have to undergo a 8-week Physical Training Phase (PTP) before attending the 9-week BMT.
The NAPFA test is conducted at the Toa Payoh Stadium (map to Toa Payoh Stadium) every Wednesday (except public holidays). You are required to book an appointment for the test via the NAPFA test booking system prior to the test date and you are only allowed to make one valid booking at any one time.
Please note that the NAPFA result is valid for 1 year from the date of test. You are advised to report for the test inacceptable attire and punctually. All the six test items must be completed in one single sessions. A maximum of 2 to 5 minutes rest period is permitted between any two tests (for the first test items); a 15 to 30 minutes rest period is permitted before the sixth test item.
NAPFA tests at Toa Payoh Stadium are conducted strictly on appointment only. Therefore, advance booking via NS Portal must be made latest by Tuesday before 12 noon in order to take the NAPFA test at Toa Payoh Stadium the following day.
Do note that pre-enlistees who do not book their NAPFA date via the system would not be allowed to take their test at the Toa Payoh Stadium.
If you wish to know more about the NAPFA test, you may want to read through the FAQ before you make your booking.
1. Can I take the test after I failed the NAPFA test the last time?
Yes. You are allowed to retake it until you pass. There is no limit to the number of times you can take the test.
2. When is the last date I should take the NAPFA test?
You should attempt the test as soon as you are ready and you are advised to take it at least 2 weeks before the date of enlistment.
3. Can I retake only the test items I have failed in my last attempt?
No. All 6 items must be completed in one single session.
4. Can I amend my booking after I have booked?
Yes, you are allowed to amend your booking before 12 pm on the day before the test date.
5. Can I make a few booking together?
No, you are only allowed to make 1 booking at any one time. You can make your next booking after the test date you have booked.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force will introduce an eight-week course to cross-train its firefighters to equip them with medical skills.
This will be done progressively over the next three years.
Currently, firemen play a limited frontline medical role as they are equipped with first-aid knowledge.
The new initiative aims to enhance the quality of emergency medical services.
Plans to cross-train personnel were previously outlined during the Home Affairs Ministry's Budget 2013 Committee of Supply Debate.
Selected fire-fighters in the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) will be trained under a new Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) scheme.
This will give them the capabilities to provide initial medical aid to casualties until the arrival of paramedics during emergencies.
Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said the EMT scheme is a "potential game-changer" in how the SCDF maximises the potential of its officers and deploys resources in a tighter labour market.
Mr Teo, who is also Home Affairs Minister, was speaking at the SCDF Workplan Seminar 2013
