What's wrong with National Service in Singapore?

Remedial Training for those who fail IPPT is a pain in the ass.

Martino Tan| July 02, 11:56 AM

Nothing in Singapore can stir the hearts of grown men like the topic of National Service and IPPT, also known as the Individual Physical Proficiency Test.

For the record, according to Mindef, about 50 percent of 300,000 operationally ready NSmen pass their IPPT every year.

For those of you still not in the know regarding what the fuss and pain is about, here's how IPPT works:

If you are unfit/ fat and fail your annual mandatory fitness test but still want to be a good citizen and follow the Singapore Armed Forces rules, you'd probably have to spend 20 sessions a year doing remedial training, also known as RT.

Each RT session can be as long as four hours and you can only do up to three sessions per week.

This means you need to commit at least seven weeks of the year participating in RT.

This further means you will need to spend 20 x 4 hours = 80 hours a year. And as not all camps conduct RT, commuting to the camps 20 times per year is also a bitch.

So what exactly does one do during remedial training? Jog around, do a bunch of exercises and yeah, that's it.

Plus, the RT time slots are also not great: People have to rush off from work at about 5pm to go to camp or risk having that session void.

The weekend timeslots are also limited -- no training on Saturday morning.

RT Sessions Time
Weekdays (Everyday except Fri) 1800 to 2200
Weekend (Sat) 1600 to 2000
Weekend (Sun) 0800 to 1200

1600 to 2000

 

The following note was originally posted on a website and Facebook of 31-year old "Brian Leery", a product marketing manager for an online publication. He wrote about why NS is disadvantageous for local men:

Yesterday, on 1 July 2014, it was SAF Day - The annual celebration of the Singapore Armed Forces that also acknowledges National Servicemen (those on active duty, on reservist duty, and those who have completed their entire tour of duty) as well as the Regular Personnel in Singapore.

Funny, I didn't feel acknowledged or appreciated, because I feel like I've only been punished by this system.

Let's put it this way, I'm pretty pudgy around the edges and I've had problems passing my annual physical fitness test since I left active duty in 2003, and for the past 7 years as a reserve in the army since I started my annual obligations in 2007 after completing university.

This means that since 2007, I've been fulfilling my National Service commitment on all fronts. I attend the annual in-camp training that is usually 3 weeks long, I fulfill all my duties with no disciplinary problems and work with my teammates and unit. I also take my physical fitness test every year, I just don't pass it. And because of that I'm punished.

For the physically fit (if you pass the annual test), they lose 3 weeks of their civilian life. For me, I lose up to an additional 12 weeks doing remedial training. Add that up, and I spend close to 4 out of 12 calendar months being involved with the army in some way.

I find that unacceptable because the military system is severely disrupting my personal and professional obligations in the civilian sectors of society. But for the last 7 years of my life, a quarter of it belongs to the army and all their rules that come with it.

It's unacceptable because I don't cause any problems to my teammates nor my superiors. In the grand scheme of National Service, I'm just another statistic. Someone who did not pass the physical fitness test. A percentage of failure that gets taken into consideration by some Colonel or General whose metric of career success is % of National Servicemen who pass their annual physical fitness test, so that they receive their bonus (with my tax paying dollars) and move on to the next stage in their career, and be happy with their professional superiors and comfortably provide for their families.

The point I'm trying to make is that the National Service system severely disrupts the lives of civilians who fail an annual physical fitness test, by increasing their obligation to National Service by almost 4 times! That's harsh and I would argue unjust. It does not take into account the record of service or the original expectation of our supposed duty to the country. I've probably spent more time trying to pass this damn test than actually being a military reserve for the SAF.

So I ask, is that fair? Is this how you acknowledge your supposed "Sons of Singapore"? Those of us who fail the annual physical fitness test might be a minority, but we've also fulfilled the SAME obligations as every body else, and anything more is a punishment.

Scrap the remedial training program altogether. As a deterrent it is unacceptable to my rights as a citizen.

You can read the full note here with comments:

 

Top photo from Mindef

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