Ah … what is NS hah?

• In Singapore, by the statute, all male citizens have to enlist & train as soldiers, after which they would be reservists
• Thus, NS stands for National Service, a service performed by the citizens for national security

Why got NS leh?

• NS forms the military defence portion of Singapore's Total Defence concept for complete security of the island nation state in the South-East Asian region
• NS is formally started by legislation when Singapore became independent on 9^th August 1965 at a time of rioting violence, unemployment, uncertainties & risks
• The predecessors of NS include the colonial civilian troops & anti-Japanese rule of Force 136

Who would want to attack Singapore, so why still got NS?

• You are wrong … Singapore has always been an important, strategic island for defence & trade
• In the pre-colonial days, the indigenous people settled here for its abundant fish and food & sheltered from the elements by the surrounding lands of the present day Indonesia & Malaysia without natural disasters
• In the colonial days, the British East India Company's Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles discovered modern Singapore & paved the way for trading (mainly entre-port), settlement and development into a buzzing port
• The Japanese eyed Singapore during World War II as a strategic centre in their conquest (Sonanto)
• Since independence, Singapore has prospered into the present day developed nation status, both as an intelligent island as well as a garden city
• You can see that during all these phases of history, people with interests have targeted Singapore for its benefits - in the real world, people with power would want to get a share in this fortune by hook or by crook
• The Total Defence concept (of which NS is only a part) serves to preserve national integrity & ensure confidence in the future of Singapore

Look at World War II, can Singapore really defend itself?

• Military defence has never been tested since independence
• During World War II, in the colonial days, the government & security of Singapore was totally in the hands of the colonial masters, the British & the Queen
• It was in the period of late 1941 to Feb 1942 that Malaya (including the Straits Settlement of Penang, Melaka & Singapore) fell to the Japanese invasion
• Factors that contributed to Singapore surrender are:

1. Ill-guided British strategy & military maneuvers
2. Poorly trained soldiers (both foreign & local)
3. Wrongly positioned defence lines
4. Arrogance of the colonial masters & discrimination against the Japanese due to the Westerners' successes in military events in China
5. Compliance, nonchalance, ill-preparation & poverty of the locals (due in part to colonial suppression)
6. The Japanese attacked from Thailand through Peninsula Malaysia, thus cutting off supplies to Singapore (the Causeway was bombed by the British but repaired by the Japanese)
7. The utilities (water, food, energy) were not secure
8. British reinforcement were either destroyed (sunk ships) or too little & morale of defenders was negative
9. The defence relied on external forces of the British masters who were then struggling to survive the Nazi's attacks on the Western Front & not on those whose lives & properties were dependent on Singapore's survival

• In the independent modern Singapore, the above factors have been investigated & reversed; preparation are always operational; vigilance is on the high; development on strengthening weaknesses are ongoing; continued relations with neighbours; taking on more international roles have all fostered Singapore's relevance to the international community, thus investing in the confidence of Singapore's future

Is it worth so much time & effort put into NS?

• Singapore has many niches such as intelligent island, East-West junction, regional educational & business centre as well as life sciences
• To safeguard our continued existence for these & future niches, defence is of prime importance
• The turbulence of the region (shown by violence in Indonesia & political upheavals) & uncertainty posed by the end of the Cold War prompt the need for understanding of changes & swift, decisive actions
• NS represents the frontline of defence, the hand of the strategic arm of Singapore
• The resources put into NS should be proportional or related to its level of integrated importance
• Presently, at around ages 18-22, young male recruits are conscripted for 2-2.5 years of full-time NS & after which remain as reservists for annual training until age 40 (non-officers) & 50 (officers) or regulars
• As a civilian military, the reservists carry on their civilian lives alongside military duties
• On one hand, the government has been increasing investment in defence due to budget surplus, technology warfare upgrade, overseas training requirement & welfare
• On the other hand, NS men have felt increased pressure from NS duties due to macro changes in global & working environment as well as micro changes in lifestyle & expectations
• Homeostasis of environment-government-people system needs vigilant adaptive tuning of the NS configuration to meet the challenges of external threats and internal entropy

Is there a need for NS men to sacrifice their lives?

• NS is military & throughout history, military is paved with the blood of its members willingly or not
• Sociological studies have indicated that people are motivated to perform or even sacrifice when they identify with the organisation, its values & implementation
• A prerequisite question is "are people willing to sacrifice?"
• Faith, belief & values must be present before willingness; people of an immigrant nation must identify themselves as well as their offspring with the nation, its history, culture, lifestyle & government; this is the Psychological Defence of the Total Defence concept
• Once settled, the issue of the need for sacrifice is a matter of process:
• In training, deaths can be prevented but cannot be avoided (accidental accidents would happen)
• In wars & missions, life or death is often a matter of strategy & skill (as evident in games like Civilisation & Counterstrike)
• As wars are littered with uncertainties, risks & traps, sacrifices are not only common, but are crucial depending on the circumstances (read wars)
• A Harvard Business Review article: Strategy as Simple Rules has reported after extensive studies that:

1. In simple environment (like lab), the strategy can be very complex (that's why research journals are difficult to understand)
2. In complex environment (like war), the strategy however must be simple (that's why peace time training of soldiers is so important)

What about the sacrifice of time & effort by NS men?

• Besides lives, the sacrifice of time & effort of all NS men should be considered
• In peace time, men have to shape up their skills in the following regions:

1. Physical fitness: another Harvard Business Review article reports the corporate athlete has to have bodily health before mental & emotional well-being for performance; however people are heterogeneous, thus some are weaker & some fitter at certain things; if a standard routine has been formalised and imposed as the standard, then this can only benefit some & demoralise others; in this age of innovation, creativity & adaptation, a strict constraint like the standard IPPT test might just work for instantaneous physical fitness, but not for total fitness as NS men might train for that test only; if this constraint can be released & supplemented to let NS men find their own fitness niches then NS would be healthier
2. Equipment: the Chinese saying 公欲善其事, 必先利其器 (to do things right, the right tools are needed) points out the relevance of suitable equipment with the men, tasks, strategy & conditions; the equipment might be used for training, fighting or survival; the tools also need maintenance, upgrading & at suitable phases, replacement; good equipment might make up lack of competence in other aspects of a fighting force, ceteris paribus (all else remaining unchanged)
3. Survival skills: jungle and urban survival skills are necessary for water, food, shelter & protection
4. Military maneuvers: military strategy, structuring & implementation in formations, configurations & stratagems are the determinants of warfare success; these apply to anything including competitive sports, business world, politics, research, etc. (read wars)

Isn't it time for NS restructuring?

• Since its start in 1965 during the Cold War, NS has progressed and integrated as a part of Singaporean lifestyle
• The world events and surrounding regions have changed & are continuously evolving all the time; the Cold War has ended, China & North Korea have opened up, India is strengthening, Indonesia in turmoil, Philippines in political upheaval, strategic changes by other countries as well as seeds of trouble being sowed in neighbouring countries
• It is often said that those who survive are those that learn, thus in this spirit, the familiar NS system has to learn to change & adapt to external conditions & internal men - their identities, expectations & valence in the NS experience