Training cycle for NSmen to be cut from 13 to 10 years

WooHoo~~! I'm a 3rd Generation NSmen now, not just a reser-vit ok.

But birthrate going down, NS intake project to go up?? I can foresee women also need to do NS soon.. muhahahaha..

Article from ChannelNewsAsia

"SINGAPORE : The training cycle for Operationally-Ready National Servicemen (ORNS) will be reduced from 13 to 10 years with effect from April 1 next year.

The move will affect some 17,000 NSmen now in their 10th to 12th year of in-camp training (ICT).

The batch of NS infantrymen doing their 10th in-camp training were elated when Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean told them it would be their last under the new Enhanced National Service Training System (NSTS).

Under the present system, they would have to be back for three more basic individual training courses over the next three years.

The Defence Ministry says shortening the training cycle without compromising operational capability is possible for three main reasons.

Firstly, with the move to form a 3rd Generation (3G) SAF, superior technology will reduce the dependence on manpower.

Secondly, better educated NSmen can make better use of technology to enhance their fighting power.

And lastly, a surge in the intake of full-time NSmen is expected over the next 10 years.

The shortened training cycle is coupled with a change in the way ICTs are conducted.

Said Mr Teo, "We're making better use of the training time when the NSmen come in for their ICTs; for example, the in-processing is a lot more efficient now. So the time that the NSman spends in his ICT is better used for training. That's the first point. The second is that the training itself is made more effective. It will be more performance-based; it will be more outcome-based."

With more realistic training under the Individual & Group Combat System training course, the Army believes the NSmen will be better trained to face real enemy fire.

And with a continual assessment system, commanders will have greater leeway to tailor the training content according to the unit's performance.

Outstanding units can expect to have their last three years of training converted to two-day stints each year. - CNA