COMMITMENT IS OUR GREATEST DETERRENCE: MR CHAN

More than 2,000 Operationally Ready National Servicemen (NSmen) from 23rd Singapore Infantry Brigade (23 SIB) reported to Selarang Camp on 19 Jul, as part of a mobilisation exercise (MOBEX) that started at 11am.

During his visit to the exercise, Minister for Defence Chan Chun Sing interacted with the NSmen and observed the latest advancements and digitalisation efforts to the mobilisation process.

Mr Chan thanked the NSmen for their commitment to the nation’s security: “The most critical component of our defence is the fighting spirit of our men. To see the men prepared to spend time and effort to maintain their fitness and operational currency is the greatest deterrence that (Singapore) can have.”

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) regularly conduct such mobilisation exercises to maintain the readiness of National Service (NS) units.

After their in-processing, the NSmen proceeded to complete various refresher stations – including a personal equipment inspection, weapons handling, and combat aid training – to keep current on soldier fundamentals.

Streamlined mobilisation process

Selarang Camp is home to the 3rd Generation Mobilisation Equipping Centre (MEC). Here, NSmen are able to draw all their necessary gear at one location, thanks to humidity-controlled storage facilities which ensure the equipment are well-maintained and ready for use.

A new Smart Mobilisation (SmartMob) system, built into the OneNS app, further streamlined the mobilisation process.

Introduced in April this year, the SmartMob feature allows soldiers to register their attendance at the various mobilisation stations and track their progress by scanning QR codes on the app.

Commanders are also able to monitor the status of the MOBEX in real-time.

SmartMob is part of the SAF’s broader efforts to improve the operational readiness of units and streamline processes through digitalisation. It will be rolled out progressively until the end of 2025.

Mr Chan noted the highly efficient design of the MOBEX today – what used to take NSmen three to four hours to complete could now be achieved in half the time.

“We are very happy to see the improvement in operational readiness and how we can shorten the time… Within about 2.5 hours, (the unit has) achieved almost half of the people coming back and going through the stations.

“It is much faster than what we were able to achieve in the past with a more manual process.”

Improving NSmen’s MOBEX experience

Captain (CPT) (NS) Jeremy Ang, who is Deputy S3 of Headquarters 23 SIB, noted that the digitalisation and enhancement efforts have made the process faster and more efficient, with some NSmen completing all their stations within an hour.

This is a stark contrast to his prior MOBEX experiences where he only “left (the camp) when it was sundown”.

However, improvements to speed do not come at a cost to the quality of training, said Staff Sergeant (SSG) (NS) Muhammad Khair Fadli Bin Ridzwan, Company Sergeant Major of Support Company 780.

“MOBEX is one of the things that we can look to, in terms of (assessing) the readiness of our soldiers… As a Sergeant Major, one of my key objectives is to make sure that the men understand the purpose and process of the stations.”

This was the 30-year-old’s first MOBEX, which he found “very smooth and quite seamless”.

The speed and ease of the mobilisation process have helped to make the deployment more manageable, especially for NSmen balancing their NS obligations with family commitments, added CPT Ang.

The 46-year-old is the principal of a secondary school and also the father of three young daughters.

Unceasing desire to improve

Speaking to media during the visit, Mr Chan addressed the topic of cyber espionage group UNC3886’s attack on Singapore’s critical information infrastructure, which was revealed on 18 Jul by Coordinating Minister for National Security K Shanmugam.

Mr Chan explained: “As part of our whole-of-government response…some of the select units in the SAF and MINDEF (Ministry of Defence) will be working with the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) as a whole-of-government effort to manage this particular incident.”

With new operational challenges emerging as a result of world events, Mr Chan highlighted the importance of the SAF maintaining a cutting edge in defence.

“We are not complacent. We are constantly looking at ways to… strengthen deterrence, but most importantly, strengthen the will to fight and the operational readiness of our NSmen.

“(It is) this spirit of the unceasing desire to improve that keeps SAF at the forefront.”