Operationally-ready National Servicemen (NSmen) who face difficulties fulfilling their National Service (NS) obligations will now have a familiar face to approach in their units.
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NSmen, does this sound familiar to you? Now, you'll be able to pick up the phone and speak to your unit's S8 or National Service Relations Officer (NSRO), who will guide you in resolving your In-Camp Training (ICT) issues.
A face to the voice
The role of the NSRO was established about two years ago, in line with Committee to Strengthen National Service recommendations. Recruitment began in earnest and the NSROs started coming on board in June 2013.
Previously, the NS Portal and NS Hotline were the primary contact points for NSmen. Unfortunately, those with complicated issues - such as family problems that forced them to defer their ICTs - often had difficulty explaining their situations to their superiors.
Now, the NSROs provide a point of contact as well as a familiar face for them to seek the necessary help.
"The SAF (Singapore Armed Forces) recognises the importance of having a common touch point," said Colonel Chua Boon Keat, Head of NS Affairs Department, of the crucial role that NSROs play.
"We don't want the NSman to be calling a different person every time and repeating his issue over multiple channels. We want someone the NSman is familiar with and knows will look after him every ICT."
Mr Balvinder (right) believes that trust is key to working with NSmen.
Care for NSmen
And looking after NSmen is a responsibility that the NSROs take seriously. After all, they understand that NSmen often have to juggle ICT with heavy family and career commitments. Thus, their aim is to help them fulfil their NS obligations as smoothly as possible.
"When they know that the SAF is helping them, they will be more committed to national defence," explained Mr Chua Boon Hong, the S8 (as Army NSROs are called) for 27th Singapore Infantry Brigade in the 2nd People's Defence Force (2 PDF). The 50-year-old is a former Commando who retired as a Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) in 2009 before becoming an S8 last October.
But to serve the NSmen well, the NSROs first had to earn their trust, especially since the NSmen sometimes had to confide their personal problems to the NSROs.
"From the onset, establishing credibility is very important," said Mr Balvinder Singh, 61, on one of the most essential aspects of the job. "Once they know that you mean and do what you say, they will trust you to sort out their issues."
With 43 years of experience in the SAF, the retired Senior Warrant Officer is now the NSRO for Changi Defence Squadron.
Apart from telephone calls, NSROs sometimes make home visits and even meet employers to work out a means of allowing their NSmen employees to attend ICT without missing out on important work commitments.
"The NSRO system is much better because we can call and someone can assist us. So far, Mr Chua has been very consistent in calling the NSmen back, and that's admirable."
- LCP (NS) Tay on his experience with his unit's NSRO
Old issues, new solutions
To better engage the NSmen in the brigades under his charge, Mr Chua recently spearheaded a new initiative that enabled NSmen to help one another. Noticing that some 200 NSmen were nearing the end of their ICT cycles but were short of a few low-key training sessions as their units had already stood down, he decided to call them back for ICT, working under him.
"(Mr Chua) Boon Hong made the additional effort to trawl through the system to find NSmen who could attend make-up ICT so that they could complete their cycles with their units," explained LTC Alan Loh, 2 PDF's G8, to whom the S8s and Deputy S8s report.
"This also allowed them to receive their due recognition under the NS Recognition Awards."
Once back in camp, they were given a name-list of their fellow NSmen who were in similar situations, and told to call them back for ICT as well.
"I learnt that it's easier for NSmen to talk to each other, and they tend to be more receptive towards their peers It's an achievement to have NSmen help each other. I've now reduced my list to about 30," said Mr Chua proudly.
His initiative earned him praise from Lance-Corporal (LCP) (NS) Adrian Tay from 665th Battalion Singapore Infantry Regiment. On 15 Aug, the 39-year-old emailed Defence Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen to highlight Mr Chua's efforts in engaging and helping NSmen.
"I was quite hostile at first when I received a call from Mr Chua to report for ICT - I thought I had already completed my cycle, but he told me that I still had two low-key training sessions left. He was quite persistent, and called me several times," said LCP (NS) Tay.
"Mr Chua made the whole experience very rewarding and so, when he called me again in August, I went back willingly.
"I found this initiative beneficial and I wrote in in the hope that it could be spread to other units."
For both Mr Chua and Mr Balvinder, being able to resolve an NSman's problem is their greatest satisfaction.
As Mr Balvinder put it: "It's for the greater good; it benefits my squadron."
