DOING MORE TO ENGAGE NSMEN

As the SAFRA National Service Association celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, it is also doing more to enhance members' experience across its network of five clubhouses and providing opportunities for Operationally Ready National Servicemen (NSmen) to bond and build friendships.

At the 12th SAFRA Awards ceremony held at its Mount Faber clubhouse on 19 Jul, Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen announced three key initiatives which emerged from SAFRA's recently concluded strategic review. Explaining the move, Dr Ng said: "With a new generation of NSmen, SAFRA also needs to reinvent itself to remain relevant to the changing lifestyles and interests of NSmen."

The Strategic Review Steering Committee, headed by Minister of State for Defence and Education Lawrence Wong, who is also President SAFRA, gathered feedback from more than 1,800 NSmen to chart new directions for SAFRA in the coming five years.

One of the key initiatives involves the progressive upgrading of SAFRA's current stable of five clubhouses located across Singapore. Each themed clubhouse will provide unique services and programmes catering to the different interests of its members.

For example, the SAFRA Tampines clubhouse will undergo a major upgrade by 2016 to emerge as a hub for sporting activities, and the Mount Faber clubhouse will focus on providing executive lifestyle services with a distinct entertainment focus to cater to younger NSmen.

There will also be a six-storey building at Carpenter Street that will be converted into a multi-entertainment centre to cater to NSmen working and living in the city area. Details will be announced in the upcoming months, as plans are still being finalised.

Another initiative is enhancing benefits for SAFRA members. They will find more reason to flash their membership cards as enhanced benefits roll out. Currently, members enjoy special discounts and promotions at more than 650 establishments nation-wide. This is set to increase as SAFRA continues to find more opportunities to bolster benefits for its members.

There will also be new cohesion-building packages made available to NS units for their annual In-Camp Training (ICT) sessions. Typically, the last day of ICTs is reserved for the NS unit to conduct cohesion activities where NSmen can socialise and network over leisure activities such as sports or games sessions.

"The goal is to bond NSmen and their families, during both ICT and in civilian life through activities in clubhouses related to fitness, family bonding and fun," said Dr Ng.

The review also charts the way for SAFRA to boost its internal operations and to strengthen branding and communications through a revamp of its website and developing its own mobile app. It will look into electronic self-service systems for its members, and enhance its revenue stream.

To do that, it is looking to set up sports and fitness-related businesses to generate more revenue towards providing better services for NSmen and their families. One such venture which SAFRA is exploring is the formation of a swimming school.

The initiatives were well received by NSmen who attended the awards ceremony. "The new cohesion-building packages will be really relevant to NS units, to help us build stronger bonds." said Captain (CPT) (NS) Quek Chee Heong, 42, who works as a Finance Manager.

For CPT (NS) Azman Hisham Jaafar, SAFRA is "not just a club where facilities are good; it is a place where all NSmen can come together and bond, at rates which are affordable to most". A lawyer by profession, the 47-year-old received a commendation and long service award for his voluntary service in SAFRA for the past 10 years from Dr Ng at the event.

In agreement, CPT (NS) Quek said: "It's the friendships forged during NS which keeps the unit together, and SAFRA does a lot to keep these bonds going. These are intangible benefits of being a part of SAFRA."