MINDEF VOLUNTEERS OFFER UNIQUE EXPERTISE

The civilian-military punch.

This is something that is unique to Singapore , where volunteers who have diverse and rich expertise in various fields like law, medicine, counselling, engineering, science, finance, music and the arts, make significant contributions to the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) year after year.

Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen said this at the MINDEF Volunteers' Dinner which he hosted on 3 Aug, at the Marina Mandarin Hotel, to thank more than 300 volunteers for their service and commitment to Singapore's defence.

The volunteers, who come from the public and private sectors, serve on 36 boards and committees in the Ministry of Defence. Dr Ng presented 81 certificates of appointment and re-appointment to volunteers at the event.

Among the volunteers highlighted in his speech was COL(NS)(Dr) Kenneth Mak, who has served in several SAF medical boards since 2011.

While serving on the Emergency Medicine Specialist Advisory Board (EMSAB), COL(NS)(Dr) Mak advised the SAF on peacetime medical support protocol and policies, enabling it to benchmark its healthcare services against those of public medical centres.

"This allows MINDEF to say with confidence that the care they provide their servicemen, both in training as well as in managing emergencies, is comparable to what we see in a hospital," said the Deputy Director of Medical Services (Health Services Group) in the Ministry of Health. "That is a commitment that MINDEF has to its servicemen."

Other volunteers at the dinner included legal experts Justice Choo Han Teck and Justice Chao Hick Tin; member of the Advisory Council on Community Relations in Defence Ms Joanna Portilla, who organised visits for 300 female leaders and their families to the Army Open House; as well as Mr Jack Neo, who is a member of the Music and Drama Company Artistic Advisory Board.

Also present was Dr Mohamed Ibrahim Bin Aris, who sits on the SAF Fitness Advisory Board which advised on the implementation of the new Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT) format in 2015.

In his daily interactions with his students at Tampines Junior College and helping the National Service pre-enlistees prepare for IPPT, the Department Head of Physical Education and Co-Curricular Activities observed that they lacked motivation to train whenever they had to use equipment.

He said: "My area (of expertise) is in sports psychology - it's all about motivation. You make it easier for them to train on their own, the responsibility and accountability shift to them."

The new IPPT set-up removes the need for chin-up bars and standing broad jump mats, which were present in the old format. "When we proposed push-ups and sit-ups, (the students) could train without a lot of administration," said Dr Mohamed.

"So actually, I do get a lot of positive feedback from my students that they can now do IPPT and train on their own."