SALUTING NSMEN TOGETHER

The salute. It's a mark of respect for the people we look up to. So what better way to show our respect and appreciation for national servicemen than with a digital salute that they can receive from anywhere in the world?

As part of the 50 Years of National Service (NS50) celebrations, SAFRA organised the "We Salute our NSmen" campaign to encourage the public to show their respect and appreciation to all national servicemen, past and present.

To be a part of the campaign, members of the public can post photos or videos of their salutes on social media with the hashtags #NS50salute and #safrasg, together with their words of appreciation. They can also have their pictures taken at interactive digital photo kiosks in all SAFRA clubs and key SAFRA NS50 events, as well as selected shopping malls and bus stops around the island. The salute photos and videos will be featured on the SAFRA NS50 webpage (www.safra.sg/ns50) and screens in SAFRA clubs.

The campaign was launched by Senior Minister of State for Defence and Deputy President of SAFRA Dr Mohamad Maliki bin Osman at the SAFRA Jurong Open House on 18 Jun.

Highlighting the role of NS in keeping the nation safe, Dr Maliki explained the inspiration behind the campaign: "If you look at the security and stability of our borders, the streets, the safety that we have on our streets, no matter the hour, it reflects or shows the sacrifices of all our national servicemen, both from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) as well as from the Home Team (HT). So as we commemorate 50 years of NS this year, we want to encourage the families, communities, and organisations to come forward to show their mark of respect and appreciation to all our national servicemen."

He added: "We hope that everyone will salute our national servicemen to give them the recognition, to continue to acknowledge their contributions, for us to enjoy this peace and stability."

Following the launch, Dr Maliki led SAF and HT national servicemen and their families in saluting the generations of national servicemen who have contributed to Singapore's defence.

He also visited the various booths at the Open House, where fun activities had been set up for children to learn more about the Army, Navy and Air Force.

Many dads were seen participating in the activities with their children and taking the chance to share their own NS experiences. One dad was Operationally Ready National Serviceman (NSman) 1st Sergeant (1SG) (NS) Melvin Po, who was there with his wife and three children.

"I'm from the Army, so I brought my kids here to experience the Army activities, like the IPPT (Individual Physical Proficiency Test). They were very curious about camouflage, like why we do it and how. I told them about the things we did in NS and In-camp Training," said the 32-year-old, who serves in the 38th Combat Service Support Battalion.

As for the salute, he felt that it was a fitting tribute to the national servicemen before him, and a good way to pass the baton of defence to the younger generations.

"I'm still serving (as an NSman), so this is to all the pioneers and generations before us who came forward to serve. It also shows a taking over of the responsibility of defending the country, from the fathers to the sons."

Mr Thirumaran Muthiah agreed: "There are a lot of things soldiers do in the background that people are not aware of, so this campaign is important in bringing that awareness to everyone." The 41-year-old was a former vehicle mechanic from the SAFTI Military Institute, and is now a Ministry of Defence Reserve, having completed his NS liability. He was visiting the Open House with his wife and sons.

"People may not know exactly what they do, but there's a lot of support work going on for the Army to stay functioning (at all times)," he added.

The "We Salute our NSmen" campaign will run until the end of October.