Basic military training to resume for national servicemen from May 26
Basic military training for about 8,000 national servicemen will resume from May 26, seven weeks after it was suspended in line with nationwide circuit breaker measures to stem the spread of Covid-19.
The Ministry of Defence (Mindef) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in separate statements yesterday that the resumption of training for these two batches was necessary for front-line or operational units to be staffed and for commanders to be trained.
About 6,300 Singapore Armed Forces recruits will be informed of their reporting dates, which will be between May 26 and the middle of June, said Mindef.
For about 1,700 police and Singapore Civil Defence Force full-time national servicemen (NSF) trainees, reporting dates will be between May 26 and June 8, said MHA. The ministries said the staggered dates will reduce congestion and allow safe distancing measures to be implemented.
Strict health and safety measures will be in place, like having all trainees and instructors undergo a health screening when they return for training.
Existing measures, such as twice-daily temperature taking and staggered meal times, will be enforced. Training will also be adjusted to be done in smaller groups, the ministries said.
Both Mindef and MHA had said on April 6 basic training would be suspended from April 7 to May 4. This was extended to June 1 in line with the Government's extension of the circuit breaker. - THE STRAITS TIMES
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