Senior Minister of State for Defence: Basic Military Training Continues Safely Amidst COVID-19

Senior Minister of State for Defence Mr Zaqy Mohamad receiving a brief on the adjustments to the conduct of the technical handling training on the SAR 21 during his visit to Basic Military Training Centre (BMTC).

Senior Minister of State for Defence Mr Zaqy Mohamad visited the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF)'s Basic Military Training Centre (BMTC) at Pulau Tekong this morning. During the visit, Mr Zaqy observed recruits undergoing technical handling training on the Singapore Assault Rifle - 21st Century (SAR 21) in preparation for their live-firing exercise next week. He engaged the servicemen and encouraged them to continue to uphold high standards of training, while adhering to strict safe management measures put in place to safeguard their health and safety. These measures include twice-daily temperature taking, enhanced hygiene practices and frequent disinfection of common areas. Servicemen have been split into smaller functional groups for all activities and meal times have been staggered to avoid cross-interaction between groups. Recruits or instructors who exhibit acute respiratory infection symptoms will also be separated from the rest immediately and tested for COVID-19 infection.

During the visit, Mr Zaqy also observed new enlistees taking the oath of allegiance at the oath-taking ceremony with safe management measures in place, as part of the modified enlistment process.

Speaking at the end of his visit, Mr Zaqy said, "We have to ensure that our training and the operational readiness of the SAF is not impacted, whether we have COVID-19 or not. I think it is important that we continue to maintain a strong SAF for future generations. The BMTC provides for and trains our recruits to ensure we can train young men and maintain our operational readiness in time to come." Mr Zaqy also emphasised the importance for the SAF to uphold high standards of training without compromising the health and safety of servicemen. He said, "It is important we maintain high levels of readiness and high levels of preparation to ensure the military operations and security of our nation continues to be protected. And certainly today, as we look at how the BMTC runs, we are still enlisting recruits and putting training measures in place to ensure our servicemen continue to be safe and their health is taken care of during this period as well."

The SAF is progressively stepping up its training tempo in the coming months. The SAF will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation in Singapore and review the safe management measures in place to keep servicemen safe.

Recruits undergoing technical handling training on the SAR 21.

Mr Zaqy engaging recruits during his visit to BMTC.

Safe distancing measures have been implemented during the oath-taking ceremony as part of the modified enlistment process.

Mr Zaqy (second from left) being briefed by Commander BMTC COL Yee Kok Meng (third from right) on the safe management measures at the BMTC cookhouse. Perspex screens have been installed at the dining areas to minimise virus transmission.