Dr Wan Rizal: To ask the Minister for Defence whether any of the support services and protocols will be updated to pay more attention to the mental health of full-time national servicemen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minister for Defence, Dr Ng Eng Hen:

MINDEF/SAF has in place a Mental Health Support System comprising education, prevention, detection and intervention measures that support our full-time servicemen's mental well-being. Additional support is provided to those who face challenges.

During Basic Military Training, recruits are taught to recognise distress signs and practise self-care as part of their psychological resilience training. They are paired with buddies who offer peer-level support, and may also approach orientation officers for further advice and assistance. At our training schools and units, SAF commanders are trained to recognise mental health issues, and interview their servicemen regularly to identify potential problems and render assistance. Servicemen who need professional help receive support from para-counsellors, counsellors and psychologists through their units or centralised resources such as the SAF Counselling Centre, Psychological Care Centre and anonymous 24-hour counselling hotline.

These measures continue to be available during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, recognising the unique challenges brought about by COVID-19, the SAF has introduced new initiatives to support our servicemen's mental well-being.

Since the pandemic began, the SAF has provided information and advice to servicemen on self-care and team-care under the COVID-19 environment. Commanders were encouraged to monitor stress levels and organise mental well-being activities in their units. A dedicated well-being campaign was also conducted earlier this year to encourage discussion of mental health issues and promote healthy habits. Remote channels of mental health support such as tele-counselling and online resources were added so that servicemen can continue to access timely services during periods when physical interactions are constrained. Survey and monitoring efforts have also been stepped up so that we can assess how our servicemen are adapting to the COVID situation.

Despite these measures, some with mental health issues may not overtly show signs, or even if they do, only sporadically. We therefore encourage the social contacts of our servicemen, for example, their family members and friends, to contact MINDEF/SAF if they notice any of our servicemen in difficulty. They may call the NS Call Centre at 1800-367 6767.

The COVID-19 situation is an evolving one. We will continue to monitor the challenges it brings and render support to our servicemen's mental well-being.