Speech by Minister for Defence Mr Chan Chun Sing at the Official Opening of the New Central Manpower Base on 14 October 2025

A very good morning to all of you.

Let me say a big thank you to three groups of people who have made possible the completion of the redevelopment of the CMPB. 

First, let me thank all the partners, designers, builders and all the people behind-the-scenes who have made this possible. As we heard from the video, this journey took us more than 10 years – partly because of COVID-19, but also partly because of the extensive work behind the scenes that was required. To the architects, the builders, the staff officers who have written the paper since the early 2010s, including myself, I think we are all very proud of this project. So, thank you all very much for being here.

The second group of people that we must thank will be the generations of servicemen and women who made this possible. I explained why it is so important – why CMPB is so important not just to MINDEF, but why CMPB is so important to the whole of Singapore and to our national psyche. 

Third, I would like to also thank the public and the community for supporting us being here and for being able to work with them.

On a serious note, for me personally, to the whole team behind this and to MINDEF, today is a significant milestone for us to see the progress of CMPB and also to mark another step in our long journey. For me, today is not just a celebration of the completion of the building. Today, for myself and the team in MINDEF, is a reminder of three commitments. 

The first commitment that we are reminded of is our commitment to defence. In today's turbulent, uncertain and less secure world, very often, in many public conversations, we have fellow Singaporeans asking: what can we do to better prepare ourselves for this more turbulent, more transactional, more uncertain world? There is one constant throughout our last 60 years of existence as an independent nation: regardless of the turbulence, regardless of the challenges from the 1960s to now, what is invariable is our commitment to our own defence – the very deep foundational belief that no one owes us a living. We owe it to ourselves to earn our right to be called Singaporeans. For that, we have to take our defence seriously in good times and tough times. CMPB is actually a key part of this embodiment of this spirit. 

We are not helpless. All of us have agency – big countries and small countries – and all of us as individuals can make a contribution to the defence of this country. In CMPB, every generation of Singaporeans who are going to serve the National Service would have come through its doors. From the early days in Kallang Camp to Dempsey, Depot and now to Gombak. I would say every generation of servicemen and women would have come through the gates of CMPB. You know that CMPB has arrived when CMPB has become a noun in the Singapore lexicon, just like SAFTI MI. In Singapore, when your acronym becomes a noun and a verb, you have arrived. Today, when you talk about CMPB, everybody in Singapore – you tell Grab drivers, taxi drivers, anybody –they may not actually know what the entire CMPB stands for, but they know what the CMPB is for.

Second, if you look at the CMPB today and the CMPB of the past, you can see the commitment to our National Servicemen and women. What we have done over the years is to make sure that we take care of our people properly. As I always say, and I have been taught since my days in MINDEF, when we take care of the men and women under our charge, they will take care of the mission. This is why CMPB, in the way it is constructed and designed, and the processes that have evolved, is a testament to our continuing commitment to give the best support to our servicemen and women – from NSmen to NSFs – and also their families. If you look at this, what has changed? It is not just that the building has changed from Kallang to Dempsey to Depot and now in Gombak.

Today, we have also evolved our medical classification system. Today, we are much more fine-grained in our ability to know what our servicemen and women can do and cannot do. It is not a one-size-fits-all; it is not a broad-brushed classification. In fact, we want every serviceman and woman to be able to concentrate on what they can do rather than what they cannot do. 

In today's combat environment and operational environment, we are able to deploy many more men and women according to their talents, according to their gifts. It is no longer just about pure physical requirement as in the days of the past.

Today, many more Singaporeans – because of their gifts, in diverse fields – can make diverse contributions to NS, and this is our commitment in MINDEF, together with the whole team; to make the best use of our people's talents and energies. So today, I can say almost everyone is combat-fit, and almost everyone is combat-fit for certain purposes. We may not be able to do everything – and no one can do everything – but certainly everyone can do something to contribute to defence.

Another evolution of this – today, when you look at the Fitness Conditioning Centre (FCC) here, you look at the approach that the SAF has evolved, to undertake physical training. It is now much more personalised, much more scientific, and much more data-driven. Why did we do this? It is not just to optimise the performance of the individual serviceman and women – it is also our commitment to take care of our people to the best of our ability.

Some of you might later walk around and see the indoor FCC. Please do not get the wrong idea that this is designed to make IPPT easier. In fact, this building was designed with a very forward-looking approach. Part of the reason is that, with climate change, we are likely to lose more training time due to the inclement weather. But this is not going to slow down the pace at which the SAF trains. That is why, not just here in CMPB, but across many camps and training facilities in the SAF, we will increasingly see designs that allow us to train day and night, across all types of conditions. Here today, you can see both indoor and outdoor facilities that allow the SAF to continue training and honing our combat capabilities regardless of weather conditions. This is also the approach we are taking in the design of other camps and facilities – to maximise the amount of time that we have to purposefully use to train our NSmen. We also know that NSmen’s time is precious. That is why the processes in this complex are designed to ensure that while NSmen contribute their maximum, they are also supported to the fullest extent possible.

Last but not least, there is a third commitment that we have in designing this building. And it is not just about the building itself, but the processes behind it. I always say this: we can have a nice building, and anyone with enough money may be able to build another building just as nice as ours. What is different in this building are the people behind it. The people who are constantly evolving their processes to be more efficient, more servicemen- and servicewomen-centric, and more effective in delivering the outcomes. That is our commitment in our ethos to stay ahead of the challenges and evolving needs.

Let me give some examples. If we look at the training we discussed earlier, about how an NSman will come in for his training after a hard day of work, and he will want the experience to be in the most seamless way possible. This requires process engineering, to think from the individual’s perspective, and how the entire one- to two-hour journey can be made most seamless and effective. Take, for example, the pre-enlistee medical classification. In the past – when I did mine at Dempsey, two versions ago – those from my generation will remember that trying to navigate through the medical classification process felt like an IQ test in itself. There were many buildings, and they are not necessarily laid out in the simplest way because we have to make do with what we have. You had to go from one booth to another, and by the time you completed the host of stations, we could conclude your medical and intellectual fitness. But today, the same medical classification process is a much shorter and more engaging. Even during moments of downtime, while you are waiting for the next station, there will be something to engage you. This is what we mean when we talk about innovating from a human-centric perspective. And this is very important to the psyche of the SAF. I have said this before, and I will keep saying it – victory in battle will not be determined by the size of our forces or the type of equipment we have at the start of operations. Victory, as have shown in recent conflicts all around the world, is about the speed of evolution.

So what pleases me most when I see this new CMPB building is not just spending on new architecture, but to hear the stories behind the individuals who have been paying attention to the smallest details, to make sure that this place runs like clockwork and is constantly innovating. I am very sure that notwithstanding the modern facilities, our challenge is to keep innovating our processes to make it even more efficient, more effective, and more seamless to better support the SAF. And if we can get this commitment right, then I am very sure that our servicemen and women will have the confidence to serve knowing that they are well taken care of, and that their talents and energies will be put to good use.

So CMPB is more than just a noun, more than a word in the Singaporean lexicon. CMPB is a gateway to a lifetime of service formation. And for that important touchpoint, MINDEF and the SAF are committed to making it the most efficient and effective touchpoint – not just for our NSFs, but throughout the NSmen journey, including our volunteers. This commitment to keep improving our processes is something priceless that money can never buy. So today, as we mark the completion of CMPB, it is our commitment to defence; it is our commitment to providing the best support for our servicemen and women. Most importantly, it is our commitment to continue to innovate at speed – to do justice to the resources that the country has given to us in defending our nation.

On that note, I would like to thank generations of servicemen and women who have served and will continue to serve. I would also like to thank the public for your continued support and partnership as we take our defence to the next lap. And may we all continue to innovate and stay ahead of the curve, for the evolving challenges ahead. Thank you.

More Resources

New Central Manpower Base Enhances National Service Experience

Fact Sheet: New Central Manpower Base (CMPB) – One Stop Hub for NS Matters