Senior Minister of State for Defence Mr Heng Chee How visited Operationally Ready National Servicemen (NSmen) from the 485th Battalion, Singapore Armoured Regiment (485 SAR), undergoing In-Camp Training (ICT) at Sungei Gedong Camp this morning.

During the visit, Mr Heng was briefed on the operational duties and training undertaken by the 485 SAR during their ICT. He also interacted with the NSmen performing their currency training and maintenance tasks, and visited the Integrated Force Preparation Hub (iFPH). The iFPH, a one-stop hub that equips Armour units for training and operations, will enhance NS experience by reducing administrative work processes to maximise training time.

Speaking after the visit, Mr Heng commended the commitment and operational readiness of the NSmen, and highlighted the importance of National Service (NS) to the security of Singapore. He said, "What came to me very strongly is the professionalism of this NS battalion and also their commitment as fellow Singaporeans and citizens defending our country. This is the kind of spirit we want really from all our NSmen because to defend Singapore, we need everybody to be onboard. This is a country that is defended only because all of us decide that it is worth defending and the spirit came through very strongly this morning." Mr Heng also spoke about the key features of the iFPH, and how it would improve the NS experience. He said, "The key contribution of the IFPH is to shorten the process, to digitalise where they can, to use data to further analyse and speed up the process... The gain in time savings converts directly into more time for useful training, more time for useful operations. Therefore more time to build up operational capability to defend this country."

Mr Heng was accompanied by Chief Armour Officer Brigadier-General Yew Chee Leung and other senior officers from the Singapore Army.