Speech By Minister For Defence Chan Chun Sing At The 125th National Cadet Corps Anniversary On 26 August 2026 At Central Manpower Base

Ladies and gentlemen, a very good afternoon to all of you.

Honouring 125 Years of Developing Singapore's Future Leaders

Today, we honour the generations of cadets whose lives have been shaped by the National Cadet Corps (NCC) and the teacher officers, instructors, volunteers, and staff who have guided them. Since its founding in 1901, the NCC has taught young Singaporeans what classrooms alone cannot: leadership, discipline, and service to nation. These qualities do not just develop good cadets, they also help to groom leaders for Singapore.

Building on 125 Years — The Road Ahead

As we look ahead, it is clear that the world our cadets are growing up in is very different from that of their predecessors. Disinformation, cyberattacks, climate-related risks are complex, borderless, and rapidly evolving, on top of the geopolitical and geoeconomic challenges that we must be prepared for. Hence, we must prepare our young leaders for this new world, not the last one.

This is why we have updated our roadmap, and today we're happy to share the roadmap for the next chapter, NCC 2030. It will strengthen four areas of our NCC curriculum. First, NCC will leverage the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Leadership Development Framework and integrate enhanced resilience-building experiences into the curriculum. Cadet Officer Ryoji Ryan Loh, recipient of the SAF Young Leader Award, credits NCC with instilling discipline and responsibility and helping him develop as a leader. Through NCC 2030, we hope to produce many more like him.

Second, there will be a common core training that will expose all cadets to shared experiences and life skills across the Services. This will include visits to SAF units, open houses, and museums, as well as hands-on exposure to robotics, drones, and cyber skills. This will also deepen our cadets' appreciation of Singapore's defence capabilities and strengthen their digital literacy.

Third, specialised skills modules will deepen cadets' understanding of each Service. This will be through SAF training and exposure to Army training facilities, the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) Flight Experience Programmes, the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) Midshipman Sea Training Deployments, and the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS) cybersecurity programmes. Selected senior cadets will also be given the opportunity to attend our military confidence courses.

Fourth, resilience building elements will have more challenging activities such as rappelling and obstacle courses and inter-unit competitions such as air rifle and drone sports to build critical thinking and adaptive problem-solving skills.

To support all of this, the NCC will move to a new campus at Bedok Camp, conveniently located near Sungei Bedok MRT. The new campus, which will be adjacent to the second Multi-Mission Range Complex, is expected to be ready by 2032. Together, NCC 2030 and Campus 2032 are our commitment to the next chapter.

The People Behind the Corps

Today, we are not just celebrating and commemorating 125 years of excellence and history, we are also investing in the future to come. None of this will be possible without the commitment and dedication of our teacher officers and permanent staff. Today, we recognise Major (NCC) Ng Tiong Ghee for 29 years of distinguished service. His HDB Heartland Ambassador Programme trained Secondary Two senior cadets to advocate gracious, responsible, and eco-friendly living through community outreach. Subsequently, when these cadets become Secondary Three cadet leaders, they are then guiding the next batch of senior cadets.

NCC 2030 will also reduce the load on teacher officers through streamlined training packages, ready-to-use digital resources, increased SAF and partner support, self-directed learning through Student Learning Space, and a pool of auxiliary NCC trainers. Our commitment is simple: less time on administration, more time on the cadets who need you.

To our principals, school leaders, and partners, thank you for believing in what NCC stands for and for giving it the space to thrive in our schools. This anniversary belongs to every cadet, teacher, officer, volunteer, and staff member who have been part of this journey. People are, and will always be, at the heart of NCC's success.

On that note, I want to thank all of you present and the many more behind-the-scenes who have made this possible. Ultimately, the defence of our country depends on the will of our people to stand our ground. All this will start from young, where we imbue in our people the values and ethos that will see them succeed in the times to come, no matter how challenging it might be.

Thank you to all of you, and have a good day.

More Resources

From Classroom to Command: NCC Marks 125 Years With Bold Plans for the Future