We refer to Dr Sanjay C. Kuttan's letter ("Make Nursing a NS Vocation") on 31 July and thank him for his suggestion.

In deploying our full-time national servicemen to meet operational needs, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and Home Team match them to National Service (NS) vocations based on their skills, qualifications, suitability and interest. Those with qualifications in nursing may be deployed as medics in the SAF and as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) in the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF). These are also NS vocations for which pre-enlistees can indicate their interest during their pre-enlistment process.

SAF medics and SCDF EMTs are among the first responders in an emergency. Both full-time and operationally ready national servicemen in these vocations have been contributing to our national COVID-19 health care efforts.

As announced earlier this year, the NS Review Committee under the Ministry of Defence is looking into further optimising skill-based deployments to better meet our national defence and security needs while bringing about a more meaningful NS experience. The Committee will provide periodic updates on the outcomes of the review.

Lee Chung Wei
Director Manpower
Ministry of Defence