1 NS Slave DIES Per Month. Worrying!

[makapaaa]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>DEATH OF NSMAN
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>3 in 4 months: Review needed
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->WEDNESDAY'S report of a soldier's death ('NSF, 20, dies after routine workout') saddened me. This is the third NSman to die in service within a period of four months.
I am very concerned. What my son has experienced during the first three months of his NS period made me reflect and wonder whether the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) needs to review its current operational processes. Here are a few of my worries:
Assessment system for unit posting: Of the three earlier deaths, two were during their posting after basic military training. Does the SAF have a robust system to assess the physical condition of its NSmen correctly and make an objective assessment of their capabilities before posting them to their respective vocation, to ensure a close match of their physical and psychological abilities with their assigned vocation?
Behavioural assessment skills: Is training required? When an NSman is sick, are his commanders equipped with the ability to ascertain that he is genuinely sick, instead of stereotyping his condition as a bid to skive?
If the commanders do not have such skills, does the SAF have a system to help them so they do not brush off those who are genuinely sick and be too quick to label them as malingerers.
Standard operating procedure (SOP) for reporting sick: Why is there a need for an NSman who has been given medical leave by a public hospital to book into camp and wait for the next working day to see the SAF medical officer for endorsement of the medical certificate?
What is the value add of this need to have the medical officer endorse the medical certificate? Are we saying the medical officer is in a better position to assess the NSman's illness than a registered doctor in a public hospital? Judy Tan (Madam)

I only worry if my FT pets comprain they dun have free scholarships and job opportunities!​

 

[makapaaa]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=heading>Latest comments</TD></TR><TR><TD id=messageDisplayRegion width="100%"><TABLE style="WIDTH: 100%" cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=left><TABLE style="WIDTH: 100%" cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=left><TABLE class=Post style="WIDTH: 100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=left>"Standard operating procedure (SOP) for reporting sick: Why is there a need for an NSman who has been given medical leave by a public hospital to book into camp and wait for the next working day to see the SAF medical officer for endorsement of the medical certificate?

What is the value add of this need to have the medical officer endorse the medical certificate? Are we saying the medical officer is in a better position to assess the NSman's illness than a registered doctor in a public hospital?"

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I served my BMT in ITD camp 3 more than 18 years back. During my time, any recruits whom were sick, reported sick and given medical leave by the govt doctors over the weekends after booking out were still required to book in with the rest of the recruits on Sunday night. Their M/C will need to be endorsed by the camp MO on the following day to ascertain the medical condition. No matter how sick or running a high fever, you die die need to book-in. Imagine leaving home as early at 5pm to catch the RPL at Changi to Tekong follow by another march to camp 3 which is about 3km away from the jetty. This is the far most stupid system in the SAF and I am rather surprise this practice is still in place after these years of transformation into a 3G forces. With more and more academically educated senior officers holding important portfolios in the SAF, this system still exists !!!
</TD></TR><TR><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=left>Posted by: tinyplanet at Sat Oct 04 00:28:13 SGT 2008
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[Leongsam]

DEATH OF NSMAN
3 in 4 months: Review needed

I think one a month is too low. It shows that the SAF training regime is far too lax.

Training intensity and duration should be stepped up a notch at a time till a more acceptable figure of 5 to 10 deaths a month is achieved. After all, something must be done to weed out the weaklings who would be a liability if a real war befell the nation.

 

[makapaaa]

<TABLE class=AlternatePost style="WIDTH: 100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=left>Hi Kelvine23, I am not sure if you do know certain practices in other units.

In my previous unit, NO one is support to RSO (Report Sick Outside), even if you are very very sick, you are not supposed to. If you are very sick on Sunday, you are expected to book in and report sick at the medical centre. You can challenge that if a man is really sick, he can still carry on to report sick, but how many of the Men out there really dare to challange COMMANDER's instructions?

Anyway for Joe's case, I think they should start investigating if he has booked in on Sunday or Monday. If he has booked in on Monday, it is very clear cut that he should put place on Attn B next few days.
If he had chosen to book in on Sunday, it does not mean that he is fit, but it could be he is just too worried to show his MC.
FYI, my camp MC endorsement is only in the afternoon..

I had also good buddy that met car accident, who MC is cut from a mth to 1/2. The MO even demanded him to be back for endorsement even though he could not walk, it was only when his father who is an-Ex CPT came to talk to the MO then he was allowed to be reviewed later.
He came bk to work, limbing...fortunately he manged to ORD in one piece.

This is how our SAF work, nothing can change the system.

Tk Care and hope more will survive!

Once a Man, Forever a Man..I guess only man understands the fear that is induced on us.
</TD></TR><TR><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: top" align=left>Posted by: low_willie at Fri Oct 03 16:55:26 SGT 2008
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[chinkangkor]

The fear of torture in detention barrack is real .......

 

[AvalanCh3]

older batch of ns man always says that there must be people dying so that rules in saf will change and after so many years of people dying here and there, now even in 3g army still people have to die. so how many death would be enough so that there will be a full stop?

ministers are paid millions to talk cork and do shit job and nsf are paid to go and die. no defend to country and die in honor but die because of fuck up ns regulation and screw up regulars.

 

[silverfox@]

I think before my NS days, the NS training was much tougher. Now is considered not so tough as in the past. Furthermore, only need to serve 2 years if I am not wrong.

The health levels of young males going for NS needs to be reviewed. and its probably due to the foods we eat these days.

 

[AvalanCh3]

I think before my NS days, the NS training was much tougher. Now is considered not so tough as in the past. Furthermore, only need to serve 2 years if I am not wrong.

The health levels of young males going for NS needs to be reviewed. and its probably due to the foods we eat these days.

well, generation change and equipment change but people still dying so whats wrong? ns kill sg.

every year 1k of sg migrate out of sg but how many die in ns?

 

[tonychat]

well, generation change and equipment change but people still dying so whats wrong? ns kill sg.

every year 1k of sg migrate out of sg but how many die in ns?

In a proper society, people should be living longer and healthier. If someone just drop dead. Then something is wrong.

 

[blackmore]

Singapore is never a proper societyy. With the Father around preaching that each individual will live to an avergae of 85 compare to the situation of young abled men dying in NS. Its hard not to accept the fact that there is an underlying reason something is seriously wrong in this country.

One thing for sure, the current generation of kids from the post late 80 era are generally weaker and more spoilt compare to our post 65 generation.
3 sudden deaths in 4 months is too high. How about unreported incidents that happened regularly in units; things that never reach the press.

 

[suteerak1099]

... In my previous unit, NO one is support to RSO (Report Sick Outside), even if you are very very sick, you are not supposed to. If you are very sick on Sunday, you are expected to book in and report sick at the medical centre. You can challenge that if a man is really sick, he can still carry on to report sick, but how many of the Men out there really dare to challange COMMANDER's instructions? ...

talk about disobeying instructions?

during my time, informal punishment book for enlistee was kept under lock & key, almost in mint condition, apart from extra duties for commanders & above, the men were to be charged with RP/SOL or all expenses paid for vacation at SAFDB.

No surprises, my unit held record for the highest headcount of detainees in SAFDB, and that record hasn't been superceded or erased by any formation in the history of SAF. It took nearly 3years of the unprecidented record to be noticeable by higher command to convene an investigation into the matter in case there's any 'abuse of power' exercised within the unit.

as by-standers, we can only say, it was too little, too late.