I used to treat my in-camp training as a "holiday camp", until I realised how important it is to defend Singapore when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990.

Now that Russia has invaded Ukraine, I reminded my son who is doing his national service (NS) to take his training seriously.

Freedom is something that every Singaporean must fight for. We want freedom, but freedom doesn't come for free.

It is an honour to serve NS to give back to the country that has provided us so much. It is an important insurance against adversity, and instils discipline and respect in able-bodied citizens.

Tee Kok Hai