MINDEF to review medical classification system to ensure meaningful deployment of servicemen

SINGAPORE - The Ministry of Defence will be reviewing its medical classification system (MCS) to refine the deployment of national servicemen, with details to be announced later in the year.

Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing said the system will be made more precise to allow better characterisation of the medical fitness of servicemen and how it affects their ability to undertake various tasks.

Coupled with ongoing efforts to redesign roles and vocations, the refreshed MCS will enable servicemen to be more meaningfully and effectively deployed, including to vocations that they were not previously eligible for, he said during the debate on his ministry’s budget on Feb 27.

Singapore currently uses the Physical Employment Standard (PES) system to grade pre-enlistees and servicemen for national service. Across the Singapore Armed Forces, police and Singapore Civil Defence Force, the grades – from PES A to PES F – determine one’s vocation during the NS period.

Changes to the MCS will largely impact future cohorts of full-time national servicemen (NSFs) when they enlist.

An average of 21,300 NSFs were enlisted annually across the SAF and Home Team between 2021 and 2025. This was a drop from the annual average of 23,400 enlistees in the preceding five years, Mr Chan said in a parliamentary reply on Feb 12.

He said the review is being done in consultation with public medical specialists and members of MINDEF’s specialist advisory boards.

“With greater precision, this ensures that our servicemen are deployed only to vocations that they are medically assessed to be suited for,” he added. “The robust safety and training system in MINDEF and SAF will continue to ensure that our servicemen in redesigned roles can train and operate safely.”

MINDEF first raised the idea of reviewing the MCS in 2021, to shift away from the binary classification of combat-fit versus non-combat-fit for purposes of deployment, noting that medical exclusions that used to limit deployments might no longer be relevant in today’s operational context, especially with the latest technology.

At the debate on MINDEF’s budget that year, then Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said the system was “outdated and retrogressive” for roles in the next-generation SAF, and made little sense when applied to roles such as unmanned vessel operators. The refreshed system would also take into account operationally ready national servicemen’s (NSmen) civilian jobs and skillsets, he added.

MINDEF said on Feb 27 that the MCS review complements its efforts to redesign roles to optimise servicemen’s contributions.

Since 2021, the SAF has redesigned 2,000 roles across 25 vocations – including combat medics, infantry platform operators and army technicians – enabling more than 1,800 NSFs to be deployed in a wider range of operational roles than they were previously eligible for.

In his Feb 27 speech to the House, Mr Chan said the SAF does not take the commitment of NSmen and NSFs lightly, and that his ministry is invested in making the most of their time both in NS and during reservist.

“We strive to bring out the best in every serviceman, so that they can contribute more meaningfully and effectively with their abilities,” he said.

“This is especially so since today’s SAF has a greater variety of roles to deal with an expanded spectrum of operations. Many of these new roles no longer depend solely on traditional notions of physical or operational fitness.”

Mr Chan said this will require a mindset shift regarding servicemen’s abilities, as combat categorisation in the past tended to stream people based on what they could not do.

“We can unlock our people’s potential if we shift our focus to what they can do,” he added.

To optimise the contributions by servicemen, Senior Minister of State for Defence Zaqy Mohamad said work-learn schemes for polytechnic students and NSFs have been expanded in 2025 to include those that train army engineers and naval warfare system specialists.

Mr Zaqy also said that MINDEF and SAF are partnering with SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) to include certificates acquired during national service in the Careers and Skills Passport, which is an online platform by SSG that consolidates one’s skills, employment, qualifications and certification records.

On NSmen’s contributions, Mr Zaqy highlighted the Enhanced Expertise Deployment Scheme, which was launched in 2022 to place those with specialised civilian expertise in relevant military roles. He said through the scheme, about 850 NSmen have been redeployed to roles better aligned with their professional expertise, covering more than 20 areas, including legal, cyber and strategic communications.

One such NSman, ME4(NS) Kwek Kiat Jun, switched roles from being an administrative support assistant to a legal officer with HQ 4 Singapore Armoured Brigade in 2022.

In an interview with the media on Feb 26, ME4(NS) Kwek, who is an in-house counsel in a finance sector firm, said he was keen to make the switch to continue to serve his country, and also to gain exposure to international humanitarian law.

As a legal officer in the army, he advises various stakeholders on the requirements of international humanitarian laws, like the Geneva Conventions, and SAF’s rules of engagement during training for wartime operations.

His new NS role took him overseas in October to Exercise Wallaby – Singapore’s largest overseas unilateral military drill conducted in Shoalwater Bay in Queensland.

In that operational environment, he provided legal advice to planners and his commanders on international humanitarian law and on the rules of engagement.

Having been close to fulfilling his obligations when he made the switch, ME4(NS) Kwek has extended his service under the Reservist on Voluntary Extended Reserve Service scheme for three more reservist cycles.

ME4(NS) Kwek said that being able to provide timely advice under urgent conditions is a skill that he brings over from his day job to his NS role.

“Having the expertise in my civilian role allows me to make these types of snap judgments when I’m in my in-camp training,” he said.

Separately, Minister of State for Defence Desmond Choo said on Feb 27 that SAFRA will do more to strengthen support for NSmen.

For instance, it will deepen and enhance partnerships with agencies, such as NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute, to shore up career support for NSmen.

Mr Choo said SAFRA will work with community and defence partners to organise road shows for the public to learn more about the various aspects of defence.

SAFRA clubhouses will also house defence heritage galleries in the coming years that tell the stories of MINDEF’s services and formations.

Mr Choo said: “In the face of new and evolving security challenges, NS is vital to our nation’s survival. SAFRA’s evolution is about helping every Singaporean understand their stake in our nation’s defence.

“We will achieve this with SAFRA serving as a bridge connecting our citizen soldiers with the wider community.”