SINGAPORE - National servicemen will not be the only ones to benefit from an upcoming one-stop hub in Bukit Gombak - it will be open to their families and the public too.
The facilities and amenities at the NS Hub - targeted to be ready in 2023 - include food and beverage outlets, a childcare centre, outdoor community areas with fitness equipment, an outdoor running track and a football field.
Speaking at the hub's ground-breaking ceremony on Monday (Nov 25), Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said the NS Hub will represent more than a building where national servicemen gather.
The hub allows pre-enlistees to do their psychometric tests and medical checks, and full-time national servicemen to visit the Military Medicine Institute for specialist medical and dental care, among other things.
It will be directly connected to Cashew MRT station via an overhead bridge, as well as to the Rail Corridor, a continuous green stretch that runs from Woodlands in the north to Tanjong Pagar in the south.
"The NS Hub is the physical embodiment of Singapore's unique national service commitment and culture. After 52 years since its inception, national service has become an accepted rite of passage for all male citizens and permanent residents," said Dr Ng.
"Beyond training to defend our country, national service is also where they forge deep bonds that last their lifetime. NS is part and parcel of the Singapore identity."
Dr Ng said the public will be able to use the hub as a place for leisure, to learn more about national service, and consider a career in the defence industry.
Like Safra clubhouses, it will also be a good place to congregate and relax with family and friends, he added.
In his speech, Dr Ng reiterated the importance of national service, which started in 1967 because of the "pain and suffering" in World War II.
"The Pioneer Generation discovered for themselves that they could not depend on others to defend Singapore," he said, referring to Singaporeans born in 1949 or earlier.
They suffered during the Japanese Occupation, he added.
"Many of us, of you, have parents, grandparents, who lived through the Japanese Occupation when Singapore fell, even though it was protected by a seemingly invincible military."
Dr Ng said the Central Manpower Base used to be in Dempsey Road, where he enlisted. Dempsey Road is now a place of "swanky restaurants", he said.
He said that when his family eats at one of the restaurants there, he would tell his children that this was where the doctors had examined him.
"I don't think they are very interested. They are interested to order and get along with the meal. But it's embedded, and I believe that when we build this NS Hub, that will be the experience of future generations of NSmen...
"They, I hope, will recount to their children when they are older, and there is still national service, and a Singapore that we can and want to protect, of their experiences here," he said, adding that the NS Hub will likely be a permanent site.
The hub is dedicated to all national servicemen, past and present, for their service to the nation, as well as to their families for their love and support, said Dr Ng.
"It is my hope that the NS Hub will become a national icon for future generations of NSmen, and one that represents this nation's commitment to a strong defence for Singapore."
