Conscription in Singapore

Conscription In Singapore

Conscription in Singapore, called National Service (NS), requires all male Singaporean citizens and second-generation permanent residents who have reached the age of 18 to enroll for national service. They serve a 22- or 24-month period as Full Time National Servicemen (NSFs), either in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Singapore Police Force (SPF), or the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

When a conscript completes his full-time service, he is considered to be "operationally ready", and is thereafter known as an Operationally-Ready National Serviceman (NSman). NSmen are the equivalent of other countries' reservists.

The overwhelming majority of the conscripts serve in the Army, as part of the SAF. The reasons for this include the relative manpower needs of the Army compared with the other armed services, the SPF, and SCDF. In addition, as compared to the Army, the Air Force (RSAF) and Navy (RSN) are smaller services composed primarily of regular servicemen. As the RSAF and RSN's manpower needs tend to be more specialized, a constant turnover of staff is considered to be very disruptive.

Singapore is among the list of countries with a national service exceeding 18 months and a reservist obligation lasting up to age 40 for enlisted men and 50 for officers. Until June 2004 it had a mandatory national service periods of 30 months.