SINGAPORE — Those who are due for National Service enlistment in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) in May will not need to physically report on their scheduled enlistment dates.

The three uniformed groups are extending their circuit breaker measures, which were originally from April 7 to May 4, until June 1 in tandem with the extension of the nationwide Covid-19 circuit breaker period.

Basic Military Training for SAF recruits and its equivalent for SPF (Police Officers Basic Course) and SCDF (Basic Rescue Training) recruits will be suspended until June 1, the defence and home affairs ministries said on Wednesday (April 22).

In-camp training and the Individual Physical Proficiency Test for Operationally-Ready National Servicemen in the SAF, SPF and SCDF will also be suspended.

The 2,480 SAF pre-enlistees as well as 680 from the police and SCDF combined who are due for enlistment in May 2020 will be “administratively enlisted” instead.

They will have to stay at home until the suspension of their basic training is lifted, and be informed of their new reporting date.

Overall, some 6,250 SAF recruits and about 2,300 from the police and SCDF combined are affected by the suspension of basic training during the circuit breaker period.

To ensure their Operationally Ready Date will not be affected, adjustments will be made to the recruits’ training.

The Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said, however, that “training critical for the build-up of operational units” will continue.

“This is to ensure that the SAF have sufficient operational units to respond to threats to Singapore’s peace and security, even as we continue to support the national Covid-19 efforts,” said Mindef.

“Servicemen in active units undergoing operational training and SAF training schools, less the Basic Military Training Centre, will continue to adhere to the measures previously announced.”

Those who are performing critical functions, such as island defence, protection of key installations, maritime security, air defence and counter-terrorism operations, will continue to be cohorted, and reside in their camps and bases before and during their operational duty to reduce the risk of infection in the critical operational units.

Separately, the Ministry of Home Affairs said all essential training will continue in order to maintain the operational readiness of the Home Team. This includes Officer Cadet Training for SPF and SCDF trainees, as well as operationally essential in-camp training for Operationally Ready National Servicemen.