SINGAPORE — With immediate effect, all in-camp training (ICT) activities that are not essential to operations have been deferred and individual physical proficiency test (IPPT) requirements for affected operationally ready national servicemen (NSmen) waived, the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said. 

These are among the new safe-distancing measures rolled out by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) during the Covid-19 outbreak. 

ICT activities that are not vital to operations largely comprise vocational proficiency training and refresher sessions, which do not have an impact on the overall readiness of NS units when postponed briefly. Servicemen will undergo the necessary training in their next session in camp.

In a statement on Tuesday (March 31), Mindef also said that it will suspend all IPPT preparatory training and remedial training at fitness conditioning centres, Safra gyms and parks. The fitness conditioning centres will be shut.

All training in the SAF will also be done in smaller groups. Full-time and regular servicemen will continue to take the IPPT with precautions in place.

The new measures will be in place until April 30 and may be extended if the Covid-19 situation does not improve, Mindef said.

The ministry added: “While there is no requirement at this juncture for more stringent measures, such as isolating essential operational units within SAF premises, the SAF will continue to monitor the evolving situation and may implement further measures to ensure continued operational readiness, should the Covid-19 situation deteriorate.”

An NSman, who declined to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media, said his ICT began last week and was meant to stretch into the first week of April. But it had been cut short and would end on Tuesday.

The 28-year-old told TODAY: “They still covered the essential activities to keep us trained and prepared for the upcoming evaluation and deployments, while reducing the non-essential activities.”

Chief of Defence Force Melvyn Ong said the SAF would monitor the situation on a “month-by-month basis”.

“It is increasingly clear that we are unlikely to return to the status quo anytime soon,” said Lieutenant-General Ong. “So our overriding purpose from the beginning has been to maintain our operational readiness and to protect our servicemen.” 

In a Facebook post, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen encouraged servicemen to keep themselves fit, even though activities such as ICT and IPPT have been postponed or waived. 

“The SAF will do what it takes and not let down its guard, especially during this period that calls for increased vigilance against all threats and those who might take advantage of the situation,” Dr Ng said. 

Mindef said that SAF crew would continue to perform critical functions round-the-clock, such as island defence, the protection of key installations, maritime security and air-defence operations.

“To ensure uninterrupted operations in the event of a Covid-19 infection, SAF units in these roles have been separated into cohorts. ICT for NSmen supporting these critical functions will continue,” Mindef said.

Dr Ng said that in some of these key functions, it was not always possible to keep a safe distance between soldiers. The SAF, therefore, practises “cohorting”, or splitting troops into different teams, so that if a crew member contracts the virus, only that team is affected. 

On Monday, the SAF announced that guests would not be invited to the Basic Military Training Centre on Pulau Tekong on enlistment day as part of measures to stem the spread of Covid-19. Soldiers would also be enlisted in smaller batches. 

Mindef said the SAF had already put in place health precautions and safe-distancing measures. 

These include health and temperature monitoring, temperature screening on SAF premises and at events, the postponement or cancellation of large-scale events and social gatherings, wider spacing in workplaces and common areas, and staggered mealtimes.