SINGAPORE — In the past, parents of National Service enlistees got to board a ferry to Pulau Tekong and see off their sons before they begin their nine-week Basic Military Training (BMT).

On Wednesday (April 1), Ms Jennifar Sy had brief moments to bid goodbye to her only son when she dropped him off at the parade square of Selarang Camp in Loyang.

She is among the first group of parents whose sons would go through an enlistment process and training that would be quite different from what their predecessors had experienced.

The changes are part of the enhanced safe-distancing measures among new recruits put up by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), in alignment with the broader measures by the Government.

Ms Sy, a 56-year-old freelance artist, said: “Some of my other friends went with their sons to Pulau Tekong. We were looking forward to doing so as it’s my only chance to go there. I hope someday they will let us (parents) in there,” 

Pulau Tekong is only accessible by ferry from the SAF Ferry Terminal.

The Ministry of Defence (Mindef) invited the media to observe the new procedures that new enlistees had to go through on Wednesday.

Unlike before where enlistees and guests would usually gather at Pasir Ris bus interchange before being taken to SAF Ferry Terminal by shuttle bus, the 500 enlistees on Wednesday had to first register in smaller batches at Selarang Camp.

A Mindef spokesperson said that there is no change to the total number of enlistees with the new enlistment process each day.

After registration, the enlistees boarded chartered buses where they sat one seat apart from each other. The buses took them to SAF Ferry Terminal, where the enlistees boarded ferries, observing the same safe-distancing measures.

At Pulau Tekong, enlistees filed into an auditorium where 40 of them, standing seats apart, took an oath of allegiance, led by Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Dennis Oh, the commanding officer of BMTC School 1.

It used to be that up to 150 enlistees would take the oath at the same time.

Safe-distancing measures are also observed at the cookhouse, which now has to operate longer hours to facilitate staggered meal times.

Mindef said that training during BMT will mostly be conducted at a section, rather than platoon level. A section usually consists of 16 people while a platoon has 64.

Despite this shift, the intensity of training will not be compromised, LTC Oh said. He oversees the training, safety and administration of recruits during BMT.

He added that the BMTC is ready to implement further measures if the Covid-19 pandemic deteriorates further.

“To the public as well as to the parents, we just want to assure them that the welfare and well-being of our soldiers is our top priority. These enhanced measures are important and necessary for us to ensure the operational readiness of SAF and, at the same time, to also safeguard the well-being of our soldiers,” LTC Oh said.