Mindef to design facilities that maximise training time amid unpredictable weather: Chan Chun Sing

14/10/2025 65 Views

SINGAPORE – The new Central Manpower Base (CMPB) in Hillview has a fitness conditioning centre with a sheltered rubber running track, so physical training and fitness tests can be conducted rain or shine.

It is one example of how the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) intends to maximise training time in the face of climate change and unpredictable weather, Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing said on Oct 14 at the official opening of the new site.

“With climate change, we are likely to lose more training time due to the inclement weather. But this is not going to slow down the pace at which the SAF (Singapore Armed Forces) trains,” he said, explaining the building’s forward-looking design.

“That is why, not just here in CMPB, but across many camps and training facilities in the SAF, we will increasingly see designs that allow us to train day and night, across all types of conditions.”

This is being done to “maximise the amount of time that we have to purposefully use to train our NSmen”, he added.

CMPB’s Fitness Conditioning Centre is the first one in Singapore with a sheltered rubber running track.

It opened on Oct 14 and lets NSmen take their individual physical proficiency tests (IPPTs) and undergo the National Service Fitness Improvement Programme.

Around 60,000 NSmen are expected to use the facility every year.

Third Sergeant (NS) Sheldon Yen Jia Jun, a physical training instructor who had taken part in the centre’s user-testing trials, said unfavourable weather at outdoor centres can lead to delays of about an hour each time.

“It is not ideal for NSMen who come for their IPPT after work to have to be stuck there for three or four hours (in total). Now that everything is indoors, I think there is a lot of time being saved.”

The CMPB’s fitness conditioning centre is the first one with a sheltered rubber running track.

ST PHOTO: GIN TAY

Apart from the fitness facility, the new CMPB is a one-stop hub for all national service-related administrative matters, from medical screenings to personal kit replacements.

It is home to the Medical Classification Centre, where young men undergo pre-enlistment medical check-ups to be classified for their NS roles.

Since CMPB moved its operations in June from Depot Road to Hillview, around 10,000 pre-enlistees have completed their procedures there.

Colonel Iain Hoo Wei Wei, who is CMPB’s commander, highlighted a new feature at the medical centre – pre-enlistees can use their phones to check what procedures they have to undergo and their queue status.

He added that the foodcourt, which is operated by Timbre+ and opened in August, is an example of a publicly accessible feature of the building catering to loved ones accompanying NSmen and pre-enlistees.

“Because we exist in the heartland, in the neighbourhood, the thought of making it a hybrid set-up similar to a mixed development does help us to be closer to the community,” he added.

The CMPB is also home to the Medical Classification Centre.

ST PHOTO: GIN TAY

Mr Chan said the way CMPB was designed is a testament to Mindef’s continuing commitment to give the best support to servicemen and servicewomen and their families.

He also noted that Mindef has fine-tuned its medical classification system to better determine what servicemen and servicewomen can and cannot do.

It is no longer just about physical requirements, as it was in the past, Mr Chan explained. Given today’s combat and operational environments, Mindef deploys many more men and women to roles based on their talents.

“Today, I can say almost everyone is combat-fit, and almost everyone is combat-fit for certain purposes. We may not be able to do everything – and no one can do everything – but certainly everyone can do something to contribute to defence.”