SINGAPORE – Full-time national servicemen (NSFs) will soon be able to take on a wider range of vocations than they would have been eligible for in the past following changes to the medical classification system (MCS).
Under the refreshed system, those enlisting from October 2027 will no longer be given a Physical Employment Standard (PES) status after their medical screening. Instead, they will be told of specific medical exemptions, if any, based on their medical conditions and in line with their functional abilities.
Alongside the change, the basic military training (BMT) regime will also be updated, with recruits funnelled into three different programmes depending on their medical exemptions.
Announcing the changes on April 13, Minister for Defence Chan Chun Sing said the refreshed MCS aims to let servicemen best fulfil their potential, while ensuring that the safety of NSFs and operationally ready national servicemen (NSmen) is never compromised.
He noted that the nature of warfare has changed, and as a result previous terms such as combat- and non-combat fit, as well as front-line and back, have been superseded by new technology and warfighting concepts.
“Today, actually, there are many forms of what we call combat fitness – it’s not just the usual muscular activities that you can do in the past that matter,” he said.
“Technology has enabled many of our people to do more and to do better, so (these changes) allow our people to fulfil their potential and to do what they are most suited for.”
The refreshed system will enable about 1,200 servicemen to be deployed annually to vocations and roles they would have previously been ineligible for, said the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in a joint statement.
Existing NSFs and NSmen will retain their PES status, unless they have any changes in their medical conditions. The current PES system remains robust and safe, said the ministries.
The refresh is the most consequential update to the MCS since 2009, when the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) introduced new BMT programmes for PES B2, PES C and obese enlistees.
The PES, which has been used by the SAF and Home Team since the 1970s, was further fine-tuned with more tiers in subsequent years, though the system remained broadly about whether one was fit or unfit for combat roles.
Under the refreshed MCS, pre-enlistees will continue to undergo a medical screening. They will then receive specific medical exemptions based on their medical condition, instead of an aggregated PES status.
They will also be told at this point whether they are eligible for an eight-week reduction in their full-time NS duration, which is granted if they attain 61 points or more in their Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT).
Enlistees without training or activity-related medical exemptions will be routed to BMT Programme 1, which includes physical training, the IPPT, standard obstacle course (SOC) and route marches.
They will be eligible for combat roles – such as infantry and guards – combat support and combat service support vocations.
