SINGAPORE - Soldiers can expect to train smarter, recover faster from injury, be mentally stronger and more well equipped, with the opening of a new comprehensive centre of excellence on Friday (Dec 1).
From tailoring fitness regimes to fitting personal combat equipment, the centre will gather the work of domain experts, such as those in sport science, psychology and nutrition, to improve soldier performance and make them more effective in battle.
The Centre of Excellence for Soldier Performance (CESP) aims to bring out the best in each soldier, as the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) looks set to face a decline in manpower of almost a third in the coming decades.
Second Minister for Defence Ong Ye Kung, who officiated at the centre's inauguration, said the establishment of the centre was "a key milestone" in the army's efforts towards more targeted and effective training.
"By putting our soldiers first, we are able to develop each soldier to his full potential and give our soldiers a positive national service experience," he said.
The new centre is based in Selarang Camp, in Loyang, and brings together the Army Fitness Centre, the Soldier Performance Centre and the Soldier Systems Integration Lab, pooling these resources together to reap the benefits of expertise across different domains.
Armed with more than 20 domain experts, it will use a more scientific and data-driven approach in its four areas of focus: fitness and nutrition, building mental resilience, injury management and improving soldier systems.
"Ultimately, (the CESP helping to develop stronger, fitter and more resilient soldiers) makes Singapore a safer place by allowing our army to better deploy our NS resources to deal with the complex security challenge we will face in the future," Mr Ong said.
The centre's opening also comes as the number of full-time national servicemen is expected to shrink by about 30 per cent by 2030 - a trend Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen called the SAF's "greatest challenge" in a 2015 speech.
Head of the CESP, Senior Lieutenant-Colonel Yee Kok Meng, 42, said: "The value proposition of the centre is really to unlock every soldier's potential using science."
It will be a shared SAF resource, although its current focus is on delivering results for the army, where the majority of conscript soldiers serve, said SLTC Yee.
"We also want to leverage technology to achieve our training outcomes and enhance the soldier's performance in the field," he added.
This includes using a body scanner to collect data on body dimensions, such as a soldier's body size and shape, in order to design, acquire and plan sizing information more accurately.
This information contributes to a more customised fit for a new system for carrying personal equipment. The system is in its final stages of development.
Some of the centre's programmes have already been implemented across different units.
To improve soldiers' mental resilience, techniques to focus their attention and control anxiety have been taught by defence psychologists in Basic Military Training since September.
In terms of fitness regimes, vocation-specific fitness training has been rolled out since 2015 to active units.
For instance, exercises to strengthen the arm and back muscles will be emphasised for an artillery gunner, who has to do mainly load lifting as part of his combat tasks.
Operationally ready national servicemen have also been able to choose their own training programmes since 2014.
One of them, Captain (NS) Tan Chong Hwa, 46, who used to fail his Individual Physical Proficiency Test in 2014, managed to get a silver in 2016 after being able to choose his own fitness training at Punggol Park and Bedok Fitness Conditioning Centre.
"Being able to choose speed training helps me because I was weak in running, while competing with younger runners also gave me motivation," said the business development director.
