Mindef to set up new volunteer management unit to grow volunteer pool
This is part of an effort to broaden and strengthen the ministry's volunteer ecosystem.
Announcing this at the annual Mindef volunteers' dinner on July 24, Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing said this comes as the ministry has to operate across an expanded spectrum of operational challenges today, with the difference between peace and war no longer as clear-cut.
Remarking that the ministry now deals with 'many shades of grey' in between peace and war, he said it would thus need people with different skill sets to chime in across a range of operations, no matter their background or fitness level.
In particular, the new unit would work with the various existing units within Mindef 'to make sure that we expand the opportunities for our people to contribute to the defence of this country', he said.
'The power of the SAF is not just about the men and women in uniform,' Mr Chan added. 'It is about how able we are to mobilise the whole of society to look at every aspect of our defence.'
He also said the most powerful message that Singapore can tell any party with harmful intentions is this: 'When you deal with Singapore, you don't just deal with the SAF. You deal with the entire Singapore.'
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Currently, volunteering opportunities with Mindef are largely limited to industry experts in areas such as training safety, medical advice, legal counsel, strategic communications, technology, sustainability and public outreach. They are routinely brought in to serve on 38 Mindef boards, committees and councils.
More than 400 of them were honoured at the volunteers' dinner, held at Paradox Singapore Merchant Court Hotel. The dinner has been a yearly tradition since 1998 to thank volunteers for their contributions and support for Mindef and the Singapore Armed Forces.
There were also non-expert volunteers in the midst, but they were few.
They included Ms Gloria He, a 36-year-old senior strategic initiatives manager at fintech start-up StraitsX, who volunteers as a guide with the Defence Collective Singapore (DCS) under the Friends of the Singapore Discovery Centre (SDC) initiative.
Ms Gloria He volunteers as a guide with the Defence Collective Singapore under the Friends of the Singapore Discovery Centre initiative.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
The SDC is one of the three museums managed by DCS, a Mindef-related organisation with a mission to champion Singapore's defence story through immersive galleries and engaging experiences.
Mindef said the current volunteers' contributions have allowed the ministry to stay updated on industry best practices and organisational processes.
The volunteers also serve as a link between Mindef and the public by promoting public awareness on defence and inspiring support for national service, it said.
Present at the dinner was Associate Professor Mark Leong, a 64-year-old doctor who has served as chairman of the SAF Emergency Medicine Specialist Advisory Board since 2017. The board was convened to help shape a professional and responsive SAF medical ecosystem.
Associate Professor Mark Leong has served as chairman of the SAF Emergency Medicine Specialist Advisory Board since 2017.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
Prof Leong, a senior consultant for emergency medicine at the Singapore General Hospital, said he found the volunteering work meaningful as the plans he is roped in to provide his professional opinion on are 'real, solid developments – not just drawer plans or good-to-have ideas'.
One example is the SAF emergency ambulance service, which the SAF Medical Corps introduced in 2015 to allow the direct evacuation of serious casualties at training areas outside SAF camps to the nearest restructured hospital while they receive appropriate medical treatment en route.
Prof Leong said the advisory board provided views during the conception phase on how the plan could be implemented and resourced, as well as how the SAF's paramedics could be trained to provide the service.
These days, the Medical Corps taps the advisory board more for its views on forward-looking areas such as how to prevent injuries in soldiers, he said.
The pool of Mindef volunteers is not necessarily all citizens.
For one, Ms He, who helps with the SDC's Defence Through The Ages guided tour, is a Chinese national. She got involved in the work in late 2023, not long after she moved to Singapore three years ago for work.
As a guide, Ms He shares stories of Singapore's defence history with various community groups, including beneficiaries like nursing homes.
She said she sought the volunteering opportunity as she is interested in history, and used to volunteer with museums in other countries where she lived.
This is her way of making a positive contribution to Singapore now that she lives here, she said, noting that she influenced her Canadian husband to start volunteering with DCS too.
Foreigners like her do have a part to play, she stressed.
'It is good for the region that Singapore is stable, strong and sends a signal that it has the ability to defend itself. It is good for Asean, good for Asia and good for peace in general,' she said.
'We both work in business, so when there is peace, it is easy to grow business as well. It's kind of like a connected circle.'
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