For risking their lives, toiling hard in the great outdoors, spilling sweat, blood and more sweat during their service to Singapore, all past and present National Service (NS) men will receive…. $100 vouchers.
Probably insufficient for all that time and effort spent, but ehh, we’ll just take whatever we can.
The Defence Ministry (Mindef) and Home Affairs Ministry (MHA) kicked off the celebrations for NS50 today — a campaign that commemorates the over one million conscripts of Singapore’s mandatory NS since it started in 1967.
The NS50 Recognition Package sounds like a hamper bag full of awesome stuff, but really it’s just $100 vouchers (not cash, mind you) that can only be used with participating merchants and retailers. In addition, NSmen will also get a year’s membership at either Safra (for military men) or HomeTeamNS (for those who served in Singapore Police Force and Singapore Civil Defence Force).
The care package will be mailed to the official addresses of all servicemen, with more details to be made available by June. NS50 celebrations will be ongoing throughout the year, with showcases, travelling exhibitions, community engagement events and other happenings that’ll be listed on the NS50.sg website.
We doubt that the campaign will allay the fears of future NSmen though — they’ll probably sport this expression on the first day of enlistment:
