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SINGAPORE : MINDEF is satisfied that proper procedures are in place for all physical and endurance training activities carried out by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), and that these are being followed.
The comments come at the end of the three-day suspension on all SAF physical training activities, following the deaths of Officer Cadet Clifton Lam Jia Hao and Recruit Andrew Cheah Wei Siong.
Cheah died after fainting during a two-kilometre walk at Pulau Tekong on Tuesday, while Lam died on Wednesday during jungle training in Brunei as a pilot trainee.
The three-day time out was unprecedented, but Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean said it has been useful in allowing the SAF to review its processes and procedures to make sure they are being followed.
The suspension also created heightened awareness among commanders and individual soldiers on issues involved in physical endurance training.
The review covered training, medical and safety procedures.
And despite calls for enlistees to be screened more comprehensively for heart conditions, the Defence Ministry is sticking to its protocols, for now.
Mr Teo said, "The medical screenings, the protocols are determined in consultation with the SAF's medical expert panel and these experts include the best specialists in Singapore, including cardiologists.
"So we go by what they recommend to us as the best and most appropriate protocol for screenings and we review them regularly. The last review was done in September 2007 and as medical technology progresses, we will continue to update and review these protocols and procedures."
Asked to comment on concerns raised that having a 3rd Generation SAF that is technologically advanced may also mean a less rugged soldier when much of his training is done in simulators, Mr Teo said, "But the reality is that the training continues to be tough, realistic. I would say that the training systems, the medical coverage, the safety systems we have in place are better than before."
In the wake of this week's training deaths, some parents have said they intend to send their sons for pre-enlistment medical screening by their own doctors.
Mr Teo had this message for worried parents: "If parents want to send their children for medical screening, I think that's a precaution they can take - not just for national service. If they play sports, if they think their children are unwell, that's a precaution that parents can decide to take.
"But regardless of whether parents do that, when they are enlisted into the SAF, we will do a thorough medical screening, using protocols recommended by the best specialists in Singapore."
The bottomline is that the SAF needs to carry on training as realistically and as safely as possible.
An independent coroner's inquiry will be held in Open Court to look into the cause of the two deaths.
Separately, MINDEF has also convened two inquiry panels to look into the incidents and the lessons to be learnt from them. - CNA/ms
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