NUSWhispers – Confession #86673

Third party objective point of view. Having exchanged and worked in Singapore, as a foreigner with somewhat close ties to Singapore, I must admit I remain perplexed by NS. Supposedly it is 2 years of military service. I am sure emotionally and time-wise it is draining but I am really not sure if it is as physically tough as what many of my peers tell me. Based on the resulting evidence, I can only say such claims are wildly exaggerated. Naturally there are some extremely buff and fit individuals, but the average Singaporean who has completed NS is pretty scrawny and weak. Just compare the average first year males at university fresh off 2 years of full-time military training, to anyone who has completed two years of military service in other countries like the US. There is no comparison at all with regards to physique. Scratch that, compare first year males at university fresh off 2 years of full-time military training to anyone who is on a serious fitness program for 2 years. Again, no comparison. If you looked like that after a 2 year fitness program, I am sure you will ask your personal trainer for your money back. Take myself for example. I am just a sports and gym lover who has never spent a single day in the military. I work out hard regularly but I am neither an athlete nor a military man. I have no doubts that I am easily stronger and run faster than most of my Singaporean classmates or colleagues by quite a large margin. Physique wise, I was and am definitely more muscular than most of them. Now 2 years of anything is not a short time to dedicate your life to anything, so I am not knocking the effort. But facts are facts. To say NS is physically demanding and tough is simply not true. If that is true, the average Singaporean male freshman at university will be so much more athletic.