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Army looking into simpler IPPT format

SINGAPORE — The Singapore Army is looking into a simpler Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT) format which national servicemen can train for in their spare time as part of their lifestyle, said Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen at his annual SAF Day interview last week.

Operationally Ready National Servicemen taking the Individual Physical Proficiency Test. Photo: MINDEF

Operationally Ready National Servicemen taking the Individual Physical Proficiency Test. Photo: MINDEF

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SINGAPORE — The Singapore Army is looking into a simpler Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT) format which national servicemen can train for in their spare time as part of their lifestyle, said Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen at his annual SAF Day interview last week.

The Army is looking to reduce the number of IPPT stations, having found a format which can maintain the fitness standards with fewer stations after a serious study of other militaries, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen told reporters at the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) last Tuesday.

“We are among the few militaries that use five. Others use three, some more, but a majority among the militaries actually use simpler tests because it’s simpler to administer and simpler to train for,” said Dr Ng. “So (the) Army is again, in the last legs of evaluating and trying to see whether we can come up with simpler tests.”

He has encouraged the Army to announce the IPPT changes “within the next few months”. There may also be “a bigger range in terms of what means to be fit”, he added, but more details of the changes will have to wait until the Chief of Army Major-General Perry Lim and his commanders study them.

Dr Ng’s comments came as Mindef moves to implement some of the 30 recommendations by the Committee to Strengthen National Service (CSNS), including increased recognition benefits for NSmen and eased travel restrictions.

The IPPT was launched in 1979 and taken by some 116,000 Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) personnel annually. The test format, unchanged since 1982, requires servicemen to go through sit-ups, standing broad jumps, pull-ups, 2.4 km run and a 4 x 10 m shuttle run.

Dr Ng said that simpler tests do not mean easier tests.

He said: “We want a fit SAF, we want fit NSmen. I mean that’s something which we must have so that we can have a fit military. But I think in keeping with the national psyche and psyche of a younger generation, we also want to move away from it being seen as an imposition or a test to something which is a lifestyle.”

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