Give equal recognition to Home Team NSmen

Recent discussions about having more recognition for National Servicemen (NSmen) have, in my opinion, sidelined a key group of NSmen who have contributed significantly to the continued development of Singapore during peacetime: Those from the Home Team.

These full-time NSmen (NSFs) rush into houses on fire side by side with Singapore Civil Defence Force regulars. They are the lads who patrol the streets while we sleep soundly.

Many a time, the danger they face is real, yet they continue with their duties out of the limelight, which is on their brethren in the Singapore Armed Forces.

Their contributions were further overshadowed by the somewhat one-sided portrayal of NSFs in the film Ah Boys to Men and its sequel. With the films breaking into the Taiwanese market, how is our NS being depicted to citizens of other countries?

While we push for greater recognition of the boys in green, let us never forget the equal dedication and commitment of the boys in blue.