More reports of near-misses ‘good sign’ soldiers taking training safety more seriously: Ng Eng Hen

SINGAPORE — Reports of near-misses have risen at the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and this is a good sign that soldiers are taking training safety more seriously, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen has said.

“In other words, even before an accident happens, a near-miss: Are people reporting it?... That has gone up. So I think that is a good sign that we see that people are taking it more seriously as they need to,” Dr Ng said last Friday (June 28) in an interview to mark SAF Day, which falls on Monday.

Earlier this year, the SAF unveiled a series of measures to strengthen safety after a spate of training deaths. These included setting up an Inspector-General’s Office to shore up safety standards and carry out checks.

Dr Ng, who was asked for an update on the office’s work thus far, said that the SAF had to go beyond training-safety regulations, and it was the “day-to-day work” that matters.

“You are not going to have effects from just sending out more training-safety regulations. It will not work that way.

“And the Inspector-General’s Office is doing exactly what it should: Going down to units, looking at the commanding officers, getting their buy-in, looking at practices, and changing (them),” the minister said.

As things stand, the SAF has good safety standards, said Dr Ng, and the key was to prevent “individual incidents” due to inattention or failure to follow the rules. Hence the need to reach “that last individual”.

“You can have all the training-safety regulations, you can have reminders, but if that individual doesn’t follow (them), then he puts himself… and others at risk,” Dr Ng said.

Actor Aloysius Pang’s death in an artillery live-firing exercise in January was the latest high-profile training mishap. A Committee of Inquiry that probed the 28-year-old’s death concluded that it was due to safety lapses by all three soldiers — including Pang — who were in the artillery gun that the late serviceman was called to repair.

Dr Ng gave the assurance that the SAF would continue to monitor safety during training. The Inspector-General’s Office will also, from time to time, present a report on the progress the military has made and what else needs improvement.

“For the SAF, we recognise that it is a huge responsibility when we take on national servicemen and we want to protect that,” Dr Ng said.

“We know that we have to win the confidence of soldiers, the parents (and) the community at large to be able to train effectively, but train safely.”