Quora Answer: Why Does Singapore Conscript Her Citizens When There are No Hostilities?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Why does Singapore conscript her citizens when no one would want to wage a war or create issues with her?” 

It is only logical that a nation as vulnerable as Singapore is prepares for war.  Singapore is a tiny group of archipelagic islands.  There is no strategic depth for us to fall back to, in the event of hostilities, and our military is destroyed.  We are not the Soviet Union during World War II, which can retreat from the North European Plain to beyond the Caucasus and Ural mountains, and train entire new conscript armies to fight invaders.  No nation that is foolish enough to assume it will not be attacked lasts long.  Most certainly not Singapore, which straddles a strategic location along the busiest shipping lanes, in the heart of Southeast Asia. 

Singapore’s defence policy is to create that non-existent strategic depth through a first strike policy should we feel that war is inevitable.  We are not going to sit around, wringing our hands, while armies mass near the borders.  We need to interdict them quickly, and efficiently.  That requires two things. 

The first is a massive investment in military infrastructure to create that technology advantage, which functions as force multipliers.  We are always investing in fighting the next war.  This means maintaining a core manpower of highly trained specialists to keep that war machine sharp.  That alone is insufficient.  As Frederick the Great allegedly said, “An army marches on its stomache.”  Battles may be won through a technological advantage, but wars are won on logistics.  That means having a body of manpower that can be mobilized quickly to put boots on the ground to secure strategic objectives with the intent to force belligerents to the negotiating table. 

That is the primary purpose of conscription and reservist training.  It creates that strategic depth of manpower that can be mobilised in ours, far quicker than any potential regional belligerents.  The Singapore Armed Forces is one of the most mobile fighting forces in the world, with around three soldiers to a vehicle.  That level of mechanisation is unmatched in the region.  In the event of increased hostilities, the SAF will mobilise quickly, drawing on those manpower reserves to create a localised qualitative and quantitative advantage, strike quickly to secure strategic depth to nullify artillery strikes against the heartland, and deny the enemy staging ground while the Republic of Singapore Air Force pounds them after securing aerial superiority.  The Republic of Singapore Navy’s job is to interdict reinforcement and supplies, and secure littoral waterways.  There is also a body of trained manpower to fill in the ranks as these service arms take losses. 

The other purpose of conscription, National Service, is National Education.  This is the period where Singapore citizens and aspiring citizens train with others of different socioeconomic stratum, ethnic and religious backgrounds, and differing worldviews to forge a unified Singapore identity.  Patriotism is not left to the accident of birth and nurturing, but ingrained in a national indoctrination programme.  This has benefits beyond military application.  It unites the citizenry and creates a nation.  It allows us to see each other, in all our multiethnic, multireligious, multiethnic rainbow as one people.  It creates a shared vision for national development and economic growth.  This preempts civil unrest along racial or religious lines and is part of our psychological defence.