The National Service Tragedy – National Service, the Tragedy

The National Service Tragedy – National Service, the Tragedy

Soldier's parents' plea: No more overseas duties
Request is for Fan's NS-bound younger brother
Monday • May 14, 2007
Lee U-Wen
u-wen@mediacorp.com.sg

Before 21-year-old polytechnic student Fan Yao Ren enlists for National Service (NS) next year, his family plans to make a special request to the Ministry of Defence. Their plea: Don't send him on any overseas missions.

The Fan family does not want to risk losing another son. His older brother, Private Fan Yao Jin, 24, was one of two Singaporean soldiers killed when a fighter jet crashed into a Taiwan military base on Friday.

At the wake at Toa Payoh East Road yesterday, the private's eldest brother Yao Zhong, a 25-year-old regular with the Singapore Navy, said: "My parents and I would prefer (Yao Ren) to remain in Singapore and not fly during NS. We've mentioned it in passing, and Mindef has said they will look into it closer to the date."

Asked how his parents were coping, he replied: "I think we can only use one word: Devastated."

About 80 people paid their respects to Private Fan, whose body arrived home yesterday at 8.30pm. Former classmate Daphne Seah told Today she was still in "a state of shock". Recalling their last conversation on his birthday last Wednesday, she said: "I told him, 'I haven't seen you in over a year', and we made plans to go out when he came back. Now, we'll never get the chance to meet up."

Meanwhile, the two badly-burnt Singaporean soldiers — Lance-Corporal Calvin Chow and 3rd-Sergeant Ramakrishnan Karthigayan — have undergone several operations at Singapore General Hospital's Burns Unit.

Lance-Corporal Chow remains in critical condition with 50-per-cent burns and respiratory burns, while 3rd-Sergeant Karthigayan's condition is serious but stable.

Blamed on ageing jets, the accident injured seven other Singaporean soldiers and killed the two Taiwanese pilots.

According to Taiwanese newspaper United Daily News, aircraft pilot Wei Tze-yuan was last heard shouting "Up!" before the accident occurred.

As the aircraft lacked a black box, investigators looked for clues in accident debris, evidence and conversation with the control tower. However, from the pilot's single word to the ground, nothing more could not be deduced. A military source told the Taiwanese newspaper that, due to security reasons, the use of wireless communications is minimised in such air force activities.

Like 3rd-Sergeant Isz Sazli Sapari, the other SAF serviceman killed in the accident and buried on Saturday, Private Fan will be accorded a full military funeral. He will be buried at Bright Hill Crematorium tomorrow.

“No amount of compensation will ever be enough to alleviate the suffering of servicemen who are injured, or the loss their families feel for their loved ones”, said Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean.

On that basis, a simple request for exclusion from highly-treacherous operations should most certainly be readily accepted. Yet, this issue has triggered many comments, infuriated and compassionate, from fellow Singaporeans.

The cruel fact is: if you happen to be a Singaporean, a perfectly healthy male, and you’re eighteen, National Service (NS) is a statutory requirement. Every boy, including myself, must grow to be a man and be prepared, physically and mentally, to lay down their lives for the country. This is a common response from advocates of equality of treatment.

Nobody is disputing that.

Private Fan’s family did not appeal for NS exemption for their other son who is due to be enlisted next year. They solely appealed for him to be given a less dangerous vocation, a reasonable cause given that few die in-training in NS.

The reality is that with the rapid advance of technology, crude manpower will not be required in the near future should any war break out. Instead, high-technology nuclear weapons that are capable of annihilating the entire human race would be utilized in place of fragile organisms who attempt a futile rage on opponents with their expertise on jungle warfare.

National Service’s existence serves only as a pledge of vigilance. Let us question: Is it worth it to sacrifice lives for a circumstance that is doubtful to realize? Moreover, we have the assistance of powerful allies in times of peril.

The unfortunate demise of Private Fan in the line of duty and service to nation definitely deserves our empathy.

On compassionate grounds, I feel that rules are synthetic, and if necessary, exceptions should be made. The exception serves also as reasonable compensation, one that is not monetary but as assurance on the psychological level, so as to mitigate their distress and loss after the trauma.

He would still serve a useful role but only exposed to less jeopardy of injury and bereavement.
The impracticality of purposeless sacrificing of soldiers for unwaged wars only reduces the chance of us wining a combat with another country, given our minute capacity.

However, if everyone advocates such an attitude our education for national defense fails. Moreover, the tragic death of Fan is merely an accident, which could not have been prevented, similar to fateful victims struck by falling trees.

The only consideration is the emotional factor of the family, to risk their sons again after a painful loss. Thus, as mentioned earlier on, exceptions should only be made in special circumstances.

Yet, I do have my reservations for ultimately, I will have to face the challenge of NS.

Not to say that I am unwilling to, but the concept of sacrifice is outdated, and I am perturbed by the hazards in NS.

It is a fear that every boy has to face in their lives.

(500 words)