The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) will review its medical classification system to make it more «precise», Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing said in Parliament on Friday (Feb 27).The move will allow full-time national servicemen (NSF) to be deployed to vocations that they were previously not eligible for, he added during his ministry’s budget debate.The Ministry of Defence (Mindef) uses a medical classification system since 1967 to classify soldiers into Physical Employment Standard (PES) grades A to F. It also takes into account existing medical conditions or past injuries.Those under PES A and B1 are suited for all combat vocations, such as guards and infantry, while non-combat-fit national servicemen (NSmen) who are C2 and C9 are eligible for some roles like supply and transport.But Chan noted that many new roles in the SAF no longer depend solely on the traditional notions of physical or operational fitness.«Combat categorisation in the past tended to stream our servicemen based on what people could not do. But we can unlock our people’s potential if we shift towards focusing on what they can do.» Read more