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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - SG princeling more pampered than royalty[/TD]
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[TD="class: msgtxt"][h=2]More pampered than royalty?[/h]August 5th, 2011 | Author: Contributions | Edit
Princes William and Harry are both serving in front-line combat roles, with the latter having done a tour of duty in war-torn Afghanistan
The recent furore over Dr Patrick Tan’s National Service posting called into question the issue of whether sons of the rich and powerful should be receiving preferential treatment during their NS.
Dr Tan, whose father is presidential candidate Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam, served for only 7 months as a trainee at the Basic Military Training Centre and Officer Cadet School before being granted a 12-year disruption to study medicine at Harvard.
Upon his return to Singapore, he was “attached” to the Defence Medical an Environmental Research Institute, and given the unique vocation of “Defence Medical Scientist” – meaning that he did research and lab work – even though he was combat fit.
Dr Tony Tan was the Minister for Defence at that time.
Under standard MINDEF guidelines, medical students are granted disruptions of up to 5 years to study at local universities. They then return to the Singapore Armed Forces to undergo the Medical Officer Cadet Course, after which they are deployed to combat units to serve as combat Medical Officers.
The question of why exactly Dr Patrick Tan was so special that he had to be given a unique posting that does not even normally even exist is one that only he and his father can answer. But perhaps they should consider the example of Princes William and Harry, who are respectively third and fourth in line to the British throne. Even though there is no mandatory consription in the United Kingdom, both princes volunteered to enter into armed service, with Prince William having qualified as a search and rescue helicopter pilot and Prince Harry having qualified as a tank commander.
Prince Harry, a lieutenant in the Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry Regiment, has on more than one occasion volunteered for active duty in Afghanistan, even though his commanders felt that he would be targeted by enemy forces. He is set to return to Afghanistan for another tour of duty next year.
Both princes had to go through rigorous training for their combat roles, beginning with basic officer training at Royal Academy Sandhurst, and later on extending to specialised vocational training. They were not treated any differently from other soldiers despite their royal status; on the contrary, Prince Harry was reportedly singled out by his instructors at Sandhurst for extra punishment if he made any mistakes.
The fact that the princes are serving in front-line combat roles alongside ordinary men and women is a testament to their courage and their commitment to their country. Both were born in the lap of luxury and had very privileged upbringings, but this did not deter them from answering the call of duty even though they did not have to.
So why do the children of our nation’s top leaders expect to be given special and preferential treatment? Seeing as NS is compulsory for all Singaporean males, why should any of them not be doing their duty in front-line combat
Dr Patrick Tan served his national service as a Defence Medical Scientist at DMERI
Dr Patrick Tan can say all he wants about “contributing to Singapore” via his lab research work (incidentally, this is reminiscent of a certain Dr Janil Puthucheary who said he did his part for Singapore “saving kids’ lives”), but everyone knows that it is another thing altogether to be out in the field performing exercises with your fellow soldiers. Even Medical Officers are made to perform perfunctory and menial tasks for much of their time, and that is precisely what makes NS such a hated but respected institution.
National Service is not about an individual’s professional or academic qualifications, it is not about giving people the opportunity to make the most of their talents. Otherwise, all law students should be given legal work, all engineers should be given engineering work, and all history students should be assigned to curate military museums. National Service is about making a personal sacrifice to do your patriotic duty regardless of your educational background, which schools you attended or who your parents are.
At least, that’s what we were taught to believe.
-
Philip Tan
–
* The author is a former Singapore Armed Forces regular. He obtained the Local Study Award (LSA) to study engineering at the Nanyang Technological University, and subsequently served four years as an infantry platoon commander and instructor at the Basic Military Training Centre. He is now working in the private sector.
** This article first appeared on the Satay Club.
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[TD="class: msgDate, width: 30%, align: right"]Aug-4 8:10 pm [/TD]
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[TD="class: msgtxt"][h=2]More pampered than royalty?[/h]August 5th, 2011 | Author: Contributions | Edit
Princes William and Harry are both serving in front-line combat roles, with the latter having done a tour of duty in war-torn Afghanistan
The recent furore over Dr Patrick Tan’s National Service posting called into question the issue of whether sons of the rich and powerful should be receiving preferential treatment during their NS.
Dr Tan, whose father is presidential candidate Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam, served for only 7 months as a trainee at the Basic Military Training Centre and Officer Cadet School before being granted a 12-year disruption to study medicine at Harvard.
Upon his return to Singapore, he was “attached” to the Defence Medical an Environmental Research Institute, and given the unique vocation of “Defence Medical Scientist” – meaning that he did research and lab work – even though he was combat fit.
Dr Tony Tan was the Minister for Defence at that time.
Under standard MINDEF guidelines, medical students are granted disruptions of up to 5 years to study at local universities. They then return to the Singapore Armed Forces to undergo the Medical Officer Cadet Course, after which they are deployed to combat units to serve as combat Medical Officers.
The question of why exactly Dr Patrick Tan was so special that he had to be given a unique posting that does not even normally even exist is one that only he and his father can answer. But perhaps they should consider the example of Princes William and Harry, who are respectively third and fourth in line to the British throne. Even though there is no mandatory consription in the United Kingdom, both princes volunteered to enter into armed service, with Prince William having qualified as a search and rescue helicopter pilot and Prince Harry having qualified as a tank commander.
Prince Harry, a lieutenant in the Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry Regiment, has on more than one occasion volunteered for active duty in Afghanistan, even though his commanders felt that he would be targeted by enemy forces. He is set to return to Afghanistan for another tour of duty next year.
Both princes had to go through rigorous training for their combat roles, beginning with basic officer training at Royal Academy Sandhurst, and later on extending to specialised vocational training. They were not treated any differently from other soldiers despite their royal status; on the contrary, Prince Harry was reportedly singled out by his instructors at Sandhurst for extra punishment if he made any mistakes.
The fact that the princes are serving in front-line combat roles alongside ordinary men and women is a testament to their courage and their commitment to their country. Both were born in the lap of luxury and had very privileged upbringings, but this did not deter them from answering the call of duty even though they did not have to.
So why do the children of our nation’s top leaders expect to be given special and preferential treatment? Seeing as NS is compulsory for all Singaporean males, why should any of them not be doing their duty in front-line combat
Dr Patrick Tan served his national service as a Defence Medical Scientist at DMERI
Dr Patrick Tan can say all he wants about “contributing to Singapore” via his lab research work (incidentally, this is reminiscent of a certain Dr Janil Puthucheary who said he did his part for Singapore “saving kids’ lives”), but everyone knows that it is another thing altogether to be out in the field performing exercises with your fellow soldiers. Even Medical Officers are made to perform perfunctory and menial tasks for much of their time, and that is precisely what makes NS such a hated but respected institution.
National Service is not about an individual’s professional or academic qualifications, it is not about giving people the opportunity to make the most of their talents. Otherwise, all law students should be given legal work, all engineers should be given engineering work, and all history students should be assigned to curate military museums. National Service is about making a personal sacrifice to do your patriotic duty regardless of your educational background, which schools you attended or who your parents are.
At least, that’s what we were taught to believe.
-
Philip Tan
–
* The author is a former Singapore Armed Forces regular. He obtained the Local Study Award (LSA) to study engineering at the Nanyang Technological University, and subsequently served four years as an infantry platoon commander and instructor at the Basic Military Training Centre. He is now working in the private sector.
** This article first appeared on the Satay Club.
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