Colleagues from Uniformed Groups Headquarters, the Home Team Corps Council and MOE
Teacher Officers, Volunteers and Cadets,
1. Good afternoon. It is my pleasure to join all of you here at National Camp 2026.
2. When I was in school, I was also in the Uniformed Groups. In primary school, I was in the Boys' Brigade, and in secondary school, I was in NPCC. They gave me a sense of purpose to contribute to something larger than myself, taught me skills, and instilled values that still guide me today.
3. This is what we gain from joining the Uniformed Group. Our Uniformed Groups are a vital part of our co-curricular activity (CCA) landscape. The character, confidence and friendships that you build during your time in the Uniformed Group will stay with you through life. I certainly hope that through these few days, you do not just leave National Camp with new skills, but more importantly, leave with new friends that you keep forever.
The Uniformed Group Experience
4. Our Uniformed Groups contribute to your holistic development. You pick things up, you learn things, you model after your teachers, cadet leaders and each other, and you grow and develop holistically. With the world changing so rapidly, this is even more important. To thrive, you will need important skillsets like leadership, teamwork, communication and adaptability.
5. You can pick these up in the Uniformed Groups through authentic experiences and challenges. You also build character – you become more rugged, more resilient and build discipline. For example, in NCC, NPCC and NCDCC, you learn to stay calm and focused, whether you are practising the navigation of unfamiliar terrain, the investigation of a crime scene, or the conduct of a rescue. You learn to be calm, collected, and to think on your feet. St. John Brigade cadets learn empathy and care through first-aid training and hospital attachments. You learn how to treat people and important life skills like how to empathise with people and care for them. Outdoor adventures, camps and overseas exchanges will also push you outside your comfort zones. You solve problems on the ground, and adapt when plans suddenly change.
6. The Uniformed Group experience also develops each of you as citizens. They help you better understand the diversity that we have in Singapore, as well as our strengths and vulnerabilities. They also strengthen your commitment to service. We see this when Red Cross Youth cadets apply your first-aid skills during school events, Boys' Brigade members deliver gifts to low-income families through Share-a-Gift, and Girls' Brigade members support vulnerable individuals and families through Friend in Deed. Some of our Uniformed Group student leaders have also attended workshops to better understand the threat of radicalisation, particularly through social media and the internet, and they also teach you how to get early help for at-risk individuals.
7. Undergirding all of this is the important character skillset of leadership. When you join the Uniformed Groups, you learn to lead with purpose, commitment and empathy. Such leadership is not about rank. It is easy to mistake to say that a Uniformed Group rank means leadership. Actually, you earn it through experience, by setting a good example for others, by walking the talk, and by exercising leadership in service of other people.
8. I encourage you to apply these qualities of character, citizenship, and leadership to your daily lives, not just during your CCA. What you learn in school is about holistic development, and what you learn in the classroom is the academic knowledge and higher order thinking. All of these are extremely important, but equally if not more important, is what you pick up in your CCA and Character and Citizenship Education, when you learn how to grow and develop to be a good person, to be a good leader, to think about how other people feel, and to be able to communicate to different people. One example is how you can be a good upstander in school. If you see someone being bullied, you can be an upstander. If you sense someone is being drawn towards harmful or violent influences online, you can be an upstander. As an upstander, we do not look away. We check in on them, encourage them to seek help, or if need be, we get help for them on their behalf. By putting your skills and these qualities into daily action, in and outside school, you can make a real difference to someone else.
Conclusion
9. To conclude, let me thank the National Camp 2026 organising committee, led by NCDCC and NPCC, for your hard work, as well as our dedicated teachers and volunteers.
10. I hope you will use National Camp 2026 to make many more new friends, including with cadets from other schools and Uniformed Groups. Singapore needs young people like yourselves who are willing to serve something larger than themselves, and who carry a "We First" spirit. As a Uniformed Group cadet, you do not just run alone. You run together with everybody in your unit. In Singapore, we thrive not by running the marathon on our own, but by making sure the slowest runner runs along with us. Your Uniformed Group experiences have given you a strong foundation. Build on it, use the National Camp as a pivotal moment in your life as a young person and a young leader in your school, to be ready to contribute to keeping Singapore safe, and shaping our future together.
11. Thank you.