My brother recently spoke of a conference between a high ranking official in the military and cadets of the Specialist Course (people in this course graduate as sergeants). As part of their training, some infantry specialists were sent to Taiwan for their training, and they remarked that the treatment of soldiers there is much different from that they received in Singapore. In Taiwan, citizens view soldiers as respectable individuals involved in a noble profession, deserving of great respect for their tireless duty of protecting a state. In Singapore, the contrast is stark. People view NSFs as nothing more than youths who have yet to mature, while regulars are at times viewed as people who take up such a government affiliated job in order to seek a comfortable lifestyle with a "metal rice bowl" as some chinese put it.
The official, taking the question, replied that it is true that Singaporean soldiers garner much less respect from the people they work to protect, compared to their counterparts in other nations. He claimed that there was once when he boarded a commercial flight in his uniform, and the captain of the flight announced to the plane that there was a soldier (him) on board and requested for all passengers on board to applaud his effort in keeping the area safe. Later, he told the cadets that it was common for captains of commercial flights to do such announcements overseas so long as there is a soldier in his/her uniform on board.
It is evident that something must have gone really wrong on our side. Soldiers are arguably on of the most noble professions. Without soldiers, there would be no security in the state. We would have to live every day fearing that other countries can easily take over the very land we call our home. Vulnerable countries would also be subjected to lacklustre economic performance due to investor fears of political instability caused by such country being viewed as incapable of maintaining its sovereignty. In times of political turmoil, it is notable that the police loses its effectiveness in maintaining social stability. It is often the army that is mobilised at such times to ensure that there are fewer disruptions to the lives of civilians. Yes, soldiers at their best are the protectors of the weak and the helpless, creating order in times of chaos.
So why do local soldiers command less respect than their foreign counterparts? I do not have much of an explanation, but perhaps, it might be due to the fact that our citizens live in times of relative peace and stability. In other places, the role of a functional military is always one of the top priorities. The US, with its role as the "global policeman", has had the largest number of troops stationed overseas. The role of US troops in fighting wars on terrorism as well as in the recent Arab Spring showed the never ending role of US troops on the world stage, and thus their importance to the American people. In Taiwan, an example named above, the maintenance of a functional military is of utmost importance in the event of a turn in (until recently warming) cross-strait ties. In such places, the citizens are able to see and feel the role of the military in their country, unlike in Singapore, where the military is kept as a deterrent and has not been mobilised or tested in actual warfare since independence.
Nevertheless, we should always bear in mind that even without any visible involvement of soldiers in the daily lives of citizens-in our case, not even in the news- having men involved in this profession even as nothing more than a deterrent force is already a great improvement to not having anyone to guard us. George Orwell once said, "Men sleep peacefully in their beds at night because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." Remember, anyone in any occupation can go on a strike to request for pay hikes and more work benefits, but if the military does that, we might well lose our sovereignty in the blink of an eye. We owe much to them, and they certainly deserve a certain level of respect.
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