The troops will be trained at the country's new Island Defence Training Institute (IDTI) which opens next month in Clementi Camp. They will learn about the legal powers and rights of private defense, be taught search and arrest procedures, and be given specific physical training, such as in using retractable truncheons.
The training will enable national servicemen to be deployed for homeland security operations.
Citing the 2008 Mumbai attacks, when militants entered the Indian city by sea, as well as the 9/11 tragedy, Ng added that the SAF will also boost its ability to tackle sea and airborne terror attacks.
On the maritime front, the Singapore Navy will be deploying more unmanned assets and tapping more effective data analytics to enhance security.
Ng stressed in an interview that Singapore has to be prepared for terrorism now that it is an "endemic" problem, with fighters skilled in bomb making and hijacking migrating or returning from the war-torn Middle East. He pointed to the situation in Marawi, a city in the Philippines recently taken over by a large group of Daesh-linked militants.
"The reorganization occurs against the backdrop of changing assumptions… that attacks that could occur in Singapore may increase in scale, frequency and impact," the minister said, as cited by Channel NewsAsia.
"It's a sobering change of assumptions, but I think we better change to meet a heightened need, rather than be caught with inadequate resources."
