Gay men in the Singapore Armed Forces

All male Singaporean citizens and non-first generation permanent residents, including homosexual, bisexual and male-at-birth transgender individuals, who have reached the age of 18 years are required to enroll for National Service under the Enlistment Act. They serve a 22- or 24-month period as Full Time National Servicemen (NSFs), either in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Singapore Police Force (SPF) or Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

The way gay and transgender servicemen are viewed and treated is largely dependent on the views of the military authorities who write the manpower directives which govern the management of these enlistees even though these authorities are advised by external, non-military psychiatrists.

Discrimination exists because the authorities still cling on to the outdated concept that homosexuality is a psychiatric condition even though all medical textbooks and international academic psychiatric, psychological and sociological organisations jettisoned this mistaken notion in the last century and now regard homosexuality as part of the normal spectrum of human sexuality.

=Medical examination=

Part of the first step into National Service for all new recruits is the mandatory medical examination. This consists of the PULHHEEMS assessment (see main article: PULHHEEMS), followed by PES (Physical Employment Status) categorisation (see main article: PES). Both are performed at the Central Manpower Base (CMPB). PES grading  determines the suitability of each serviceman for deployment in the various military vocations. For established servicemen and women, PES reassessment is a requirement for ongoing employment. Although a PULHHEEMS is carried out on new enlistees, it is not itself an entrance examination, the attributes of which depend on the branch of the military conducting the examination.

PES grading is carried out on recruits, and five-yearly after a serviceman or woman reaches the age of 30. After the age of 50, people in service are examined every two years. All generals in any branch of the military must be examined yearly. Furthermore, service personnel under the age of 30 are required to undergo PULHHEEMS in order to attend certain courses, whether occupational or promotional, and also if medically downgraded. A PULHHEEMS assessment is also carried out prior to leaving the armed forces, in part because many former servicemen remain as reservists.

The part of PULHHEEMS which concerns gay servicemen most with regard to their sexuality is the 'M' which stands for 'mental function'. Recruits are given a questionnaire to flesh out their medical history. One of the questions introduced in the late 2000s is about their sexual orientation. Once they declare their homosexuality in the form, the are referred to an external, non-military psychiatrist who sits in with the medical examination panel  and who will perform the assessment of their emotional and mental health.

Category 302
Homosexual soldiers who declare their sexual orientation are classified under 'Category 302', a practice which gives rise to much of the discrimination they face during National Service.

Category 302 is a medical code given to personnel who are "homosexuals, transvestites, paedophiles, etc.", as stated in a confidential directive.

This code was derived from an outdated version of the ICD's (International Classification of Diseases) codes for mental disorders. The ICD is the World Health Organisation's (WHO) health care classification system which provides a system of diagnostic codes for categorising diseases for epidemiological, health management and clinical purposes. Singapore's civilian as well as military medical establishments have adopted the ICD system to classify all diseases here.

The SAF's Category 302 bears exactly the same number as the now-defunct ICD-9's (ICD-9th revision, published in 1978) codes for psychosexual disorders. 'Code 302' in the ICD-9 was the code for 'sexual deviation'. At the time of the ICD-9's publication in 1978, homosexuality, together with zoophilia, paedophila and satyriasis, amongst others, was included under Code 302.

However, a landmark development was the removal of homosexuality from inclusion under Code 302 in the ICD-9 by the World Health Organisation in 1990. This was long overdue as the world's most influential bible for psychiatric diagnosis, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), published by the American Psychiatric Association had removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders in 1973.

The ICD is currently in its 10th revision (ICD-10, published in 1992) and its Chapter V, which deals with mental and behavioural disorders, has overhauled its predecessor's codes entirely - the number 302 is nowhere to be found.

Homosexual soldiers classified under Category 302 (popularly referred to as "cat 302" or simply "302") are further subdivided into those "with effeminate behaviour" (in various degrees) and those "without effeminate behaviour" based on the arbitrary observations of the examining psychiatrist. The higher the perceived level of effeminacy, the lower the PES grading. One drawback of this arbitrary assignment is that some gay NSmen may fake effeminate mannerisms to obtain a lower PES status, which will in turn lead to less demanding physical training and exemption from staying in camp. Enlistees certified as transgender are assigned the lowest status of PES F. All personnel with the latter PES grade are not required to serve National Service.

It is not clear why the SAF persists in using such an outdated classification of homosexuality in its assessment of the medical fitness of recruits. This refusal to jettison an archaic medical concept of homosexuality engenders discrimination because the military's grouping of homosexuality together with transvestism and paedophilia further reinforces the general public's misconception that it is abnormal.

It is therefore not surprising that "302" has become derogatory army slang for an effeminate soldier.

On the other hand, the SAF may also have the benevolent intention of protecting servicemen classified under Category 302 from emotional and physical abuse by their heterosexual counterparts and homophobic colleagues. Indeed, some gay servicemen think that it is beneficial for them to be thus classified. Another advantage was the former exemption of even masculine Category 302 personnel from staying in camp and from combat training.

Since the mid-2000s, military psychiatrists have brought their concept of homosexuality more in line with that of their civilian counterparts, i.e. that homosexuality is part of the normal spectrum of human sexuality. This had led to the non-exemption of masculine, self-declared gay NSmen from combat training and from staying in camp. However, with Category 302 still in place, homosexuals in the military are marked as different and subjects them to potential discrimination.

Category 30-B
A less well known classification of psychological function is Category 30-B, a medical code given to servicemen "with effeminate behaviour not amounting to sexual disorders". These individuals are further subdivided into "mildly effeminate", "effeminate" and "severely effeminate". Presumably, this group only includes effeminate heterosexual men and not homosexuals, so there have historically been very few servicemen slapped with this label; hence, its relative obscurity.

However, since the late 2000s, this category has been merged with the other sub-categories of 302.

=Management=

Self-declared or discovered servicemen are referred to the Psychological Medicine Branch of the Headquarters of Medical Services (HQMS) for a thorough psychiatric assessment which, prior to the late 2000s, involved their parents being called in for an interview.

They are medically downgraded to a Physical Employment Status of C (PES C), regardless of their level of fitness, and put through modified Basic Military Training (BMT). On graduation, they are deployed in a vocation which has no security risks, posted to non-sensitive units and given a security status which restricts their access to classified documents. The reason for this is presumably the fear of the authorities that they will divulge confidential information and military secrets if they are blackmailed about their sexual orientation. Critics of this policy point out that if Category 302 were scrapped altogether, it would give rise to much less prejudice against gay servicemen so that they would no longer fear being blackmailed.

Formerly, Category 302 personnel were not allowed to stay in-camp overnight, nor were they required to perform night duties, but these restrictions have been relaxed, especially for masculine homosexuals. Effeminate homosexuals are posted to a holding list upon completion of National Service and are not required to do reservist training, whilst non-effeminate ones have to undergo reservist training in non-sensitive units.

=Gay National Servicemen in popular culture=

Army Daze
Michael Chiang's stage-to-screen adaptation of the trials and tribulations of a motley bunch of army recruits featured an effeminate Eurasian man whose main aim in life was to become a housewife in Ang Mo Kio. However, his platoon mates were flabbergasted when he breezed through the obstacle course with more speed and sang-froid than any of them.

Purple Light
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Videos
=Individuals who have come out about their experiences as openly gay NSmen=

Lim Chi-Sharn
Lim Chi-Sharn was the first Singaporean to come out about the declaration of his homosexuality to the Singapore Armed Forces and his experience of the medical procedure of being classified under Category 302. He wrote three seminal articles in Fridae in 2002, two of them jointly with his mother, author Christine Suchen-Lim, detailing these experiences.

Nicholas Deroose
Nicholas Deroose, originator of Singapore's first regular audio webcast, 'Queercast', recounted his coming out to his fellow National Servicemen in a chapter in the book, 'SQ21: Singapore Queers in the 21st Century'. Deroose's army experiences were also described briefly in Chapter 4, '"Oi, Recruit! Wake up your idea!"' of the book, 'Queer Singapore: Illiberal Citizenship and Mediated Cultures'.

=Forum on gay men in National Service=

On Saturday, 7 June 2014 at 7:30 pm, a forum organised by LGBT youth organisations, SGRainbow and The Purple Alliance, was held at the arts cafe, Artistry, along Jalan Pinang. It was entitled 'Every gay Singaporean son' and chaired by Nicholas Deroose. 4 young adult men shared their experiences and advice on serving National Service as open and closeted gay individuals.



=See also=


 * PES
 * PULHHEEMS
 * Discrimination against homosexuals in Singapore

=References=


 * Fridae articles on serving National Service as an openly gay man, by Lim Chi-Sharn and his mother, Suchen Christine Lim:,,.


 * Blowing Wind discussions on being gay in the army:

Declaring 302 status:

Is It Better To Declare Gay/302?:

NS Specialist Declaring 302 During Service:

Questions About Military/NS - Enlistment/Medical Checkup/ORD (Compiled):


 * Chris K K Tan, Chapter 4, 'Oi, Recruit! Wake up your idea!' in the book, 'Queer Singapore: Illiberal Pragmatics and Mediated Cultures',,.

=Acknowledgements=

This article was written by Roy Tan.