Colonel Tan Yih San is at the forefront of this change. And he says it has altered the way the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) recruits and trains people. [Added by Limsoon: I was at Imperial same time as Tan Yih San :-)]
"We could stay with the same approach and knock them into the same mould as we did 15 years ago, but that would be under-capitalising on the flow of talent," he said.
"To unleash the full potential of our Third Generation Warriors, we have leveraged and will continue to do so, on cutting-edge technology which soldiers of the future would be most accustomed to. That gives us a competitive advantage that other militaries can only admire."
This view invites a need for a new breed of scholar - not just one with top academic qualifications and an impressive co-curricular activity resume, but one who is able to see the changes in the world; make sense of them and to be comfortable acting on his own to deal with new situations.
Col Tan himself is no lightweight, with a first-class degree in physics from Imperial College, London, and a Master of Public Administration degree from Harvard. He commands the Third Singapore Division, a combined arms division of about 20,000 people, comprising a few hundred regulars, and full-time and operationally ready national servicemen.
The profession continually stretches him, and for Col Tan, the rewards are immense. "In the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), one can no longer be satisfied with the here and now, drifting along carried by the current of the day," he said. "The challenge now is to shape the future, be it in technology, policy, new fighting concept or training pedagogy."
Times change, but when it comes to getting the right kind of people, certain basic attributes stay the same. Yes, Mindef scholars need to have the intellect to digest complex problems. Yes, they need to enjoy an outdoor life. Yes, they need the traditional determination and drive. And yes, they need to be able to deal with people from all walks of life.
But there are more basics on the list these days. Col Tan looks for "a creative mind to solve complex problems practically, showing more than just the traditional way of doing things" and "a pair of eyes to see through the changing situations, spot trends, and to deal with them squarely".
The other challenge for new service men is to live up to Singapore's reputation as a small country with an international space way beyond its physical size.
"Any person who joins Mindef must be deeply rooted to the concept of Singapore," he asserted. "They need to be motivated by more than just dollars and cents," although he adds that the pay is competitive with other professions and civil service careers.
Rewards also include the network that comes from working in the armed forces as well as with administrative service counterparts in the civil service, the wide repertoire of analytical and managerial skills that one develops, and the social and people skills that are quintessential to Mindef. These help to set any soldier in good stead for the transition to a job in the Government or the private sector.
A few leading lights from the ranks of Mindef scholars: Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean, Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo, and Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang. And that is just in the Government. In the private sector, SingTel president and chief executive officer Lee Hsien Yang comes immediately to mind. [Added by Limsoon: Minister Teo is also from Imperial, and is patron of ICAAS.]
Now aged 40, Col Tan has three sons, aged 10, seven and four. So how would he feel about them following him into the SAF? "Sure," he said with a smile. "If they're up to it."
Andrew Duffy is a lecturer at the Nanyang Technological University.