Minister Josephine Teo appointed as new president of HomeTeamNS

HomeTeamNs, the non-profit group that serves operationally ready national servicemen (NSmen) from the Singapore Police Force and Singapore Civil Defence Force, has appointed its new president, Ms Josephine Teo, the first woman to lead this group.

Ms Teo, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, the Second Minister for Manpower and Home Affairs, took over this position from Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for National Development, Mr Desmond Lee.

When asked about her appointment, she stated that being the first woman president of HomeTeamNs did not bother her as the organisation’s members have welcomed her.

Ms Teo also said, “The good thing is that HomeTeamNS is supported by a very committed team of volunteers, and they have been through NS. They bring many good ideas to the table; I am very happy to serve alongside them,” when asked if her lack of national service experience would be an issue.

Mrs Teo said she plans to continue making HomeTeamNS relevant to its members – the clubhouses will be her next priority, saying, “As a result of this year-long celebration (NS50 to mark 50 years of national service) and added push in activities, we now have 200,000 members, and we want to be able to reach out to them and get them involved in the development of the clubhouses so that whatever we put into them is relevant.”

Mrs Teo launched the organisation’s revamped Frontline bimonthly magazine, which now has a microsite, at the HomeTeamNS Members Extravaganza held at Suntec City yesterday, as well as handing out 66 Children’s Education Awards worth $42,000 in total.

HomeTeamNS member Jason Lim, a 34-year-old digital media entrepreneur, told The Straits Times that he was excited about Mrs Teo’s appointment, saying, “I think she has shown a lot of support for NSmen all along, and there are many things we are looking forward to doing with her, like the digital transformation of the way we communicate with our members.”

Mrs Teo also launched the #NSmemories campaign that aims to raise the profile of Home Team NSmen and give them a platform to remember their NS days where members can upload their memories to the Frontline microsite, and selected stories will be turned into comic strips.