[Goal Setting]
You raise an interesting point. All armies run on tight discipline so that the fighting units become like machines. To instil this discipline, soldiers are drilled - stand by bed, parade square bashing, and other seemingly mindless activities.

But we are not machine parts and each person has his own strengths and weakenesses. The Israelis have psychologists in every unit and squadron so that every individual is carefully profiled - who is the risk taker, who the skeptic, who is calm, who is nervous, and so on. They try to fit square pegs into square holes. This can make the difference between life and death.

Then, which is the point you raise, is how we motivate the individual within the larger framework. An inspired individual has a much higher productivity than one who is not. Goal-setting definitely helps and the SAF should allow more room for this. For the SAF, the overriding mission is the defence of Singapore. Everything else, IPPT, NDP, are just means to an end. If your recommendations show a clear understanding of the mission, they will be well-received.