NDP 2006 - PEOPLE ON PARADE

This year's National Day Parade (NDP) was a boisterous celebration of Singapore's global outlook as well as its place in our hearts: somewhere we belong to, wherever we may be.

In an undulating sea of red, close to 60,000 Singaporeans experienced the pomp and pageantry on 9 Aug for the final time at the National Stadium before it closes its doors for redevelopment. PIONEER brings you the inside stories of our people on parade as they did their part for the nation's birthday.


A DREAM START
CPT Ong Suat Lin
Weapon Systems Officer, 163 SQN, Air Defence Artillery
- First female 2IC of Guard of Honour (RSAF) contingent

It was the fulfillment of a childhood dream when CPT Ong (right) was named 2IC of the RSAF contingent. In school, she was a member of the National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC), where she was always part of the marching contingent in events such as the Youth Festival and also NDP. She longed to lead the contingent, and this year, her wish came true.

"I suppose this year was the first time they had female contingent commanders and 2IC of GOH. I was very happy and honoured when I knew I was chosen," she said, with a broad smile.

"When I was in the NPCC marching contingent, there was not so much attention on us because, at one glance, no one knew who was in what position. But now, we were standing in front of a lot of people."

For a few months before preparations started, CPT Ong recalled her boss asking her whether she wanted to be part of the parade if she was given a choice.

"I said: 'Of course I would want to, why not? It is not a chance that everybody gets.'"

As 2IC, she stood in front of the contingent on the parade square and during the march past, she marched behind them. She also had to brush up on her sword drill, which was usually performed on ceremonial occasions.

CPT Ong said that interacting with other members of the contingents during break times was essential to building up espirit de corps, so that they could better understand each other and even communicate 'secretly' during the parade itself, if need be.

Overall, the NDP experience was very different from her day-to-day work, largely due to the heightened profile of her role.

She said: "Not many people know about my day job, but here, everybody knew what I was supposed to do and said: 'Wah! You are standing in front.'"

"There is basically more attention, but also more pressure!"

What National Day means to her:
I think National Day is definitely a day to remind us of the day we gained our independence; the birthday of our own country.

ROARING CHEERS
1WO Simon Kang
Special Ops Tactical Support Centre / Para Wing
- With the SAF for 32 years and the Red Lions for 26 years, clocking over 3,500 jumps

Prior to every NDP, the one question on the lips of the Red Lions is always: "When is the NE show?"

Why?

That's where the screaming cheers from the audience, made up entirely of Primary Five students and their teachers, are always the loudest - surpassing even that of the actual parade.

According to 1WO Kang (left), a veteran free-faller who has participated in over 20 NDPs, it is "always fun" to be part of the celebrations.

"Most of us like to see at what height we can hear the children scream," he said with a big grin.

"For this year, I could already hear the whole stadium screaming and see flashes going off when our first team member entered the stadium at about 600 feet (about 183m). At the time, I was at about 2,000 feet (about 610m) and was the second last to land."

There were two different types of free-fall jumps for this year s parade - precision landing on a spot in the stadium and the canopy display, where the Red Lions grouped-up in a formation before breaking off and deploying their parachutes individually.

Parachuting into a demonstration area like the National Stadium, which is considered a Built-Up Area (BUA), was no mean feat. Any errors in judgement and unfavourable environmental conditions can mean injury to self and others. With experience and maturity, jumpers can pick out more tell-tale signs of where things can go wrong, and make a better risk assessment.

"When we jump from 6,000 feet (about 1.829km), we can't see the stadium. We have an aerial map in our minds and the image before us is like looking at air photographs. We then get into formation before separating and opening our parachutes at the critical point. Next, we have to work ourselves into an advantageous wind cone area," he said.

"Once you are at approximately 1,500 feet (about 457m), that's the time for landing. So it does not really matter if you can see the stadium. It is more like a mathematical game: if I am at that height, upwind, I am going to make the landing spot."

1WO Kang is looking forward to parachuting into the new National Stadium, which he believes will prove to be more challenging to negotiate, especially when it is fitted with extended roofs.

"It will be more intimidating but mathematically manageable," he concluded gleefully.

What National Day means to him:
I was brought up by my grandmother, who went through the Japanese Occupation. My dad also experienced it, so I heard a lot of stories from them about the hardship. I was born in 1955, but I do remember singing two national anthems in my Primary school days - both the Malaysian and Singapore ones. The school also flew two flags. Then in 1965, we were separated from Malaysia and got our independence. When I joined the SAF as a regular, I became more aware that being a soldier was not just about carrying a weapon and looking good. I understood the importance of keeping fit and shooting accurately. Being a small nation, others are tempted to intimidate us, so National Day is a symbol of our independence.

FLANKING THE FLAG
LTC Sew Chun Liang & CPT Tan Hiok Sen
Commanding Officer and Apache pilot, 120 SQN
- Apache pilots escorting the state flag, and participants in the aerial display

The traditional parade highlight, the State Flag Flypast, was jazzed up this year by the new escort aircraft - the Apache helicopters.

Besides the two aircraft that flanked the Chinook carrying the state flag, three Apaches were also in a 'V' formation flying in and over the stadium at 500 feet (about 152m) - a relatively low height so that the audience could get a clearer view of them.

With the call sign 'Red Hawk 1', LTC Sew and CPT Tan (right & left respectively in picture) were in charge of leading the helicopters for both manoeuvres.

"The responsibility was clear for all the air units. For the Chinooks, their main responsibility was to ensure that they flew the correct track so the presentation

of the flag was at the correct position. It was also their responsibility to ensure that they were on time for the singing of the national anthem," said LTC Sew, who had taken part in two previous NDPs flying the Fennec helicopter.

"For us, we were responsible for maintaining the symmetry throughout, to keep the formation close, from the point we entered the stadium to the point we egressed (moved) out."

Added CPT Tan: "For the flight escort portion, the difficulty came because of the slow-speed handling coupled with the wind. Aircraft at slow speeds are already sluggish, yet we still needed to maintain the formation, to be parallel to the Chinook, so a lot of control from both aircraft was required. Also, the formation symmetry was not from the pilot's perspective, but from the ground."

The team took more than two months to practise and CPT Tan said they expected no less than pin-point accuracy when being on-track for the flypast.

"The reference that the committee took was actually one point on the ground itself, and as professionals, a lot of us were scrutinising that one point. If we were left or right from that point, we would be hard on ourselves and said that we were out. Wind played a part in this so it actually took us quite a while before we got it," he said.

Although the squadron was not traditionally trained to fly in such close formations, LTC Sew thinks the professionalism and standards that the servicemen aimed to achieve in their daily training, puts them in quite a good position to do such a display.

"We are trained to ensure that safety is not compromised, to ensure that all the planning is done. Although the requirements are different, our attitude towards detailed planning and not taking anything lightly, does make sure that we are able to do the job and to do the job well," he said.

The squadron is expecting to participate in more parades in the future and is looking forward to their involvement with pride.

What National Day means to them:
CPT Tan: I think it is a reminder for us that the nation exists and the efforts of our forefathers and even what we have put in to make what Singapore is today. We should not take this for granted and we should continue to strive for such excellence to ensure there are many National Day celebrations on 9 Aug, for many generations to come.

LTC Sew: Though our nation has a short history, I think it is a very rich one. It is also a time when we celebrate our sovereignty and what we have achieved. That's why I feel a great sense of pride when the SAF's air units are called to participate in whatever small way we can during NDP...this is a time when we can really give back to the nation, the investment that they have put in us, the faith and trust they have put in us, knowing that we are there to defend our sovereignty.

CENTRE OF CELEBRATIONS
3SG Benjamin Tan
NSF, Naval Diving Unit
- Part of the Guard of Honour (Navy) contingent which fired the Feu-de-Joie

The NDP debutant was fortunate enough to experience many 'firsts' in NDP history: being in the first GOH contingent to use the SAR 21 rifle, as well as a part of a fanned-out formation for the celebratory firing.

The strapping young man had to undergo over 20 training sessions, where he was required to do marching, weapon drills and precision training - to get all the contingents to work as a team and function as a whole.

Nonetheless, he thoroughly enjoyed the "vibes" from his first NDP participation, especially when the crowd was cheering.

"When you are doing something which the whole of Singapore is watching, you can really feel the vibe of National Day," he enthused.

He revealed that the difficulty of his item lies in coordinating all the various contingents, since they had previously trained individually in their own camps.

"When we got together, we needed to get all the four contingents to move together as one, so getting the timing precise was the hardest part of all," he said.

"When you are firing at a 45-degree angle, if you have one guy who is positioned just slightly off, it is very obvious from the stands because they have a bird's eye view."

As for firing the gun, 3SG Tan (left) said it was just about staying focused and "listening to the guy next to you. The second he fired, you triggered off as well. The time limit to complete the round was under 12 seconds."

What National Day means to him:
Some people don't know the significance of it, some people just stay at home to watch TV and take it as a day off, but I guess when you are in the middle of the stadium and looking up and seeing that everyone cheering, you realise that it is really a day to remember Singapore's independence. It is something to really treasure and take pride in.

KEEPING THE BEAT
2SG Eddie Tioh
Military Police, SAF Provost Unit
- Chief choreographer and trainer for the silent precision drill item

For this year's silent precision drill performance, besides referring to past choreography, 2SG Tioh (right) also got his inspiration from foreign precision drill squads from the US and Taiwan.

2SG Tioh and his team came up with three storyboards to illustrate the NDP 2006 theme, 'Our Global City, Our Home'. The first formation was the wave, to symbolise the waves of success that Singapore had attained over the past years. For the second formation, there were four bridges that showed how we connect to the rest of the world. Last but not least, the final formation showed how Singapore reaches out to others.

There were 96 drill performers from the SAF Provost Unit who participated in the item, which also featured human pyramids atop 12 motorcycles weaving in and out of the formations.

"More than two-thirds of them were new guys on the job. They recently passed out from the basic silent precision drill course, a one-month intensive course conducted by the School of Provost for all NSF military policemen," revealed 2SG Tioh.

"The NDP is a nation-wide show where everybody watches your performance, so there was tremendous stress. What s more, it was the first time I was taking charge of everything - choreography and training. Luckily, I had a group of capable men to assist me, and I was really fortunate to have them."

He credits the SAF for his leadership skills and mental strength that served him well for this challenge.

"It was not easy controlling so many men, but the SAF has trained me to be a good commander, taking charge of men and their welfare. Mentally, I am also trained not to give up easily."

Welfare was one of the foremost priorities for 2SG Tioh, as he constantly strived to keep his men's morale high.

"Every year between the months of January and August, my company, which is the Active Provost Company, are solely in charge of the Guard of Honour and all the silent precision drill performances. So within this period, we are basically training almost every day, including Saturdays," he said.

"So we had to cater to their welfare. For example, off-in-lieu on Mondays, shorter training hours and cohesion days."

According to 2SG Tioh, the most important element for a successful silent precision driller is passion, which will in turn drive the individual to hone his craft through practice and more practice.

What NDP means to him:
I think National Day is a day to show the world how successful Singapore is today.