TANKS, OTHER FIGHTING VEHICLES TO ROLL INTO HDB HEARTLANDS

Get up close to the newest and mightiest vehicles of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and the Home Team this National Day; all you have to do is just open your front door!

Awesome hardware like the SAF's BRONCO All Terrain Tracked Carrier vehicle and the PRIMUS self-propelled howitzer, as well as the HAZMAT support vehicle from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), will make their debut in this year's National Day Parade (NDP).

These vehicles will be part of the 2 km-long mobile column, a firm crowd favourite in previous parades.

After rolling past City Hall, the 200-vehicle column will split up and continue along three routes through the streets of Singapore, and head towards Jurong East, Yishun and Tampines, the three locations for the Celebrations@Heartland festivities.

What this means is that if you live in Toa Payoh Central, all you have to do is come out of your flat to watch the 60 odd vehicles as they rumble by (see story below for the roads each of the three vehicular columns will take).

And if you live in any of the three Celebrations@Heartland locations, you are in for a treat!

At about 8.30 pm at each location, spectators will be treated to a dynamic half-hour display of the operational capabilities of some of these vehicles.

See how soldiers wearing protective suits deal with chemical, biological, radiological or explosive threats, and how the Singapore Civil Defence Force response team springs into action to manage a fire. And witness the impressive mobility of the SAF's BIONIX Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV).

The mobile column made its inaugural appearance in 1969.

Then, Singaporeans were thrilled at the sight of tanks and jeeps as they rolled past City Hall. More significantly, they were comforted by the show of might of a fledging armed forces in a newly-independent nation.

Now more than 35 years later, will these images struck a chord with Singaporeans?

Chairman of the Mobile Column, Lieutenant-Colonel (LTC) Lim Tien Hock (left) thinks so.

"Showcasing the capabilities of the SAF and the Home Team will serve to reinforce the confidence Singaporeans have in us," he said.

"The mobile column does not come by every year, its last appearance was in 2000. It remains a big crowd-puller," he said.

"With the columns moving to the heartlands this year, there is added significance. We hope more Singaporeans can join in and take part in NDP this year."

Where to catch the lean, mean fighting machines:
After passing by City Hall, the mobile column will split into three smaller columns of vehicles, and each will make its way through several town centres before arriving at the Celebration@Heartland locations of Jurong East, Yishun and Tampines.

Check out the three routes to see if the vehicles will pass by your home:

For the Western route, the vehicles will move along:
St. Andrew s Rd > Parliament Place > High St > Hill St > River Valley Rd > Hoot Kiam Rd > Paterson Hill > Paterson Rd > Orchard Rd > Bras Basah Rd > Victoria St > New Bridge Rd > Jalan Bukit Merah > Queensway > Commonwealth Ave > Commonwealth Ave West > Boon Lay Way > Jurong East St 12 > Jurong East St 13 > Jurong East Central

For the Central route, the vehicles will move along:
St. Andrew s Rd > High St > Fullerton Rd > Esplanade Dr > Nicoll Highway > Bras Basah Rd > Prinsep St > Selegie Rd > Serangoon Rd > Balestier Rd > Thomson Rd > PIE > Toa Payoh Lor 2 > Toa Payoh Central> Toa Payoh Lor 4> Toa Payoh Lor 1 > Toa Payoh Lor 6 > Braddell Rd > Bishan Rd > Ang Mo Kio Ave 1 > Ang Mo Kio Ave 6 > Lentor Ave > Yishun Ave 2 > Yishun Central

For the Eastern route, the vehicles will move along:
St. Andrew s Rd > High St > Fullerton Rd > Esplanade Dr > Nicoll Highway > Bras Basah Rd > Beach Rd > Middle Rd > Victoria St > Kallang Rd > Sims Ave > Jalan Eunos > Still Rd > Marine Parade Rd > Bedok South Ave 1 > Bedok South Rd > Bedok South Ave 3 > New Upper Changi Rd > Upper Changi Rd East > Simei Ave > Simei St 3 > Simei Rd > Tampines St 31 > Tampines Ave 2 > Tampines Ave 5 > Tampines Ave 4 > Tampines Ave 7

If you want to know the exact location of the travelling columns, just log onto www.ndp.org.sg to find out when the columns will be passing by your home. This is made possible with the use of a state-of-the-art position tracking system.

Here are some of the vehicles you can expect to see in the mobile column:

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