DR NG VISITS NDP PARTICIPANTS

Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen visited National Day Parade (NDP) participants at the F1 Paddock where they were preparing for their third National Education (NE) Show on 28 Jul, to thank and encourage them.

During his walkabout, Dr Ng interacted and took pictures with participants from the marching contingents, which included Hyflux, SembCorp Marine and first-time participants Mercy Relief.

He also met with performers from the Singapore Chinese Girls School (SCGS), where he requested for a school cheer, and the Singapore Soka Association.

In a media interview after his visit, Dr Ng said that this was a group with very high morale: "It's very heart-warming because for example, in a few of the years, it (has coincided) with the fasting month. I've always asked the Muslims, 'Boleh tahan?' (Can you take it?) and they say, 'no problem man'. They're always cheerful.

"For the other groups, even though it's their first time and they have weekly rehearsals, they do it with so much gusto and commitment so it's very heart-lifting and heart-warming and I think they're all keen on putting on a good show for Singapore."

Dr Ng was the Reviewing Officer at the NE Show, which was attended by 15,118 Primary Five pupils from 59 schools.

Working behind the scenes to ensure that the spectators at the audience gallery (which can hold 26,000 people) and the 7,000 parade participants enjoy NDP are more than 5,000 Singaporeans from over 13 government and civilian agencies. Together, they manage security and safety as well as crowd and carpark access to NDP.

They include about 3,900 personnel from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and the Home Team, who walk the area around the floating platform and as far away as the F1 Paddock to ensure that NDP operations run smoothly.

"It's tough work. During planning, everybody thinks about the various possible scenarios and works hard to come out with details of the plans to mitigate them," said Colonel (COL) Tay Boon Khai, Director Operations NDP 12 Command and Control Group 2 (CCG2). His team has come up with more than 30 contingency plans.

"Every Saturday, whether rain or shine, the soldiers and police personnel are on the ground directing traffic and setting up road blocks to ensure that spectators can have a smooth and safe experience," he added.

For the first time this year, NDP organisers have incorporated mobile application technology into their information reporting system.

The five Incident Management Teams, each comprising two people, are allocated tablets, which can be used to capture images and video footage. The information is then sent back to the CCG2 via popular messaging applications Whatsapp Messengerand Skype through a dedicated wireless network for assessment.

Explaining how the idea of using tablets came about, COL Tay said: "Rather than trying to understand the description (of the situation) in words through radio communications, someone suggested sending photographs (through the apps) so that we could see for ourselves what was happening on the ground."

COL Tay said this has enhanced the CCG2's understanding of activities happening in and around the floating platform. The CCG2 begins operations during each NDP combined rehearsal at 7am and ends only after the last person has left the floating platform.

On how his team prepared for their role, COL Tay said that the agencies had come together as early as seven months ago to plan, train and rehearse for the event.

He added: "Each Saturday it's not only a rehearsal for performers, but also a rehearsal for all the various agencies here to make sure that the safety, security and contingency aspects of NDP are looked into and well thought out."

One more way to get to the floating platform

With the opening of the Bayfront MRT station in January, spectators can now enter the floating platform from the Marina Bay Sands exit, near the end of the Helix Bridge. The Helix Bridge is a 280m pedestrian walkway located beside the Benjamin Sheares Bridge.

With this new access point, spectators who are making their way to the floating platform now have six access points to choose from. The other five access points are at Raffles Link, Marina Square, Esplanade, Temasek Avenue and the Singapore Flyer.

With the Bayfront access point, (spectators) can have a leisurely stroll through Marina Bay Sands if they like, and get into the floating platform from there, said COL Tay.

It s more convenient and a much more comfortable walk for those coming from the Bayfront MRT station, he said, adding that an estimated few thousand spectators would be entering the Floating Platform through that access point.

Always ready to provide medical assistance

What happens when spectators or participants require medical assistance? The NDP medical team, comprising 450 personnel who include doctors, nurses, medics, volunteer first aiders and paracounsellors, are ever ready to provide medical assistance.

When the weather is very hot, we expect 10 to 15 people coming (to the medical post) at the same time. We manage this by converting our medical posts to a medical centre, explained Captain (Dr) Nikhil Gautam.

We have triage and waiting areas, and after that, (the patients) will go to the various consultation and resting areas and be given treatment.

Two medical officers and ten medics from the SAF Medical Corps are deployed at each of the NDP s three medical posts.

To prepare for their roles at NDP, all medical officers went through intensive training to revise their core emergency medical skills. In case of burn incidents caused by pyrotechnics, medical officers were also taught how to treat burn injuries.

So how should spectators prepare before coming for the parade? CPT (DR) Nikhil recommended the following: Make sure you rest well before you come, get plenty of water and bring an umbrella.

The NDP medical team demonstrating their resuscitation drill at one of three medical posts.

(From left) Mdm Harjit Kour from the People s Association Community Emergency Response Team, Mr Peter Loh from St John Ambulance Singapore and Ms Clarissa Wang from Singapore Red Cross Society are three of the 187 volunteers working alongside SAF medical personnel to administer medical aid to spectators at the audience gallery and along the City March route.

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