16 July 2007
In an ideal world, the parade commander for this year's National Day Parade (NDP) would be a 40-year-old National Serviceman (NSman) - tying in perfectly with the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of National Service in Singapore.
"However, the organisers took quite a while to search for a suitable candidate and found me instead," joked Lieutenant-Colonel (NS) See Tow Pak Onn (right), who is 49 this year.
The Brigade Commander of the 24th Singapore Infantry Brigade is only the third NSman to land the coveted post of NDP parade commander ever since the parade has been held.
After completing his NS liability in 2000, LTC (NS) See Tow signed up for the Reservist on Voluntary Extended Reserve Services Scheme to continue his service to the Singapore Armed Forces.
He is delighted to be selected as parade commander and is determined to put in the time and effort required to do the job well.
Getting familiar with the new venue and contending with the "openness" of the floating platform means he has to spend practically all his Saturdays at rehearsals and training, only reaching home at about 10pm, after debriefs have concluded.
Time spent driving in the car is also fully maximised as he practises his vocal commands while on the road.
"It is actually the only place I can really practice on a normal day," he explained.
"We don't have a studio and you can't really practice at home since you will disturb your neighbours!"
After his stint as parade commander, LTC (NS) See Tow hopes more NSmen will be given the opportunity to take charge of the parade in future.
"There's a close association between National Day and National Service as we are essentially celebrating our independence," Chairman NDP 2007 Parade & Ceremonies Committee, Colonel (COL) Lim Kok Siong, told PIONEER.
"When Singapore was thrust into independence in 1965, National Service soon followed as the first steps to building a nation. Where there was uncertainty before, people now come together, standing tall and proud as a nation."
The parade and ceremony segment of NDP traditionally showcases the precision and discipline of the participating contingents and this year, it will continue to be anchored upon the five pillars of Total Defence, as it retains the pomp and pageantry aspect through the Guards-of-Honour (GOH) and the display of colours.
The contingents will be entering the parade grounds from four tunnels under the seating gallery and merge into a three-pronged approach onto the floating platform.
Every inch of the platform - which is the size of a football field – has been measured so as to design precise manoeuvres for close to 2,000 people on parade. The military and Home Team contingents will form up the words "NDP 07" before morphing later into “NS 40” (pictured left).
With a smaller audience capacity and the clear segregation between the audience and the performers at the new venue, organisers have made it a point to increase the interaction and involvement of the public - those with and without tickets alike.
"With constraints, there are also opportunities to be found," said COL Lim.
"This year, the uncasing of the colours will be done at Suntec Convention Centre, with the GOH and the colours party leading some of the contingents to march towards the parade arena."
Another rare treat would be to have a full-view of the 25-pounders executing the 21-gun salute at the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort site.
"NDP is never just about the performances and how good the show is," pointed out COL Lim.
"It is about everybody coming together as one people and sharing feelings and experiences."
source from : http://40years.ns.sg/portal/ns/news_announcements/nsman_parade_commander/
| Rating: | ★★★★★ |
| Category: | Other |
SOURCE from : http://www.ndp.org.sg/infocomm/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Here's the website... on behalf of the supporter and for those who miss those bands which playing their countries...
sources from : http://liveearth.msn.com
Here is one new scan of the up and coming Kamen Rider THE NEXT movie
34 year later... Quite a old Masked Rider, but still miss Masked Rider 555, because of the phone they had to call and press the number !!! e.g 555 or 913 to transform !!!
| Posted: 27 Jun 2007, 0000 hours (Time is GMT +8 hours) |
The Army's 1st Commando Battalion, the Republic of Singapore Navy's RSS VENGEANCE, and Republic of Singapore Air Force's 140 Squadron, have won the Best Combat Unit, Best Ship, and Best Fighter Squadron, awards respectively. In addition, 10 National Service (NS) units will also be recognised for outstanding performance during the last work year. President S R Nathan and Minister for Defence, Teo Chee Hean will present the awards on 1 Jul 07 during the SAF Day Parade at SAFTI Military Institute. |
| Posted: 28 Jun 2007, 1800 hours (Time is GMT +8 hours) |
The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) promoted 463 officers from the Army, Navy and Air Force to the next higher rank. The officers promoted include regulars and Operationally Ready National Servicemen (NSmen). Minister for Defence, Mr Teo Chee Hean presented certificates of promotion to officers promoted into the ranks of Colonel (COL) and above at the annual SAF Officers' Promotion Ceremony held this evening. The promotions take effect from 1 Jul 07. source from: http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/news |
