NDP 2011 Actual Parade (Term 3)

It was a patriotic day for all Singaporeans, for that day, the nation rose as one in red and white, in order to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of the nation Singapore. It was a happy birthday for kids and a lazy day for adults, for the Singapore government had given a day off in lieu of National Day. The parade was due to begin in the evening, around 6. I was highly excited as this would be the first National Day Parade I fully appreciated, having gone through a simplified version the previous day. I was also interested in the drills of the contingents, for I am from a uniformed group.

However, I was due to find out that my family was invited to my uncle’s house for dinner. It did not prove to be a bad experience, as my uncle is in the Singapore Armed Forces, and was thus, a great treasure trove of knowledge to dig from. My cousin is from Military Band, and coupled with his father’s experience and guidance through the years, he made a good talking partner. While he spoke about and hummed the marching tunes, I carefully scrutinized the drills of the contingents, to find out their mistakes and how not to learn from them. It proved to be an interesting experience, as I was also fascinated by the forms of drills not learned in NPCC, such as flag drills and sword drills. I was also interested in the parade commands, as I aspire to be an outstanding commander, like my seniors before me.

My family left the house around the time at which the parade started, for there was no point in leaving early. However, it caused me to miss the first part of the parade, and I was anxious not miss the march-in. My worries proved naught as we made it in time. It was a parade of many changes, as it was the first parade to have a female Regimental Sergeant-Major, or RSM, who was, in the parade, in a place of importance just lower than the Parade Commander. Also, the march-in tune for the supporting contingents from the traditional “We Are One” to an unknown song (or at least, to me). They proved to be only a small portion of the large number of changes in the parade, for the supporting contingents actually marched up onto the stage! I was most surprised by the interesting twist in the march-off and march-past, for the march-past was literally a march-past. The supporting contingents actually marched off the stage via the steps, and continued marching forward towards the spectator stand, and actually marched among the spectators! This proved that the drill standards were good, for they would be under (literally) close scrutiny of the audience. Also, they marched among the audience via the steps, which was physically demanding, and yet they still had to maintain their excellent drill standards. Such is the high standard and quality of the National Day Parade!