NSF extends national service to help with props, support show segment at NDP
While some of his batchmates will be overseas on holiday after their operationally ready date (ORD) on July 29, Third Sergeant (3SG) Ashok Kumar will be assisting at this year’s National Day Parade (NDP).
The 21-year-old full-time national serviceman extended his national service by about two weeks to be among about 300 personnel who are part of the Singapore Armed Forces’ show support team that manages the performers, logistics and smaller props.
He helps to maintain more than 1,000 props that are used in the second act of the show, and also distributes them to the performers.
Speaking to the media on Saturday before the first NDP preview show, 3SG Ashok, who will be pursuing a civil engineering degree at Nanyang Technological University soon after his new ORD on Aug 16, said preparations for the NDP started in April, and he did not want to leave midway.
He said: “My parents have always told me that whenever you start something, you’ve got to see it through to the end.
“It’s such a great honour to be part of this. I feel like it is like every Singaporean’s dream to be helping out (at the NDP), so I want to be part of it as well,” he said, adding that he wanted to finish his NS journey with this milestone.
Lieutenant-Colonel Tay Zengyi, 35, the chairman of show support, said his team thrives on taking on challenges, which include managing operations through different weather conditions.
Comparing this year’s parade with his first experience at NDP in 2017, he said the army has changed since then, and there is a need to work with fewer resources, while still meeting the standards of previous editions.
He said: “We have to keep operations lean, to make sure it runs as smoothly as possible without incurring excessive manpower costs.”
Also working to support the parade are about 1,300 personnel from the SAF and volunteers who will be managing the spectators.
They include Second Lieutenant Soo May Yee, 22, who is the overall-in-charge at the seating gallery, ensuring that up to 27,000 spectators are seated on time and in an orderly manner.
She said that planning the flow of spectators – from passing through ticket and security checks to taking their seats – was a challenge, and many late nights were put into developing it.
She has noticed improvements in how her team of SAF personnel and volunteers ushers the spectators to their seats over the various National Education shows that have taken place.
Lance Corporal Muhammed Azly, 21, who ushers the elderly and those who have mobility issues through a priority lane, is happy that he can contribute to an NDP for the first time.
One memorable experience he has had so far was during the National Education show on July 8, when he assisted an elderly man who was struggling to push an elderly woman in a wheelchair through the security check.
“They smiled and said thanks. I feel proud that I could help them,” he said.
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