NDP 2005 Experience

Hi everyone,

Blogging at quite an unearthly hour (2.31am on my laptop's clock) but who cares, I can't go to sleep anyway. Not feeling tired for some reason.

Just here to share on my experience about being part of the marching contingent in National Day Parade (NDP) 2005. For the Boys in Platoons 2 and 3 who are not quite sure if they want to go for it, I hope this helps to give you a clearer picture. For the Platoons 1s who are hoping to go for NDP in future, I hope this inspires you =).


Although this sounds very cliché, I think I still have to say this: Participating in NDP is a ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME experience. Confirm plus chop and stamp with guarantee and 5 year international warranty. If you really put your effort, heart and soul into it, the rewards are unimaginable, and nothing in the world could ever compare with it. The most important thing is that you get to learn a lot. A LOT.

Being in the marching contingent comprised of BB Boys from all over Singapore, this already gives you a chance to interact with and learn from Boys who come from other companies. NDP also gives a lot of chances to look at how BBHQ works, and of course other uniformed youth organisations as well as Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). The training might be quite tough and require a lot of endurance, but they are definitely worth going through.

I still remember on the day of the actual parade, I was actually feeling quite nervous when we formed up at our positions, ready to march in with the rest of the supporting contingents. The kind of feeling you get when you march onto the parade ground, amidst an audience of patriotic Singaporeans cheering and shouting is something you can probably only feel once in your life as a Boy. And when your part for the parade finally ends, the sense of achievement and satisfaction you get is beyond description. All those hours in the hot sun, the Saturdays burned, is definitely worth it.

My NDP experience was an enjoyable one because of the 2 officers who were in-charge of us. Mr Liu Ruilong from 21st Coy. and Mr Alex Wong, formerly head of Programmes for Seniors section in HQ, now Captain of 49th Coy. They always made the extra effort to make sure we had enough to eat, our welfare was taken care of and etc. Not to mention Mr Terence Chung (if by now you still do not know who he is you should probably WAKE UP). Mr Chung has been involved in NDP since 2004, so if you still have any queries you should approach him, he has the most experience out of all the officers and instructors in the company thus far. The trainers (for NDP 2005 BB contingent they were from the Air Force) were also friendly and very caring, nice people to talk to.

NDP is definitely a worthwhile experience because of the things you learn, the friendships you make and the training you go through. You might not see the impact while in the midst of preparing for the parade, but when you get older and reminisce about the past, you will realise that the training had indeed helped you a lot in life.

Well, that's all I have to say I suppose, hope this post has helped you in one way or another.


Cheers,
Instructor Hongyou