The 2025 National Day Parade (NDP) marks several firsts for Lieutenant-Colonel (NS) Alex Chan.
He has participated in previous parades in a back-end capacity, overseeing security matters, but he will now be front and centre – as the commander of the mobile column.
The mobile column serves as a showcase of the Republic’s military and civil defence assets.
For NDP 2025, 170 assets from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Home Team and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) will be on display, along with more than 800 people from participating agencies.
NDP 2025 will also see LTC Chan, who is chief of staff for the SAF’s 8th Singapore Armoured Brigade, participate in the parade for the first time with his son, 10-year-old Keith Chan.
The pair will be leading the mobile column in a Leopard 2SG main battle tank.
“It’s definitely an honour to participate this year, especially together with my son,” said LTC Chan, 48, whose day job involves him overseeing back-end support at Alexandra Hospital.
Keith, a pupil at St Anthony’s Primary School, said he was “super excited” to be taking part in the parade with his father as well as to have the opportunity to see the different vehicles up close.
The pair’s participation is in line with one of the mobile column’s four thematic segments for 2025, titled From Generation To Generation, which emphasises the continued strengthening of Singapore through generational commitment to defence.
The mobile column will feature stories of men and women from the SAF and Home Team across generations, said Major Teo Wei Kok, chairman of the NDP 2025 mobile column, noting that veterans would also be appearing.
“We want to honour the sacrifice and contributions of past and current servicemen and women, while inspiring future generations to take up the mantle and continue building upon the strong foundations of Singapore’s defence and security forces,” he added.
Among those participating with their family is Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Stella Tay, who will appear in a video featurette during the mobile column with her 11-year-old daughter, Shermaine Goh, and her son, Edward Goh, nine.
“It’s a very rare chance to be able to bring the children to work so that they experience what I do,” said DSP Tay, 38, who is with the Singapore Police Force’s Public Transport Security Command.
“I hope that I can be a good role model to them,” she added.
With his father also part of the police force, Edward aspires to follow in both his parents’ footsteps to become a police officer.
DSP Tay said she just wishes for her children to have a positive impact on others, whatever their careers. “Whatever they want to be, just contribute back to society,” she said.
The mobile column’s other thematic segments highlight the SAF’s capabilities to protect Singapore and the coordinated defence capabilities of the SAF and Home Team, as well as their contributions to global security and ability to conduct a wide spectrum of operations.
MAJ Teo noted that 2025 marks the 18th mobile column – the mobile column first appeared in the 1969 NDP and is typically held during milestone years, with the previous iteration held in 2019 to mark Singapore’s bicentennial celebrations.
Singapore commemorates 60 years of independence in 2025, as well as the 60th anniversary of the SAF.
For the first time, the mobile column will include air and maritime elements, in addition to the drive-past along St Andrew’s Road.
“We will see an aerial fly-past, and at Marina Bay we’ll see a maritime display with vessels from the navy, the Home Team as well as the Maritime and Port Authority,” said MAJ Teo.
While the mobile column has typically showcased the army and Home Team’s vehicles and artillery, the MPA is included as it is an important partner in ensuring the Republic’s maritime security, he added.
MAJ Teo also recognised some 200 people who work behind the scenes to support operations for the mobile column, such as road marshals and the logistics team.
“Without them working tirelessly behind the scenes, there will be no mobile column,” he said.
Assets appearing in the mobile column for the first time include the army’s Hunter Armoured Engineer Vehicle and TPQ-53 Weapon Locating Radar, the navy’s Combatant Craft Underwater, the police’s Tactical Strike Vehicle, and the Singapore Civil Defence Force’s second-generation Medical Support Vehicle.
Selected vehicles will also enter the Padang show stage during the drive-past, giving spectators a closer look at these vehicles.
On Aug 10, some of these assets will travel from the city centre along five routes to various heartland celebration sites to give more people a chance to see them up close.
Details of the routes and heartland sites will be released at a later date.
Zhaki Abdullah for The Straits Times
Father and son to lead NDP 2025 mobile column to celebrate commitment to defence across generations
