10 interesting attractions at the Army Open House 2009

Even though the Army Open House is situated at one isolated corner of the island (Pasir Laba camp), SGTOP10 found out that there are 10 interesting attractions that makes your 1 – 2 hours journey there a worthy trip. Regardless you are a soldier now, were a soldier or will never be a soldier; these attractions will guarantee to catch your attention because you will not find these along Orchard Road or Sentosa!

Up, Close and Personal

In the Combat World where the latest military equipment and vehicles are being displayed, visitors will get a chance to get INSIDE these vehicles! If you want to experience how it feels like sitting in a Chinook or how big is an artillery gun, don’t miss this!!

Strikes Fear – Leopard 2A4

Equipped with an advanced fire control system boosted by a laser range finder, the Leopard 2A4 is a formidable armored vehicle. What is more impressive is that the LEOPARD tank can seemingly glide through rough terrain like a hot knife through butter. Certainly it strikes fear in to any trooper going against it!

Deadly Bird – Apache AH-64D

The Singapore Armed Forces acquired 20 (8 in 1999 and 12 in 2001) of these deadly birds to further enhance the operational capabilities of the SAF. These birds are design to fly day, night and adverse weather combat mission. The Apache is a combat proven fighter and is one of the most feared attack helicopters. Visit the show to experience the feeling of sitting in the cockpit!

Send your Blessings

While we are enjoying ourselves at the comfort of our own house or having fun at the beach on a sunny afternoon, let us not forget our active soldiers who volunteered to be peacemakers in politically unstable countries. You can do your part by sending your blessings at the Army Open House. We find this very meaningful!

Understand our Army

Often we hear criticism that our army has not experienced war and cannot be considered as operational ready. However do you know that our armed forces have participated in countless peacekeeping, terrorism and disaster aid mission? Visit the MISSION WORLD exhibit to learn more of these missions that the men and women of the SAF has gone and is going through.

Fly our National Flag with Pride – CH-47 Chinook

If you have experienced a National Day Parade, you would have noticed this tandem rotor helicopter that carries the national flag while we proudly sing Majulah Singapura. Yes, this helicopter is the CH-47 Chinook. It first entered the service in 1996 and carries out the following roles:

Search and rescue
Casualty evacuation
Fire fighting
Under slung cargo transport (Including the light-strike vehicle)
Internal cargo transport
Trooplift
Parajump

A ride of your lifetime

Have you been inside the Bionix II or the Bronco and being rushed through the rugged terrain, locating enemies and engaging them with real life machine guns? Make your way to the Battle World where you could choose from one of the four combat vehicles and do make sure to locate those mannequins dressed in the new pixelated uniform surrounding the trail.

Pregnant ladies and children below 1.4m height are not allowed though.

3 Generations of Army Uniform

The Singapore armed forces have come a long way since National Service was introduced in 14th March 1967. The first generation uniform was introduced in 1979. It featured fully dark green colours and the uniform was standardized to be both No.3 (tucked in) and No.4 (tucked out) dress.

The 2nd generation uniforms show cased an array of camouflage patterns and in the 1980s it became a fashionable and popular. In fear of misuse of this uniform, the SAF warned that offenders wearing the uniform could be fined up to $400 or jailed up to 3 months.

The 3rd generation uniforms consist of many small computer-generated pattern pixels. As research shows it breaks the boundary of the old macro pattern and resulting in the confusion of the human eyes.

There you go, 3 generations of army uniforms, which generation were you from?

Red Lions

The Red Lions are performing in the Army Open house too! If you missed their live performance during the National Day parade in 2009, this is the chance to catch them performing their signature Freefall parachuting display at the Action World!

World Class Performance
If you are or was once a NSF, you will have associated soldiers in the Music and Drama company to be soldiers who are not combat fit. Well, that is totally incorrect! The music and drama company mission is to boost the morale of soldiers and spread national education messages through song and dance. There are a lot of talents in this group of people. SGTOP10 experienced one of our most interesting acapella and beatbox performance by our very own army boys! Check out a preview in the video below. You can catch their full performance in the Army Open House in the Action World.

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Have you read other articles on the Army Open House 2009:
10 things you can do ONLY during the Army Open House 2009 | 10 interesting Sights in the Army Open House 2009

10 interesting attractions at the Army Open House 20099.8105