Leaders of this year's SAF Day Parade
She's the first female SAF Day Parade Commander; he's a seasoned Armour encik who helped pilot the Leopard tank project.//Story by Thrina Tham /Photos by Chua Soon Lye & courtesy of interviewees
She may be the first woman to lead the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF's) biggest military parade, but she isn't nervous about it.
In fact, even though this is Military Expert (ME) 6 Toh Bao-En's first time leading the parade, she feels prepared from training as a reserve last year.
"It's a two-year commitment on our part," said the 37-year-old with a laugh. "I'm feeling confident due to last year's experience."
"I really enjoy the friendship and camaraderie with my trainers and fellow Key Appointment Holders… and it's nice to get to know people from all over the SAF," she added.
As a Commanding Officer (CO) in the Imagery Support Group in the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS), ME6 Toh oversees the daily workings of her unit which provides strategic and operational intelligence to the SAF.
Her role in the parade also makes her the first SAF Day Parade Commander from the DIS.
Proud to represent the Intelligence community
ME6 Toh enlisted as a combat engineer in 2006, before moving to Intelligence to do imagery analysis in 2008.
She served in staff appointments in Intelligence, including the Command and Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I) Planning Department; before attending the French Command and Staff College in 2018.
In 2021, ME6 Toh was part of a small team that sought approval for the establishment of the DIS as the fourth Service of the SAF and – after inputs from many stakeholders – saw it come into fruition the following year.
She noted that, coincidentally, the year in which DIS was inaugurated was the same year the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out.
"This underscored for me that we had done the right thing at the right time, and that the SAF was equipped to safeguard the security of Singapore against a new paradigm of threats."
"I'm immensely proud to be part of the DIS, and to represent my Service at the SAF Day Parade," she added.
Pioneering the first Leopard tank battalion
For Master Warrant Officer (MWO) Lee Chze Liang, it isn't his first time marching in the SAF Day Parade – though his last stint was 20 years ago as a colours escort in 2004.
"I actually felt quite anxious (taking on this role). From (being a) participant to leading the parade is a steep learning curve," he said.
"But with the help of the senior and seasoned parade support group and trainers, we are able to achieve our objectives."
The 45-year-old is responsible for the training and welfare of all the parade participants. This includes ensuring that the parade looks cohesive with everyone marching as one.
"The different parties have different levels of experience. So we need to ensure that training is progressive for them to achieve the same standards during rehearsals," he said.
As the Brigade Sergeant Major in 8th Singapore Armoured Brigade, MWO Lee is the most senior encik (Malay for warrant officer), who coaches and develops the warrant officers and specialists in his brigade.
In his 26-year career in the SAF, he has served at Headquarters Training and Doctrine Command and as Regimental Sergeant Major at 41st Battalion, Singapore Armoured Regiment (41 SAR), before attending the United States (US) Army Sergeant Major Academy in 2018.
In 2007, he was part of the core group that trained on the Leopard 2A4 Main Battle Tank (MBT) in Germany, before bringing back the technical know-how to start MBT training in Singapore.
He was then one of the pioneers who set up 48 SAR – the first Leopard tank battalion.
"There was a lot of things we had to jaga (Malay for manage) – from coming up with new training plans to housing the vehicles, to planning the technical support and the training areas we needed," he recalled.
After a two-year journey, 48 SAR was inaugurated in 2009.
Zen and the art of the parade
So how have the two found training so far?
"I enjoy how focused and 'zen' the parade training is compared to the mad juggle of being a CO," said ME6 Toh jokingly.
She added that she's learnt to continue managing her unit remotely while knowing that it's in the good hands of her command team.
For MWO Lee, it's full steam ahead as he prepares the parade for their final rehearsals since drills began this May.
"I'm looking for a wonderful and beautiful parade with zero mistakes," he said simply with a smile.
