'Best combat unit' marches out of sync at NDP preview

With thousands of spectators packed at the National Day Parade (NDP) preview show last Saturday (July 30), all eyes were on the commandos from the guard-of-honour contingent as they marched smartly on the Marina Bay Floating Platform.

But their obvious blunder on-stage has some netizens wondering if some of these soldiers from the 'best combat unit' have been training too hard.

In a TikTok video shared by user Weenstern on Sunday (July 31), it showed several of the men in red berets marching out of sync at the back.

"[I'll] usually see one or two marching out of sync, but this time [it's] a big section of them," the netizen wrote, while cheekily suggesting that they will have to "sign extra", meaning having to stay in camp over the weekend or get confined as a form of punishment.

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@weenstern/video/7126417977666276610?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7078349245758473730[/embed]

With the 11-second clip garnering over 600,000 views, several netizens were surprised by the missteps with one remarking on the many weekends spent practising "wasted". 

But several netizens pointed out that making mistakes is "normal" during NDP rehearsals.

"Last week they were doing fine, everyone makes mistakes. Hope they do not repeat on the actual day," a netizen wrote, while another praised those who are participating in NDP for their hard work.

AsiaOne has contacted the NDP organisers for comment.

In 2020, a member of the Singapore Armed Forces Parachute Team, better known as the Red Lions, missed his landing area completely and crashed near a residential area in Sengkang. 

While the accident happened two years ago, a clip of it was shared on TikTok last Sunday which garnered over 60,000 views. 

Another element from this year's NDP also sparked debate among netizens after a woman shared a video of the goodie bag she had received during a rehearsal earlier this month.

And a TikTok video of aunties dancing to a K-pop song during one of the NDP rehearsals on July 16 has netizens debating if it was cringey or cute. 

ALSO READ: Over 4,500 students sign petition seeking free NDP tickets after missing out on NE show

chingshijie@asiaone.com