37 years served in Singapore Artillery
Chapter 38 (UDI Course)
Soldiers had to perform drill when on parade, and the
responsibility of teaching drill fell onto the Battery Sergeant Major. I had
not been formally trained how to conduct drill lesson even though I had been
raised to the rank of Staff Sergeant and held BSM appointment. I felt ashamed
of not sure of drill during drill lessons and regimental ceremonies. However,
after served 6 years regular, then I had a chance to attend the Unit Drill
Instructor Course.
I
attended the 12th Unit Drill Instructor Course, from 22/11/1976
to 31/12/1976, at the Singapore Armed Forces Training Institute (SAFTI), at
Pasir Laba Camp.
Although
it was only a 6 weeks course, it provided me with the confidence and the skills
to meet the requirement of a wide range of drill and ceremony - foot
drills and arms drills, parades, sword drills, regimental colour, military
funeral, military wedding, and change of command parades.
The
12th UDI Course had 28 trainees, and we were staff sergeants and sergeants from
various units within the SAF. Among the 28, SSG Ong Hai Choon and I were from
24 SA, and SGT Sia Cheok Hock was from 21 SA. WO1 Ong, Hui Pheng (PPA) was the
Chief Instructor who not only taught us regimental ceremonies, but also shared
his many years of valuable experience.
On
16/02/1978, I was appointed Unit Drill Instructor for 24 SA.
Before
that, co-located with TAW in the same building was RANCO Wing in 1974 - 75.
When Encik Tan Chin Seng conducted drill lessons to the RANCOs, I was there,
hiding, to learn how drill lessons were conducted. From there I steal (偷师）from Encik Tan Chin Seng
who was teaching drills such as squad drill, change direction, change
formation, etc.
In
addition, during the UDI course, I also learned how to conduct inspection and
the standard of personal turnout. I learned to write Form of Parade and Regimental
Ceremonies.
Below are the Malay
words of Commands I had studied during the UDI Course.
Skuad: Means squad in Malay
Kawalan Kehormatan: Guard of Honour
Sedi-A: Stand at Attention. Elbows locked,
eyes stare forward, chin up. No movement.
Kekanan lu-rus: Face to the right, Dress
Kekiri lu-rus: Face to the left, Dress
Keblakang/Kedalam lu-rus: Above face/Inward,
Dress
Betulkan Barisan: Dress Up
Senang di-Ri: Stand at Ease. Legs placed
shoulder width apart, hands behind backs, right hand over left hand, fingers
straightened. Eyes still forward, looking up, no talking.
Diam: Steady. To freeze at wherever you are
and stop talking.Also to get back to Senang di-Ri positions with locked elbows.
Rehatkan di-RI: Stand Easy
Begerak Ke-kanan/kiri, bertiga-tiga,
Ke-kanan/kiri Pu-sing: Move to the right/left, three by three, right/left turn.
"Kiri" and "Kanan" stand for left and right respectively.
They are interchangeable in commands. "Bertiga-tiga" is also given in
context, depending on how many rows deep the formation is. Three by three
stands for the standard formation depth of three rows. "Dalam dua/empat
barisan" would be used for two and four rows respectively.
Mengadap Ka-hadapan, Ka-kanan/kiri Pu-sing:
(Parade will) Advance, right/left turn
Mengadap Ka-belakang, Ka-belakang Pu-sing:
(Parade will) Retire, About Turn
Diam: Steady. To freeze at wherever you are
and stop talking.
Ma-JU: Forward
Dari kiri/kanan, perlahan jalan: by the
left/right, slow march
Dari kiri/kanan, cepat jalan: by the
left/right, quick march
Dari tengah, perlahan/cepat jalan: by the
center, slow/quick march
Akan mara untuk diperhatikan semula, dari
tengah, cepat jalan: Advance in review order, by the center, quick march
Berhen-TI: halt
Hentak kaki, cepat hen-TAK: Quick Mark time
Hentak kaki, perlahan hen-TAK: slow mark time
Hormat senja-TA: Present, Arms. Salutes are
given to:
The President of Singapore: Hormat
Presiden
The Prime Minister of Singapore: Hormat
Perdana Menteri
The Deputy Prime Minister of
Singapore: Hormat Timbalan Perdana Menteri
Cabinet Ministers: Hormat Menteri
visiting dignitaries
Military Colours of the
SAF/SPF/SCDF: Hormat Panji Panji
unit commanders: Hormat Panglima
other officers and dignitaries: Hormat
Sedia
All those commands for salutes are shouted
before giving the command to present arms.
Sendang, senja-TA: Slope Arms
Rusok, senja-TA: Shoulder Arms
Turun, senja-TA: Order Arms (Only with the
M16 rifle or flag party)
Khalid, senja-TA : Change Arms from
right to left arm/ left to right arm (SAR 21 rifle only, for pledge-taking)
Tatang, senja-Ta: Port Arms
Julang, senja-Ta: High Port Arms
Baring, senja-Ta: Ground Arms
Angkat, senja-Ta: Take Up Arms
Kiri/Kanan be-LOK: Left/Right Wheel
Dari Kanan/Kiri/Belakang, BILANG: number off
from the right/left/rear.
Ke-kiri/kanan, pu-SING: Left/Right Turn.
Keblakang pu-Sing: About Turn
Dari Kiri/Kanan, Pandang kekiri/kekanan
pan-DANG: By the Right/Left, Eyes Left/Right
Hormat ke hadapan, hor-MAT: Saluting to the
front at a halt. This is then followed by a subsequent about turn.
Hormat kekiri/kekanan hor-Mat: Saluting at
the halt to the left/right
Skuad, Keluar-BARIS: Squad, fall out
Bersurai: Dismiss
Yang Tinggi Ke Kanan, Rendah ke Kiri, Dalam
Satu Barisan Paras: Fall out. Then arrange yourselves from right to left, from
the tallest to shortest.
Dari Kanan, Be Dua Bilang: from the right,
shout 1 and 2.
Nombor Ganjil Satu Langkah Kehadapan, Nombor
Genap Satu Langkah Ke Belakang, Gerak: Odd number move 1 step forward, even
numbers move 1 step backward, march.
Orang di Sebelah Kanan Diam. Nombor Ganjil
Bergerak Ke Kanan, Nombor Genap Bergerak Ke Kiri. Barisan, Ke Kanan Dan Ke Kiri
Pu-SING: The right person stay put. Odd number turn to their right while even
numbers turn to their left.
Jadikan Tiga Barisan, cepat jalan: March to
form three rows.
