Volunteer defence psychologist Neo Li Fang, 33, has taken part in the last three National Day Parades (NDP) as a para-counsellor to provide medical support.
This year, the senior clinical psychologist at Alexandra Hospital will march for the first time as contingent commander for the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and Home Team Volunteer Contingent, which will debut at the parade.
The contingent is made up of 72 people from the SAF Volunteer Corps, the police's Volunteer Special Constabulary and the Singapore Civil Defence Force's Civil Defence Auxiliary Unit.
Dr Neo, who joined the SAF Volunteer Corps (SAFVC) in 2015, said: "Having such a combined contingent is really meaningful. It's not about one service, but people from all walks of life coming together - and we don't do it as a job.
"We have that passion to step up, over and above our daily work."
More than 2,600 participants will be involved in the parade and ceremony segment at the NDP this year, titled My People.
There will be 38 marching contingents, including four guard-of-honour contingents, the combined band, six SAF and Home Team contingents, and 16 social and economic contingents.
The chairman for parade and ceremony, Senior Lieutenant-Colonel Loh Woon Liang, 40, shared highlights of the parade segment ahead of the first combined rehearsal at the Padang yesterday.
Referring to the volunteer contingent, he said: "They signify generations of Singaporeans who are willing to go the extra mile in protecting our country."
He added that these organisations are rich in history, with the SAFVC, for example, tracing its roots back to the Singapore Volunteer Rifle Corps which was formed in 1854.
The parade segment will feature a synchronised performance by the first Combined Drum Band, comprising 24 drummers from the SAF Military Band, Singapore National Cadet Corps and Association for Persons with Special Needs Tanglin School.
Lt-Col Alvin Choo Weng Kwai, 44, who is commander of the operations group at the Naval Diving Unit, is this year's parade commander.
He was previously parade commander at the SAF Day Parade in 2016 and at the Singapore International Maritime Review in 2017, when the Republic of Singapore Navy marked its golden jubilee.
He said: "I think the key difference (this time) is that I'm meeting a diversity of people. In the SAF, it's the military regulars, but for NDP, I'm meeting children as young as 13 and people as senior as 71."
The parade regimental sergeant-major is Master Warrant Officer Shon Chong Wee Keong, 43, who is brigade sergeant major at 3rd Division Artillery.
The organising committee is encouraging Singaporeans to upload photographs, messages of support, reflections or stories on their personal social media accounts with the hashtag #NDP2019.
For more information, they can go to NDP social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
