The 2 guards outside istana
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Hmm...i think it is changed by platoons...Originally posted by EXCO:They are ceremonial guards. Each tour of duty is two hours. A sergeant will march out with the replacement guards every two hours... And every first Sunday of the month there will be a Changing of Guards, where the whole contingent will be rotated out.
All of these are largely ceremonial... Have yet to find out if they actually stay in or it is really the same contingent doing duties for the entire month... Haha. -
During the changing of guards they would march around where ?Originally posted by EXCO:And every first Sunday of the month there will be a Changing of Guards, where the whole contingent will be rotated out.
and what time ? -
Taken from the Istana's website http://www.istana.gov.sg/guard.html:
The Istana Ceremonial Guards' main role is sentry duty at the Istana Main Entrance on Orchard Road and at the entrance of the Istana Building.
The average age of these Guards is 19. One Unit of 20 guards from Singapore Armed Forces Provost Unit (SAFPU) would perform duties in the Istana for one month before another unit takes over. The take-over by a new unit is signified by the Changing of Guards Ceremony.
Changing of Guard Ceremony
When the late Encik Yusof Bin Ishak took office as the Yang Di-Pertuan Negara at the Istana on 3rd December 1959, the Istana was guarded by combat troops from the only infantry regiment we had at that time, the 1st Battalion of the Singapore Infantry Regiment. The guards were posted round the clock. There was no Changing of Guards Ceremony. Mounting and dismounting of guards were done within the Istana itself.
The use of combat troops to guard the Istana ceased in 1968 with the formation of the Singapore Armed Forces Guards Unit (SAFGU). In 1969, it was decided that a Changing of Guards Ceremony be held on every first Sunday evening of the month. The Ceremony was held in 1969 and has continued ever since.
The format of the Ceremony is based on the British Changing of Guards Ceremony at Buckingham Palace, England. Thirty-six Guards and two Guard Commanders are involved in the Ceremony. The Guards, are specially selected and trained for their turnout, bearing and drill.
The in-coming Guards march from the Yan San Building to meet the out-going Guards at the main entrance of the Istana. The Changing of the Guards Ceremony is then carried out at the entrance of the Istana with military bands in attendance. Included in the ceremony is a Rifle Precision Drill Performance to entertain the spectators. -
The New Guards will march off from Citibank Orchard, march down Orchard Road to the Istana Gates. The Old Guards would march out from inside the Istana. After the ceremony, the New Guards march into the Istana, and the Old Guards will march out to the road after Plaza Singapura and fall out there. The New Guards march off at 1745, the Old Guards will march out at 1815 (End of ceremony).
Unfortunately my website is down for reconstruction, it has a run-through of the ceremony. I'll copy the older version here. Do take note that the following is my copyrighted material...
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The Istana Changing of the Guards ceremony takes place in the evening of the first Sunday of every month. A highly public event, many Singaporeans and tourists turn up to watch the precise drills of both the Guards and the SAF Provost's Silent Precision Drill Squad. The ceremonial guards for the Istana is provided by the SAF Provost Unit.
At 1750, the old guards (Pengawan Lama) marches out from the Istana main gates. The new guards (Pengawan Baru) will march in from the direction of Orchard Road, turning and halting just outside the main gates. What follows is a series of precise drills performed by both the old and new guards. The new sentries will be posted, and the outgoing sentries are retired in a drill that will intrigue most observers. The sentry IC will retrieve the duty clipboard from the guardhouse, and brief the sentry reliefs. Based on what can be heard, the sentry IC will say: "Each tour of duty is two hours. During the tour of duty, you are not allowed to eat, sleep, or drink. Do you understand." To which the sentries will reply "Yes sir".
After the new sentries are posted, a drill titled "officers of the day" will be done. The commanders of the two guard contingents will march across the fronts of their contingents, about turn, and continue marching in front of the contingent, repeating the process until the music stops. The reason and background of this drill is unclear.
After the traditional Changing has been done, the Silent Precision Drill Squad will march out to wow the observers present with their excellent turn-out and perfect silent drills. After which, the old guards will march out in the direction of Plaza Singapura, and the new guards will march into the Istana. This concludes the entire ceremony. The ceremony takes about 20 minutes. Both the SAF Parade Bands will be in attendance, each marching in, and out, with the guards. One of the prominent audio features to regular watchers will be the SAF salute, the only time it is heard in public. The other features being the popular songs and tunes played by the SAF Band for the Silent Precision drills performance.
Music
The Changing of the Guards ceremony is one whereby a lot of music is played. The Bands will march down Orchard Road to four pieces of music. They are:
Bandstand - Tonni Wei
For The People, For The Nation - Johnson Lee
March Festival - Unknown
SIR March - Unknown
SIR (Singapore Infantry Regiment) March is played by the Parade Band A because this band formerly was the SIR Band. This piece of music keeps the traditions of the band.
As mentioned earlier, the SAF Salute (Salute No.7) is also performed. During the Officers Of The Day drill, the tune "Officers Centre: Officer Of The Day" is played.
History
The Singapore Istana Changing of the Guards ceremony is based on the British ceremony, with a few notable differences. Firstly, there are no horse-mounted guards, and secondly, the Colours of the regiment is not on parade.
Based on images from the National Archives, when the ceremonial guard duties were still undertaken by 1 Singapore Infantry Regiment, the Colours of the regiment was paraded, however, the image dates back to 1967. 1SIR undertook its duties in 1959. From that time to 1968, there was no changing of the guards ceremony. The changing takes place within the Istana grounds, although images from the Archives suggest that the new guards and the band did march down Orchard Road.
1SIR handed over its ceremonial duties to the SAF Guards Unit when the SAFGU was formed in 1968. It is not known if the Colours of SAFGU was paraded. It was in 1969 that the decision to have a Changing of Guards ceremony was made, and it has continued ever since. When the SAFGU was disbanded and regrouped as 1 Guards, 1Gds continued its duties at the Istana, under the old SAFGU Colours. 1Gds handed the ceremonial duties over to the SAF Provost Unit in 1980.
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Since we're on this topic. This article appeared in the New Paper in January this year.
Guarding the royals 'a unique pain'
From correspondents in London
GUARDING Buckingham Palace is one of the worst jobs in the British army, according to the guards' commanding officer.
A letter from Major General Sebastian Roberts says soldiers posted at the gates of the impressive royal residence suffer a "very onerous and repetitive" job that "constitutes real and unique pain".
The complaint from Maj-Gen Roberts, head of the Household Division, was reported by Britain's Sunday Telegraph today.
He told the army director of infantry, Brigadeer Jamie Balfour, that service in the Household Division was an "honour and a privilege".
But he added: "It must be recognised that MT 2-5 is a debilitating routine task."
MT 2-5 is short for Military Task 2-5, the code for the job that includes guarding royal palaces and other public and ceremonial duties.
Maj-Gen Roberts said: "The challenge within MT 2-5 for recruiting, retention and maintaining operation capability is enormous. The task constitutes real and unique pain."
Roberts said the number of soldiers from one regiment seeking to leave duty early had risen 50 per cent since they were assigned to some royal guard duties.
The vision of Britain's soldiers in their red-coated uniforms took a lot more work than it seemed, the paper said, since they spent hours each day cleaning and pressing their uniforms and polishing their boots.
The romance of the job, Maj-Gen Roberts said, wore thin quickly, especially after a few days living in the "atrocious" Victorian barracks at the Tower of London.
"The fun aspect of the job evaporates after the first week. It's not what soldiers join the army to do. It requires a very high level of personal discipline but that's about it. It requires no intelligence, zeal, athleticism or initiative." -
wow. very insightful.
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exco, how bout me hosting ur singapore parade page on my server?Originally posted by EXCO:The New Guards will march off from Citibank Orchard, march down Orchard Road to the Istana Gates. The Old Guards would march out from inside the Istana. After the ceremony, the New Guards march into the Istana, and the Old Guards will march out to the road after Plaza Singapura and fall out there. The New Guards march off at 1745, the Old Guards will march out at 1815 (End of ceremony).
Unfortunately my website is down for reconstruction, it has a run-through of the ceremony. I'll copy the older version here. Do take note that the following is my copyrighted material...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Istana Changing of the Guards ceremony takes place in the evening of the first Sunday of every month. A highly public event, many Singaporeans and tourists turn up to watch the precise drills of both the Guards and the SAF Provost's Silent Precision Drill Squad. The ceremonial guards for the Istana is provided by the SAF Provost Unit.
At 1750, the old guards (Pengawan Lama) marches out from the Istana main gates. The new guards (Pengawan Baru) will march in from the direction of Orchard Road, turning and halting just outside the main gates. What follows is a series of precise drills performed by both the old and new guards. The new sentries will be posted, and the outgoing sentries are retired in a drill that will intrigue most observers. The sentry IC will retrieve the duty clipboard from the guardhouse, and brief the sentry reliefs. Based on what can be heard, the sentry IC will say: "Each tour of duty is two hours. During the tour of duty, you are not allowed to eat, sleep, or drink. Do you understand." To which the sentries will reply "Yes sir".
After the new sentries are posted, a drill titled "officers of the day" will be done. The commanders of the two guard contingents will march across the fronts of their contingents, about turn, and continue marching in front of the contingent, repeating the process until the music stops. The reason and background of this drill is unclear.
After the traditional Changing has been done, the Silent Precision Drill Squad will march out to wow the observers present with their excellent turn-out and perfect silent drills. After which, the old guards will march out in the direction of Plaza Singapura, and the new guards will march into the Istana. This concludes the entire ceremony. The ceremony takes about 20 minutes. Both the SAF Parade Bands will be in attendance, each marching in, and out, with the guards. One of the prominent audio features to regular watchers will be the SAF salute, the only time it is heard in public. The other features being the popular songs and tunes played by the SAF Band for the Silent Precision drills performance.
Music
The Changing of the Guards ceremony is one whereby a lot of music is played. The Bands will march down Orchard Road to four pieces of music. They are:
Bandstand - Tonni Wei
For The People, For The Nation - Johnson Lee
March Festival - Unknown
SIR March - Unknown
SIR (Singapore Infantry Regiment) March is played by the Parade Band A because this band formerly was the SIR Band. This piece of music keeps the traditions of the band.
As mentioned earlier, the SAF Salute (Salute No.7) is also performed. During the Officers Of The Day drill, the tune "Officers Centre: Officer Of The Day" is played.
History
The Singapore Istana Changing of the Guards ceremony is based on the British ceremony, with a few notable differences. Firstly, there are no horse-mounted guards, and secondly, the Colours of the regiment is not on parade.
Based on images from the National Archives, when the ceremonial guard duties were still undertaken by 1 Singapore Infantry Regiment, the Colours of the regiment was paraded, however, the image dates back to 1967. 1SIR undertook its duties in 1959. From that time to 1968, there was no changing of the guards ceremony. The changing takes place within the Istana grounds, although images from the Archives suggest that the new guards and the band did march down Orchard Road.
1SIR handed over its ceremonial duties to the SAF Guards Unit when the SAFGU was formed in 1968. It is not known if the Colours of SAFGU was paraded. It was in 1969 that the decision to have a Changing of Guards ceremony was made, and it has continued ever since. When the SAFGU was disbanded and regrouped as 1 Guards, 1Gds continued its duties at the Istana, under the old SAFGU Colours. 1Gds handed the ceremonial duties over to the SAF Provost Unit in 1980.
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and oh, today went pass there again,
noticed that the left guard dun hold a rifle, only the right guard does. why ? -
Thanks kwlee, but its ok, I host it on Geocities, just taking it down for reconstruction.Originally posted by kwlee:exco, how bout me hosting ur singapore parade page on my server?
and oh, today went pass there again,
noticed that the left guard dun hold a rifle, only the right guard does. why ?
I didn't really pay attention to that, I only focus on the Changing... Haha.
Anyways, now that you have brought up something along this line, I understand that the left and right markers of the contingents do not carry the bayonet on their rifles. Any idea why? -
the guards are MPs from provost and they are from a company which does all the ceremonial guards, istana guards and also include those you see on national day playing with their rifles. i think those guards at istana would be NSF.they rotate every 2 hours.their rifles are not loaded and they just stand there for show only lah
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and oh, what if it rains ?
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Waaa.. tink stand until legs pain. Next time i go PS shun bian go disturb them..
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haha, if you wear chocolate bars or crabs (for the old ppl) in No 4 and go down and look at them will they salute you?
any NS officers dare to try -
WTH ..Originally posted by mdfjami:haha, if you wear chocolate bars or crabs (for the old ppl) in No 4 and go down and look at them will they salute you?
any NS officers dare to try 
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just curious.Originally posted by LazerLordz:WTH .. -
hmmm, by right,
the guard should salute the officer.
as long as both of them are in military uniforms, the junior would have to salute the senior (in terms of rank).
but there is always the left way... -
Just for information... My website is back up, you can find information on each ceremony inside...
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By right.....Originally posted by kwlee:hmmm, by right,
the guard should salute the officer.
as long as both of them are in military uniforms, the junior would have to salute the senior (in terms of rank).
but there is always the left way...
Section 1.2 PAYING COMPLIMENTS
a. To Officers- Warrant Officers, specialists and other ranks will salute officers when they meet them. If usage of right hand is not possible due to physical incapacity, salute will be given with left hand.
b. By sentries- Sentries armed with rifles are not required to pay compliment to officers entering or leaving camp. Guard 2IC or Gate IC will pay compliment instead. -
Originally posted by Rockhound:
?! where did you get these from? left hand salute? sounds odd!
By right.....
[b]Section 1.2 PAYING COMPLIMENTS
a. To Officers- Warrant Officers, specialists and other ranks will salute officers when they meet them. If usage of right hand is not possible due to physical incapacity, salute will be given with left hand.
b. By sentries- Sentries armed with rifles are not required to pay compliment to officers entering or leaving camp. Guard 2IC or Gate IC will pay compliment instead.[/b]
and for a sentry with weapon, i think he can still do a high-port salute. of course if the sentry is in the senang-diri position and not to move about, then he can be excused paying compliment. -
Recruit's Aide Memoire...Originally posted by wuming78:?! where did you get these from? left hand salute? sounds odd!
and for a sentry with weapon, i think he can still do a high-port salute. of course if the sentry is in the senang-diri position and not to move about, then he can be excused paying compliment. -
the guards dun stay in at the Istana.They will go back to SAFPU after they stand down at Istana. There's a platoon doing the Istana duty so more of less u can say it is the same contingent doing the sentry duties for their entire NSF life rather then the whole month.Originally posted by EXCO:They are ceremonial guards. Each tour of duty is two hours. A sergeant will march out with the replacement guards every two hours... And every first Sunday of the month there will be a Changing of Guards, where the whole contingent will be rotated out.
All of these are largely ceremonial... Have yet to find out if they actually stay in or it is really the same contingent doing duties for the entire month... Haha. -
If I remembered correctly,the sentry would have to go to hormat position if they meet a n officer of a certain rank....Originally posted by wuming78:?! where did you get these from? left hand salute? sounds odd!
and for a sentry with weapon, i think he can still do a high-port salute. of course if the sentry is in the senang-diri position and not to move about, then he can be excused paying compliment. -
I think Major and above right?Originally posted by FiReDuKe:If I remembered correctly,the sentry would have to go to hormat position if they meet a n officer of a certain rank.... -
does anybody know why during the changing of guards ceremony.... after the guards are mounted and old contingent passes to the new one.....
the officers must march to and fro in front of the contingent many times... they will walk one end.... ke-blakang pusing.... walk the other end.... repeat.
reminds me of those toy soldier where you wind them at the back and they will march around. -
The drill is called "Officers of the day". No solid ideas as to the background of the drill... A few possible reasons could be that it is a mark of inspection, or to allow the guards to get acquainted with their officer.Originally posted by Ponders:does anybody know why during the changing of guards ceremony.... after the guards are mounted and old contingent passes to the new one.....
the officers must march to and fro in front of the contingent many times... they will walk one end.... ke-blakang pusing.... walk the other end.... repeat.
reminds me of those toy soldier where you wind them at the back and they will march around. -
u think got those men in blue standing around ar fake ar? b4 u can go near e gate, they already stop u liao. where gt chance to disturb e guards in white???Originally posted by gnoik:Waaa.. tink stand until legs pain. Next time i go PS shun bian go disturb them..