Salute the 50th year of Singapore’s National Service with this patriotic campaign – you can take part in it too
If you see a barrage of stoic young men in army uniform on June 30, don’t panic, Singapore’s not going to war. It’s just NS50 Day and NSmen who take public transport with their uniforms on get to ride for free. “NS50 Free Travel Day” will apply all day, happening across all bus and train services, including the NightRider and Nite Owl services. And no, this will not work for you if you throw on that G.I. Joe cosplay costume. Be respectful.
National Service (NS) is a wondrous thing. Said to turn boys to men and instil in them a sense of loyalty and pride for the nation, it’s an experience not all Singaporeans get to encounter. A statutory requirement for all male Singaporean citizens and second-generation residents, NS essentially takes away two years of their lives to undergo a period of compulsory service. So as you can imagine, it’s a sacrifice that gets our salute, literally.
After 50 monumental years, the whole nation is honouring it with a campaign called NS50 – and you can too. You can show your appreciation to all NSmen for their contributions with a salute, or make the moment last longer by taking a photo with them, posting it on social media and using the hashtags #NS50salute and #safrasg. There’ll also be digital kiosks around the island if the patriotic need to take a photo with an NSman becomes strong.
So go forth and pay your respects to the lads and ladies of National Service – just don’t go making our respectable NSmen feel weird by taking stealth selfies and posting them up without their permission though…
For a more humorous insight to National Service, do check out the sequel to the iconic play, Army Daze 2. If the whole concept of National Service is mind-boggling to you, here are 10 myths about National Service we bust.