Army Open House 2022 returns to F1 Pit Building after five-year hiatus

The Army Open House will return to the F1 Pit Building after a five-year hiatus. 

Running from May 16 to Jun 12, physical showcases at two heartland locations – Punggol and Bishan – as well as a virtual exhibition will be held alongside the main showcase. 

The physical showcases will span over a duration of three weekends. The main showcase at the F1 Pit Building will run from May 28 to 30, while the Punggol and Bishan showcases will run from Jun 3 to 5 and Jun 10 to 12 respectively. 

This year’s edition, themed ‘Generations of Strength’, will commemorate 55 years of National Service (NS) through a showcase of the Army’s hardware and software.

While admission to the physical showcase at F1 Pit Building is free, visitors are still required to book tickets on the Army Open House 2022 (AOH22) website to secure their slots as part of crowd control measures. 

The main exhibition is segregated into 13 zones informing attendees of different facets of the Army. 

One of the zones, the Army Formations Zone, features 15 different Army Formations and allows visitors to interact with the wide array of weapons and equipment used by soldiers.

Another zone, Battle Rides, gives visitors the opportunity of boarding a Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) military vehicle. Visitors could choose to board a M3G military raft at Marina Bay, or ride on other military platforms such as the Terrex Infantry Carrier Vehicle and the Bionix Armoured Fighting Vehicle. 

Visitors who want to have a taste of the standard obstacle course that soldiers go through can head to the Soldier Strong Obstacle Course zone. The obstacle course at the AOH22 is designed to test the endurance capabilities and mettle of participants, and is family-friendly. 

Both zones will require bookings to be made onsite. 

Those who are not able to attend the main showcase at the F1 Pit Building can still do so at the heartland showcases in Punggol and Bishan. However, these showcases will be more compact and feature only five zones. 

From May 16 to Jun 12, the Virtual Exhibition will be hosted on the AOH22 website. 

The exhibition will focus on displaying the stories of various generations of NSmen and educate visitors more about the operational capabilities of the Army. Various sections on the website, including the NS55 Showcase, will allow visitors to find out more about the different facets of NS.

Serving as a replica of the physical exhibition at the F1 Pit Building, the virtual exhibition will contain stories of generations of NSmen and an interactive video featuring servicemen from the SAF and the Home Team. 

There will also be online games resembling zones in the physical showcase available on the site that resemble the zones in the physical showcase. For example, users can try out a virtual SAR 21 shooting range, or complete a virtual obstacle course. 

Online users also stand a chance to win AOH22 souvenirs while playing the games. 

The full list of what’s available at AOH2022 can be found here.