Tattoo Thrills Thousands
The Jamaica Military Tattoo 2012 opened to a crowd of thousands at the Polo Field at Up Park Camp. The event, under the theme: ‘Precision, Pomp and Pageantry: The First Five Decades’, runs from June 28 to July 1. It was staged to commemorate the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) 50th anniversary and Jamaica’s Golden Jubilee.
The Tattoo is an exciting show of military displays and performances. It showcases the capabilities of the JDF on land, in air and sea. Its name has its origin in a Dutch phrase “doe den tap toe” which means “turn off the taps a warning communicated to turn off the beer taps and that soldiers should return to their quarters.
Patrons who attended on opening night were treated to various military routines including parachute-jump display, search and rescue enactment, construction of an automobile and a house in just a few minutes.
Featuring a total of 850 performers, the show, which was the fifth in our country’s history, involved routines, drills, dexterity demonstrations and musical performances by participating groups. Other groups which participated in Tattoo 2012 were member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force; the Jamaica Combined Cadet Force; Jamaica Fire Brigade; the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force Steel Orchestra; the British Armed Force’s Royal Marines Band Service; the Canadian Force’s composite Pipes and Drum Band; the People’s Republic of China; and the Bermuda Regiment.