AIR-LAND INTEGRATED TRAINING AT EX WALLABY 2017

The moment two groups of "enemies" were spotted in the foliage a distance away, personnel from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) jumped into action.

Deafening blasts punctuated the air as SPIKE 2 Anti-Tank Guided Missiles sailed over the barren land and destroyed their targets.

Two AH-64D Apache Attack Helicopters then burst onto the scene, raining rockets and bullets on the "enemies". Within moments, the hostile targets were completely annihilated. Mission accomplished.

Second Minister for Defence Ong Ye Kung witnessed this air-land integrated live-firing at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) in Queensland, Australia on 9 Oct.

Held from 3 Sep to 4 Nov, Exercise Wallaby 2017 marked the 27th year that the SAF has trained in SWBTA, a training area four times the size of Singapore. This year's exercise involved about 4,000 personnel from the SAF and over 400 platforms from its three Services.

During his visit, Mr Ong emphasised the importance of Exercise Wallaby in providing an opportunity for the SAF to conduct realistic training. He said: "SWBTA is one of our most important overseas exercises. This is because of the wide span of space available which allows us to conduct training at a scale, scope and complexity that is not possible in Singapore."

He also highlighted the need for training safety to be observed: "However, there needs to be a balance between realistic training and the safety of the soldiers. And after speaking to some of the commanders involved in the exercise, I'm confident that they have the correct mindset to cultivate a culture of safety among the soldiers in the various units."

Agreeing with Mr Ong, Exercise Director Brigadier-General (BG) Mark Tan said: "As the SAF grows in complexity and evolves over time. Training the soldiers from all three Services to fight together as one team is very important for the SAF to keep up with the times. Therefore, SWBTA is a very unique training area where soldiers can practise to do this."

BG Tan added: "With contiguous air, land and sea objectives, it allows the soldiers to enhance their interoperability across Services. This is a valuable opportunity that is not available elsewhere in the world."

On training safety, Exercise Air Director Senior Lieutenant Colonel (SLTC) Sherman Ong, added that soldiers were thoroughly briefed on the possible safety hazards before going to the training area. And each time after training has been completed, a debrief will be conducted to review whether any safety regulations had been infringed.

He elaborated: "With so many air and land personnel who has been in past editions of Exercise Wallaby, we believe that they are the best medium to convey these safety messages and guide the following batches of exercise participants."

One of the participants that has benefitted from the realistic and safe training is Lieutenant (LTA) Lam Jing Jie, Platoon Commander of the Light Strike Vehicle Platoon, Headquarters 7th Singapore Infantry Brigade.

"The more unpredictable terrain in SWBTA allowed us to give our LSVs a good workout by stretching them to their limits. Also, the bigger training area here provided us with many opportunities to utilise the vehicles to their full potential and practise everything that we learnt back home," he said.

When asked about some of the challenges that he faced under the tougher training conditions, LTA Lam said: "SWBTA is really huge, so driving from one point to another can take quite a long time which can result in the driver becoming fatigued.

"Therefore, it is important to make sure that everyone is well-rested the night before we move out. Although we are mission-oriented, safety is still our utmost priority."

Forging brotherhoods

Having been in Headquarters 3rd Flotilla of the Republic of Singapore Navy for nearly five years, Major (MAJ) Lim Jun Qiang has been on many exercises. Yet, Exercise Wallaby holds a special place in the veteran sailor's heart.

The Task Group Operations Officer fondly recalled his experience working with the Singapore Army and the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) in tri-service training during the exercise: "The experience can be described in one word amazing. Seeing numerous personnel and assets from the three Services working together seamlessly to achieve a common goal never fails to blow me away."

However, with about 10 units across all three Services coming together for the Navy's component of Exercise Wallaby 2017, challenges were bound to crop up and differences in opinions were often inevitable.

MAJ Lim recalled that disagreements were common during the first few coordination meetings as different units had different requirements and different training objectives.

"But as the exercise progressed, each unit started to see the exercise from the other parties' points of view... In the end, all the units offered assistance to one another instead. This can only happen when we stop thinking that we are three separate services, but as One SAF."

Like MAJ Lim, Deputy Officer Commanding (OC) of the AH-64D Apache Attack Helicopter Integrated Maintenance Flight Military Expert (ME) 4 Lim Bi Fang is also part of a closely-bonded team. The Air Force Engineer (AFE) is in charge of the maintenance of the Apache helicopters to ensure that the aircraft are always mission-ready to meet the operational demands.

"Without a doubt, the bonds and friendships forged during the exercise are the most unforgettable for me. During trying periods, we would help one another out by sharing the load and as the Deputy OC, it is very heartening to see everyone working together as a team.

"For example, when we were all still trying to get used to the dynamic pace of the operations, we had difficulty trying to generate a sufficient number of aircraft for the missions. However, through words of encouragement and help from other members of the team, we eventually adapted to the faster pace and were able to match the operational demands comfortably."

From Rockhampton, Mr Ong continued on his Australia trip to Canberra and Sydney to meet Australian leaders, including Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop and Minister for Defence Marise Payne, to discuss subjects of mutual interest such as educational and defence cooperation.