EX BOLD SABRE ENDS WITH A BANG

"A great success!" concurred both Commanding Officer of 40th Battalion, Singapore Armoured Regiment (40 SAR) Lieutenant-Colonel (LTC) Dominic Aw and Officer Commanding Armour Reconnaissance Squadron, Suport Battalion of Exercise Bold Sabre Major (MAJ) Khairil Bin Haji Ismail.

The Singapore Armed Forces and the Royal Brunei Land Force (RBLF) took part in the five-day exercise, which ended on 19 Sep.

"Through the driving and live firing, we can see the Bruneian soldiers getting more comfortable with operating our vehicles," said LTC Aw. "This underscores the interoperability of the two forces."

MAJ Khairil agreed: "The interaction and learning process of the soldiers has also been invaluable.

"The instructors from SAF are very professional, and our soldiers have certainly benefitted from this exercise."

Exercise Bold Sabre ended with the RBLF soldiers engaging in a live firing session on several armoured vehicles, which included the SM-1, BIONIX 40/50 and Overhead Weapon System (OWS).

In his speech at the closing ceremony, Commander of 8th Singapore Armour Brigade, Colonel (COL) Woo Yew Chung said: "Our people have built personal bonds and developed mutual confidence and trust. This process can only contribute to the continuance of our already excellent ties."

"But I would also like to caution that we should not take our close ties for granted and we have to constantly nurture and build upon them."

To mark the closing of the exercise, LTC Aw handed the RBLF flag back to MAJ Khairil.