EXERCISE WALLABY MARKS FIRST BILATERAL TRAINING SEGMENT

It is 2030hrs. Troops from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are working hard at their military manoeuvres in the Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA). All of a sudden, they hear news that a tsunami has struck Queensland, Australia. Working together with the Australian Defence Force (ADF), the soldiers quickly swing into action to offer whatever aid they can.

This was the scenario painted on 18 Nov, as part of a bilateral Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) exercise component of Exercise Wallaby 2013. Codenamed Trident, this Ship-to-Shore segment involved more than 900 personnel from the SAF and 14 personnel from the ADF. The troops swung into action on 19 Nov, complemented by the Republic of Singapore Navy's Landing Ship Tank RSS Resolution.

Explaining the need for a HADR exercise, Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen said: "Over the last few years we (have) had more and more challenges for the military to respond to humanitarian disasters in our own region. For example, Aceh and Typhoon Haiyan in Philippines."

"I think that increasingly, our militaries will be called upon and it's a significant capability that we (should) all build up and this (Exercise Wallaby) is a good opportunity."

Dr Ng gave these comments during his visit to the exercise, which began at the RSS Resolution, where the planning and coordination for Exercise Trident were being done. Together with Australian Assistant Minister for Defence Stuart Robert, Dr Ng was briefed on the plans and actions the SAF would be carrying out in the next 12 hours, which included despatching a medical company from the ship via helicopter to affected areas. In addition, both ministers observed a medical evacuation mission using a Republic of Singapore Air Force Chinook.

Dr Ng and Mr Robert then proceeded to witness the capabilities of the newly-acquired Light Strike Vehicle Mark II (LSV MK II) on land. Designed to be helicopter-portable and equipped with enhanced networking systems to integrate it with other SAF assets, the LSV MK II s prowess was showcased in an integrated live-firing demonstration together with two AH-64D Apache Attack Helicopters.

As part of his visit, Dr Ng also affixed a vehicle plate onto one of the vehicles to mark the operationalisation of the platform.

The SAF has trained 23 years in SWBTA, an area several times the size of Singapore. The opportunity to train in such vast land space, explained Dr Ng, was very precious to the SAF as it allowed NSmen to do live firing to up to a distance of 4km, something not possible to do in Singapore.

He added: "It (the training) gives them confidence. They (SAF troops) go away from this knowing that their training is realistic and impactful and that the deterrence value is immeasurable."

Dr Ng comments were met with similar sentiments from Mr Roberts, who commended on the SAF s tri-service capabilities and operations.

"Not only in terms of equipment you bought or the 5,000 combat men and women you have, but your capability to develop these on the ground, coordinated, to have a joint fire effect not just on land, but also in the air is truly impressive. What I've seen today is a truly potent capability," he said.

Conducted from 3 Oct to 30 Nov 2013, this year's exercise involved more than 5,000 personnel and 300-plus SAF platforms, including the Heron 1 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, which participated for the first time. The exercise was also a testament to the close and longstanding defence relationship between Singapore and Australia.

As Mr Roberts summed it up: "We can learn a whole lot about how you guys do operations and you can learn from us We look to very long and very endearing relationship with the Singaporean government and the SAF."