EXERCISE WALLABY THROUGH THE AGES

2010 marked the 20th year of the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF's) training in the Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) of Queensland, Australia. PIONEER takes you through the journey of the exercise which is held Down Under every year.

Space has always been an issue in the island nation of Singapore and finding military training space has been a constant challenge for the SAF.

So when the opportunity to train in the wide open spaces of the SWBTA arose in 1990, the SAF sent 1,200 personnel over for three weeks, kicking off the Wallaby series of exercises.

Today, the exercise has grown in both scope and size. The recently concluded Exercise Wallaby 2010, held from 24 Sep to 26 Nov 2010, saw about 5,200 personnel involved over a period of two months.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean emphasised the value of having overseas training and exercises during his visit to SWBTA on 19 Nov 2010. "In Singapore, they (SAF soldiers) can learn the basics, so they learn the basic drill to get the fundamentals right. However, they don't have the same kind of space and they don't have the same kind of challenges that come from unfamiliar terrain, a different kind of climate, topography and so on."

He added: "When they come out here, they have to encounter different conditions and uncertainties which they were not faced with in Singapore. So they are able then to apply the basics and the fundamentals which they have learnt and I think it also enables them to focus together and gel as a unit much better than when they are in Singapore and have other distractions."

In the Defence Cooperation Agreement inked between Australia and Singapore in 2009, the SAF was allowed to train in SWBTA until 2019. The duration of the annual exercise was also increased from 45 to 65 days until 2012.

To overcome land and airspace constraints, the SAF today trains in about a dozen countries around the world, including Australia.

Space to train integration

With air-land integration a key objective of the 3rd Generation SAF, it comes as no surprise that the SAF has been honing its ability to fight as a networked and integrated fighting force through exercises like Exercise Wallaby.

In fact, the 2000 edition of Exercise Wallaby saw the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) participating for the first time with CH-47 Chinook helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles. Three years later, the SAF took it a step further with the RSAF and the Army conducting multiple air-land integration operations in SWBTA.

Said Exercise Wallaby 2010 Air Exercise Director Colonel (COL) Chew Chee Mun: "Exercises like Wallaby help us to interact with our Army counterparts. Through this, we are able to work and collaborate as a united fighting force while boosting interoperability."

In 2008, the Air-Land Tactical Control Centre (ALTaCC) made its debut in the exercise. Part of the RSAF's Participation Command, the ALTaCC played a critical role as the tactical command and control agency that bridged the air and land forces by providing timely, accurate and responsive air power to shape land battles.

"The ALTaCC creates a common air-land operating picture by tracking both air and land forces. This picture is then shared to improve situational awareness, thereby ensuring a tighter sensor-to-shooter loop during attacks," said COL Chew on the integral role of ALTaCC.

Space to hone capabilities

Over the years, the SAF has been constantly introducing new concepts and assets into Exercise Wallaby. One such example is the introduction of the Leopard 2A4 Main Battle Tanks in 2008.

Providing the SAF with enhanced firepower, protection and mobility, the Leopard 2A4s work in tandem with the SAF's other land and air assets, and the SWTBA enabled these tanks to train realistically with the other assets.

Through Exercise Wallaby, the SAF is able to hone its ability to respond to a wide spectrum of operations by wielding a myriad of sensor, weapon and manoeuvre platforms.

Besides putting new technologies and war-fighting concepts to the test in the SWTBA, the SAF also uses the space to train its people.

Operationally Ready National Servicemen (NSmen) who took part in Exercise Wallaby 2010 saw the exercise as an opportunity to hone their operational readiness.

National Service (NS) Brigade Commander COL Ong Jia Jun said that the exercise was an excellent opportunity to take these men out of their comfort zones and allows them to put what they learnt during In-Camp Training (ICT) to good use.

"These NSmen do dry runs in Singapore but have not physically executed the scenarios. Exercises such as this enable them to strategise and execute their plans," said COL Ong, adding that the different scenarios help to challenge the men both mentally and physically.

"This forces them to think both creatively and critically, enabling them to continually assess the situation, stretching their operational perimeters, and keeping them up-to-date with the ways of the 3rd Generation SAF," he said.

Adapting to change

Through Exercise Wallaby, the SAF allows personnel to be exposed to new challenges and equips them with the experience to better operate in the 3rd Generation SAF.

Captain (CPT) (NS) Christopher Chow said that NSmen such as himself were coping well with the new technologies that the SAF had to offer.

"The SAF may acquire different weapon systems but we have to make sure these work for us. We need to be able to integrate them as one cohesive piece and come up with the methodology to deploy these systems together for added effectiveness," said CPT (NS) Chow.

In the same vein, 3rd Sergeant (3SG) (NS) Jeremy Oh said that the element of technology has helped the SAF to become more efficient and operationally ready.

"Two ICT sessions ago, I manually plotted enemy positions on a map with a pen. Nowadays, with the help of technology, we are able to do the same thing on a laptop with a digitised map," said 3SG (NS) Oh, who now achieves this in 15 minutes, less than half the time it used to take to execute the task.

"Everyone is synchronised to the same digital map so there is no confusion. This way, we do it much faster and the time we save can be put to better use, allowing us to focus on the battle at hand," he added.

Exercise Wallaby today

Since the annual training in Queensland was first conducted in 1990, Exercise Wallaby 2010 has evolved to become one of the SAF's biggest unilateral exercises.

From a brigade-level exercise 20 years ago, the latest edition of the exercise has grown to involve numerous air and land platforms such as the Apache AH-64 helicopters, the F-16 fighter aircraft, the Bionix II Infantry Fighting Vehicles, the Leopard 2A4 tanks and Singapore Self-Propelled Howitzer - Primus. The exercise finally culminated in a live-firing demonstration witnessed by Mr Teo on 19 Nov 2010.

Expressing his gratitude for the opportunities Australia has provided for Singapore to train in its country, Mr Teo said after the live-firing demonstration: "We are very grateful for this. The exercise this year has allowed us to put through several frames of soldiers and allowed us to train integrated exercises including our Air Force and our Army together. It has been a very valuable exercise."

Milestones of Exercise Wallaby

1990
The inaugural Exercise Wallaby happened over three weeks with just 1,200 personnel participating in a series of Armour Battle Group exercises. This culminated in a Command Post Exercise.

1993
This year's exercise saw support from the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) for the first time with the introduction of Super Pumas and Light Observation Helicopters.

2000
The CH-47 Chinook helicopters and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) made their debut during this year's exercise.

2003
This year's exercise witnessed multiple air-land integration operations between the Army and the RSAF.

2005
Headquarters Armour conducted an Integrated Systems Live-Firing exercise involving elements from the RSAF for the first time.

2006
The Apache AH-64 helicopters debuted at this year's exercise.

2008
The Leopard 2A4 Main Battle Tanks took part in the exercise for the first time. The Air-Land Tactical Control Centre (ALTaCC) also made its maiden appearance. By providing a common air-land operating picture and exercising real-time control of air and ground-based air defence assets, the ALTaCC ensured a tighter sensor-to-shooter loop allowing for more integrated air and land fires on targets.

2009
The Leopard 2A4 Main Battle Tanks attained full operational capability.