WALLABY BY THE NUMBERS

Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) personnel have been making their way to the Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) in Queensland, Australia, every year since 1990 for the Wallaby series of exercises and 2011 was no exception. Here's a look at Exercise Wallaby 2011, which involved about 5,500 personnel from various Army and Air Force units.

14
Number of days it took to transport all the assets from Singapore to Down Under, though the preparation of vehicles for the Australian Quarantine Inspection began as early as May 2011.

4
Number of times SWBTA is larger than Singapore. The training area's vast and challenging terrain enables the SAF to hone its operational readiness. Chief Armour Officer Brigadier-General Benedict Lim, who was exercise director last year, said the expanse of terrain allows Armour units to fire at long range and conduct outflanking manoeuvres. It also provides ideal conditions for soldiers to carry out realistic live-firing exercises.

400
Approximate number of assets (armoured vehicles, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles) transported to SWBTA for the exercise.

8 hours
Duration of flight from Changi Airport to Brisbane Airport. It takes another 75 minutes to fly from Brisbane to the Rockhampton airport. The Forward Support Group, comprising 150 soldiers, arrived first on 11 Sep 2011 to prepare the SWBTA for the ensuing 65 days of training.

30 tonnes
Weight that can be lifted in a single pull by the Armour Recovery Vehicle's (ARV's) crane. The newest addition to the Maintenance and Engineering Support formation, the ARV is equipped with the Combat Recovery Device, a system that makes clever use of cameras to automatically align and hook the ARV to incapacitated Leopard 2A4 tanks. It was the ARV's first Exercise Wallaby.

5 mins
Amount of time that it takes for the Leopard II Armour Vehicle Launch Bridge (L2AVLB), which was at its first Exercise Wallaby, to be launched. The L2AVLB is operated by a two-man team.

25m
Length of gap that can be crossed when the L2AVLB is fully extended. The L2AVLB is able to bear loads up to 70 tonnes, slightly more than the weight of a Leopard 2A4 tank.

8 C
The lowest recorded temperature during the exercise. The temperature swung up to 36 degree Celsius in the day, and occasional bush fires meant the air was sometimes smoky and hazy.

363hours
Approximately how long the Republic of Singapore Air Force's AH-64D Apache attack helicopters flew during the exercise.

Held from 23 Sep to 26 Nov 2011, the latest Exercise Wallaby also marked the 21st year of SAF training in the area. PIONEER speaks to those who were at the exercise.

"We are very appreciative of the commitment that they have displayed here because they spend quite a number of weeks a long way from home. Having seen what our people are doing and the dedication they put into their training, I think it's certainly something the SAF and MINDEF values very highly."

- Minister of State for Defence and Education Lawrence Wong, who witnessed the integrated live-firing exercise on 20 Nov 2011

"The ATEC exercise was most memorable because we were pushed to the limit. We worked five days and four nights with one to two hours of sleep in between jobs and were always ready to go. These challenges pushed the platoon to bond and work closer together."

- Corporal Lian Chuan Yi, 42 Forward Maintenance Platoon, "A" vehicle mechanic whose battalion went through their Army Training Evaluation Centre (ATEC) exercise as part of Exercise Wallaby

"It was the first time we set up the Air Land Tactical Control Centre without the support of external engineers. Instead, a team of six air operations system experts and Air Force engineers managed and handled the whole system."

- Military Expert 3 Lee Meow Ping, Flight Warrant Officer, 201 Squadron, on a key challenge his team experienced