Login
iscover
Australian Army soldiers from Darwin’s 1st Brigade have travelled to Indonesia for Exercise Wirra Jaya 2019.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
Exercise Warra Jaya is a bilateral training exercise held annually with the Indonesian Army, with this year's iteration taking place in Asum Bagus, East Java – Indonesia’s premier live-fire field training facility that regularly hosts international exercises.
Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds said the two-week training exercise aims to foster co-operation and enhance interoperability between Australian and Indonesian forces.
“Since Exercise Wirra Jaya debuted in 2013, it has grown into a sophisticated Defence partnership, strengthening each year based on our shared interest in enhancing peace and security in our region,” Minister Reynolds said.
“The exercise has grown from a single rifle platoon to both nations now contributing engineers, artillery and military vehicles for training.”
Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Rick Burr, AO, DSC, MVO, said 2019 will be the first time Australian Army Bushmasters will deploy with soldiers as part of the exercise.
“Our soldiers from the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment introduced the Bushmaster to their Indonesian counterparts in the Northern Territory last year and they will now continue that training on unfamiliar ground,” LTGEN Burr said.
The Tentara Nasional Indonesia Army (TNI-AD) strategic reserve force, the 2nd Division Kostrad, will have the opportunity to show the Australian infantrymen their own armoured fighting vehicle capability.
“Familiarising ourselves with each other’s doctrine, equipment, tactics and techniques broadens our knowledge and understanding of each other, which in turn naturally builds trust and relationships that endure,” LTGEN Burr said.
Each year Australia and Indonesia share hosting duty for Exercise Wirra Jaya.
In 2018, the Australian Army’s 1st Brigade welcomed around 90 TNI-AD soldiers to Robertson Barracks.
