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Australian Army personnel have put their amphibious training to the test ahead of a major multinational exercise involving regional partners.
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Soldiers from the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, have completed small boat training activities as part of Exercise Tiger’s Run in Darwin.
The activities included boat handling and beach landing operations, aimed at developing 1st Brigade’s littoral manoeuvre capability.
Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Chris Gilmore noted the benefits of training in the Top End to hone amphibious warfighting skills.
“What our infantry soldiers – and particularly our soldiers here in Darwin – have is an inherent flexibility and an ability to operate in any weather, climate, or terrain,” LTCOL Gilmore said.
“It’s the geography that we live in, it’s the geography we work in, and we have a lot of water here – so with small boats it allows us to do more things in more places more often.”
Exercise Tiger’s Run is the forerunner to 1st Brigade’s Exercise Predator’s Run 2022 — a combined exercise held in the Northern Territory’s Mount Bundey Training Area.
“The first step in that journey is us developing our skills in small boats, with that operating within littoral areas,” LTCOL Gilmore said.
“We see that work on the water is going to be integral for us, with anything we’re going to be doing into the future, particularly within this region, and this just gives us the opportunity to make sure that we’re as ready as we humanly can be.”
Exercise Predator’s Run 2022 is expected to involve personnel from the United States Marine Corps’ Marine Force Detachment – Darwin, Malaysian Armed Forces, and the Philippine Army.
Commander of the 1st Brigade, Brigadier Nick Foxall, said the training would prepare personnel to successfully execute littoral operations alongside international partners.
“This is an excellent opportunity to train with our partners from countries such as the United States, Malaysia, and the Philippines while becoming accustomed to operating in the maritime environment,” BRIG Foxall said.
Exercise Predator’s Run is expected to be the first of many multinational training exercises designed to improve littoral capabilities.
“The 1st Brigade will lead Army’s thinking on the establishment of the littoral formation and play a key role in building Army’s littoral corporate knowledge,” Brigadier Foxall said.
“To achieve this, we will seek increased security cooperation and international engagements such as exchanges and study tours with partner nations.”
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