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More than 1,400 personnel from the Australian Defence Force and US Marine Corps have participated in the combined arms Exercise Rhino Run 2024.
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Exercise Rhino Run culminated in a force generation event for the 9th Brigade, involving 1st Armoured Regiment, 7th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment, 10th/27th Battalion, Royal South Australia Regiment, 9th Combat Service Support Battalion, 144 Signals Squadron, Headquarters 9th Brigade personnel, and external support from 3rd Health Battalion and United States Marine Corps.
The activity included a number of carefully synchronised unit live and dry fire activities in the Cultana Training Area with Direct Command Units working together to deliver individual and collective training outcomes.
Exercise Rhino Run culminated in a 24-hour crescendo of combat power by 7th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment (7RAR), 1st Armoured Regiment, and 1st Combat Engineer Regiment.
The 9th Brigade’s culminating combined arms exercise for 2024 comprised about 1,400 personnel from the ADF and US Marine Corps (USMC) who took on the unforgiving expanse of the Cultana Training Area, South Australia, enduring chilly, dust-choking winds during a month of training.
The exercise centred on 7RAR Battle Group Boar but developed the full range of capabilities across the brigade, including the generation of an integrated Battle Group based on 10th/27th Battalion, the Royal South Australia Regiment.
The exercise evaluated the ability of combat teams and headquarters to plan and conduct tactical actions against a near-peer adversary within a contemporary, combined arms setting.
Commanding Officer 7RAR Lieutenant Colonel Von Lambert said it was a significant exercise for his unit, which will soon be relinked with 5th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment, and relocated to Darwin.
“Today marked the culminating point of our live fire training as part of our final activity as Battle Group Boar, and the 7th Battalion, in the field here in Cultana,” LTCOL Lambert said.
“It’s bittersweet, and we’re really proud of our efforts, and we’re really proud of the last 12 years of the 7th Battalion here in South Australia.”
Despite the sentiment, LTCOL Lambert insisted 7RAR remained future-focused.
“The key theme for us throughout Exercise Rhino Run has been readiness, and as part of that readiness it’s an austere and expeditionary mindset,” he said.
Commander 9th Brigade Brigadier Tim Orders said it all worked to ensure units were prepared for whatever the future held.
“As an Army, we’re the experts in land combat, and this activity has helped us to remain focused on our readiness,” BRIG Orders said.
“It’s important that we remind ourselves that what we do here is hard. Combined arms warfare is difficult and requires significant practice.
“Today is a culmination of four weeks of hard training to ensure that we are ready.”
BRIG Orders said having teams from the 1st, 2nd, 6th and 17th Brigades, and the Marine Rotational Force – Darwin join 9th Brigade provided a valuable enhancement to the training outcomes.
“We’re very fortunate to have teams from flanking formations, as well as our partners and mates from the United States Marine Corps, join us for this exercise,” he said.
“We’re incredibly grateful for the support they provided to us.
“Partnerships are key, and the close relationship that we have with the USMC, particularly with their footprint in Darwin, is incredibly important, and we’re fortunate to be able to train alongside them here in South Australia.”
