East Timorese soldiers get a brief introduction to night vision equipment from 6RAR members. Photo by Capt John McPherson, MPAC

Fine-tuning in East Timor
WESTBATT plays a part in training East Timor's military leaders

From Capt John McPherson in East Timor
LEADERS in East Timor's fledgling Army fine-tuned their skills with the help of Australian soldiers and officers, as well as some hands-on experience in border operations.

The week-long joint training program was aimed at improving the skills of East Timorese military leaders and helped to cement the already-close relationship between the two forces.

When the Commander of the East Timorese Army (F-FDTL), Brig- Gen Taur Matan Ruak placed a ceremonial scarf around the neck of CO WESTBATT Lt-Col Shane Caughey, it indicated more than a just a gesture of appreciation for helping to train his soldiers.

It also signified the genuine trust and friendship that has developed between the Australian and East Timorese soldiers as they both work towards ensuring a secure future for East Timor.

"This has been an extremely valuable experience for all of us," Lt-Col Caughey said.

"It has been a privilege to be able to share the skills and knowledge we possess and to see how readily and capably they have been picked up."

The placing of the ceremonial tais around Lt-Col Caughey's neck came at the conclusion of the joint training program focused on imparting command and planning skills to junior officers and senior NCOs from the 2 Bn F-FDTL.

It had been the second course conducted at WESTBATT in recent weeks with eight East Timorese Army members attending each program. Participating this time were a captain company commander, a lieutenant executive officer, three lieutenant platoon commanders and three platoon sergeants.

During the week the East Timorese soldiers mixed classroom theory and planning with practical application as they took part in joint patrols with their Australian counterparts throughout the hamlets and villages in the WESTBATT area of operations.

They also became familiar with WESTBATT equipment and procedures - including the use of night vision goggles - while putting operational planning and orders into practice.

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