Now you’re talking

By MAJ Jeff Squire

Accent on cooperation ... WO1 Glynn Potter, of 16th Air Defence Regiment, discusses operational tactics with LTCOL Tommy Tan, of the Republic of Singapore Air Force. 16AD Regt and the RSAF worked together to form the ground-based air defence component.

Photo by CPL Darren Hilder

ALTHOUGH four nations were represented at Exercise Pitch Black, language was no barrier to effective communication in the air and on the ground. English was the common link that made things work.

The French, Thai and Singaporean detachments all had a sound grasp of English. Some participants had even completed tertiary education in Australia.

While English was well understood by all, the accents were another matter. A broad Australian accent can be a challenge for someone taught English by an American or Briton. Perhaps the greatest challenge was the French accent, which was not familiar to the Australian, Thai or Singaporean ear.

Wing Commander Alan Clements, XO of the Blue Wing Operations Centre, said sorting out communications and understanding was the main focus of the first week.

“Language is not a barrier here, but it is a challenge that we have to overcome,” WGCDR Clements said. “Writing down procedures, standardising briefing formats and giving all participants the opportunity to ask questions and confirm their understanding was essential.

“We made sure that there was face-to-face interaction during mission briefs and debriefs. We made sure that communications procedures were standardised and that everyone knew what to do when they heard key words. We have a common language, the language of flying.”

The first week of the exercise focused on relatively simple air tasks that allowed pilots, fighter controllers, base operations staff and civilian air traffic controllers to confirm procedures and make sure that everybody could walk before that were asked to run and then fly. Some call-signs were simplified to ensure pronunciations did not cause confusion.

Major Spencer Lee, of the RSAF, said the Singaporeans were used to training with the Thais and Australians and had “no real problem with the lingo and the accents”.

During the third and final week of PB04 there were up to 60 aircraft participating in simulated air combat at the same time; there is no room for misunderstandings in that environment.

Next time these nations need to train, or fight, together they will be using the experience and understanding provided by PB04.

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