Singapore high five
Joint Ex marks 30 years

Sebestian Titus, a clerk supply working at No. 92 Wing Detachment, helps CPL Jo Rankine, a supplier from No. 11 Squadron, with the labelling of consumables substores bins.

Flight engineer SGT John Schultz returns from a sortie during Exercise Bersama Lima. SGT Schultz is a member of Crew 6, No. 10 Squadron, which flew Orions based at RAAF Base Butterworth during the exercise.

THIS year’s Exercise Bersama Lima was bigger and more complex than ever before.

The largest operational-level headquarters in the series’ history was set up at Singapore’s Paya Lebar Air Base to drive the 16-day exercise towards network-centric warfare and to keep more effective command and control over dispersed forces.

The Air Force’s 13 aircraft and several hundred personnel were among 3500 participants from Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

About 277 personnel from all five countries manned the headquarters, including members of No. 82 Wing.

Deployable Joint Force Headquarters Maritime led an ADF team of 44 communications, legal, air operations, maritime operations and logistics personnel to support the EX BL04 headquarters, including the Deputy Maritime Component Commander, Captain Peter Leschen.

CAPT Leschen said Bersama Lima 2004 was the largest exercise yet in this series.

“It is moving into the area of maritime interception operations and is also expanding to include operational level planning as well as tactical operations,” CAPT Leschen said.

“These initiatives are both exciting and challenging. Their success in 2004 bodes well for future exercises.” The Combined Air Operations Centre at the exercise worked on a 72-hour cycle.

The CAOC had six hours each day to draft, plan and release the “blue” air tasking order that tasked fighter aircraft to conduct defensive counter air operations for the simulated defence of the Peninsular of Malaysia and Singapore.

The CAOC also tasked “blue” maritime patrol aircraft to conduct 24-hour simulated maritime surveillance within the exercise area in the South China Sea.

It also generated 30-40 “red” air missions to attempt to penetrate the simulated air defence identification zone where aircraft entering the area were required to identify themselves as friend or foe.

A maritime security drill at sea was held for the first time this year.

This serial saw units from all Five Power Defence Arrangement (FPDA) countries cooperating in a maritime interdiction operation to conduct search, tracking and eventual interdiction and boarding of a simulated target vessel at sea.

This was a first step towards building the capacity of the five nations to deal with non-conventional threats. Civil military cooperation and media were also incorporated into the exercise for the first time.

These were introduced in recognition of the importance of media and civil relations in current military operations. The exercise, held from September 10-25, represented more than 30 years of cooperation between the nations.

It was the second in the series of Bersama multilateral activities involving the FPDA forces this year. The first was Bersama Shield held in May.

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ON THE LIMA WAGON

CPL Rebecca Miller, an aircraft technician from No. 10 Squadron, monitors an engine run on an Orion during Exercise Bersama Lima in Singapore.

Photos by SGT Brent Tero

THE Air Force sent 13 aircraft – including F/A-18s and AP-3Cs – an ADF-leased electronic warfare training squadron lear jet and personnel from Headquarters Air Command, No. 82 Wing, No. 114 Mobile Control and Reporting Unit, No. 75 Squadron, HQ Integrated Area Defence System (Butterworth), No. 324 Combat Support Squadron and No. 92 Wing.

Personnel from all Services, including an Army ground-based air defence company and a clearance diving team, were involved, as well as seven surface vessels and one submarine.

 

 

 

 

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