Sappers from Townsville’s 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment and Assault Pioneer Platoon, 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, partnered with soldiers from 4 Platoon, Bravo Company, Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) to construct a new trench system at Townsville Field Training Area as part of Exercise Dingo Fury.

Sergeant Hayden Archer, a troop sergeant with the 16th Combat Engineer Squadron (16CES), said while trench warfare was not new, it remained a critical capability.

“This is a survivability task. It’s about protecting our soldiers because trenches give us the ability to fight and survive against a near-peer adversary,” Sergeant Archer said.

“We moved away from this type of training for a period, but in recent years we’ve brought it back to make sure it remains part of our skill set.” 

PNGDF Sergeant Mou Nasa said it was a valuable opportunity to work alongside Australian engineers.

“Back in Papua New Guinea, we don’t use excavators for digging like this, so seeing how quickly the trench can be built here has been a big lesson,” Sergeant Nasa said.

“When we go back, we can adapt what we’ve learned here to our own equipment and resources. We’ve also shared our knowledge with Australian engineers on using basic hand tools because excavators won’t always be available.” 

Officer Commanding 16CES Major Daniel Teys said the project delivered a significant training outcome, while establishing a trench system that would support activities for years to come.

“The PNGDF have been outstanding. They bring strong construction experience and have made a significant contribution to the build,” Major Teys said.

“Together, we’ve used more than 4000 sleepers, over 1000 hardwood timber posts, around three kilometres of wire and nearly 500 bags of concrete to construct the trench.”

The trench system will be maintained over the next three years to support training, while continuing to strengthen the partnership between the Australian Army and PNGDF.