For 56 years, 365 days a year, an Australian Army rifle company has stood ready in Malaysia.

The sharper purpose of that enduring presence is producing theatre-tested combat teams ready to fight alongside regional partners.

That is the job of 2nd/30th Training Group, a 1st (Australian) Division (1 Div) unit established in 2007 that commands and enables the force-assigned Rifle Company Butterworth (RCB) rotations.

The unit's Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Adam Seary said it was responsible for facilitating 1 Div’s international engagements in South-East Asia with Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Brunei.

RCB traces its roots to 1970, when Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, was seconded from the Australia New Zealand United Kingdom Brigade in Singapore to defend Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Butterworth against the threat of the Second Malayan Emergency.

From the early 1990s, as that threat receded, the rotation shifted to bilateral infantry training with Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Brunei – a role it held for three decades.

In response to the increasingly complex strategic environment, in late 2024 Commander 1 Div Major General Ash Collingburn directed 2nd/30th Training Group to intensify its efforts.

Lieutenant Colonel Seary said every partnered international engagement activity was a genuine rehearsal for operations, and must provide a tangible dividend to support collective security.

'The unfamiliar terrain, austere conditions and complexity of coordinating with partner forces make the training uniquely valuable, in ways that cannot be replicated at home.'

Up to six annual bilateral and multilateral international engagement activities are held to build partner interoperability, close-country warfare expertise and resilience – from individual soldiers to the combat team. This includes support to Five Power Defence Arrangements activities Exercise Bersama Shield and Exercise Bersama Lima.

“The unfamiliar terrain, austere conditions and complexity of coordinating with partner forces make the training uniquely valuable, in ways that cannot be replicated at home,” Lieutenant Colonel Seary said.

That learning runs both ways. Australian soldiers are gaining exposure to partners' contemporary capabilities, including the Royal Thai Army's integration of surveillance and strike drones down to platoon level, and from the recently completed Exercise Chapel Gold activity in Pranchin Buri and Lop Buri, Thailand.

“Units that deploy as the Rifle Company Butterworth get unique professional development experience, and that sets them up for success from that point in time when we are tasked, under operational conditions, to fight with partners in this region,” Lieutenant Colonel Seary said.

In a run of firsts this year, Exercise Chapel Gold, now in its 41st year, gave Australian soldiers access to a mechanised infantry battalion, employment of the Mk47 automatic grenade launcher, and exposure to the Royal Thai Army's BTR-3U armoured vehicles in a live-fire mechanised battle group attack.

RCT 152, from A Company, 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, will refit in Butterworth before deploying to multinational Exercise Keris Strike in Kota Belud, Sabah, on Borneo Island – testing Army's logistics in the littoral through commercial, host nation (Royal Malaysian Air Force) and a joint connector (RAAF).

Malaysia is one of Australia’s longest and closest Defence partners, and the exercise will build trust and enhance ADF interoperability.

“We are the partner of choice within the region because we deploy capable and credible teams,” Lieutenant Colonel Seary said. 

“We adapt to partner force requirements, and we seek opportunities to learn from the experts in land combat throughout South-East Asia.”