Bruneian soldiers finish exercising in Brisbane

Australian and Bruneian soldiers have trained together in Australia for the first time in more than 10 years.

CAPTION: An Australian Army rifleman from Bravo Company 6RAR and a soldier from the Royal Brunei Land Forces take part in a section attack during Exercise Mallee Bull 2019, at Gallipoli Barracks, Queensland. Photo by Private Nicole Dorrett.

Exercise Mallee Bull saw more than 60 soldiers from the Australian Army’s 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, and 55 soldiers from the Royal Brunei Land Forces training together at Brisbane’s Gallipoli Barracks.

The two-week exercise focused on integrating training in urban environments with mechanised vehicles and reconnaissance.

Soldiers practiced the integration of Australian and Bruneian military equipment, including the Australian M113AS4 Armoured Personnel Carrier and Bruneian motorcycles and unmanned aerial vehicles to complete training missions.

7th Brigade Commander Brigadier Andrew Hocking said Exercise Mallee Bull had been mutually beneficial for both [sets of soldiers], bonding and learning a lot from each other over two weeks.

“They’ve shared knowledge and tactics to improve key skills, overcome the challenges of operating with soldiers from different militaries and both strengthened their ability to work with one another on future operations or exercises,” Brigadier Hocking said. 

“The exercise has been a great opportunity to build strong, long-term relationships with our Bruneian counterparts to improve security, stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific Region.

“Brunei is one of Australia’s valued partners in regional counter-terrorism, and exercises between our two nations contribute to strengthening our interoperability across a range of operational scenarios.”

Exercise Mallee Bull is one of several bilateral defence exercises between Australia and Brunei, with other exercises involving the Navy and Special Forces.

Exercise Mallee Bull also coincided with the annual Australian-Brunei Joint Defence Working Committee in Brisbane with delegates from both nations visiting the troops and viewing their training at Gallipoli Barracks.

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