SOLDIERS GET A TASTE OF ‘REAL’ COMBAT
TOWNSVILLE’S 3rd Brigade leapt into action yesterday to protect a group of refugees in an area where law and order was breaking down.
The operation at High Range was part of Exercise Brolga Run, the Brigade’s annual graduated training exercise, which will run for two weeks.
Adjusted to incorporate current COVID-19 restrictions, soldiers will undertake a series of training exercises, increasing in complexity, to prepare them for deployment
Commander of the 3rd Brigade, Brigadier Kahlil Fegan, said all combat commanders would be put through the training. “The combat team is about 100 soldiers in each team, they come together at short notice, are given a set of orders and they deploy up here into High Range training area,” he said.
Once the brigade has completed all the training activities they will consolidate their learning into a full mission profile, a high-end collective warfighting task.
The training gives troops an array of experience in potential tasks they may y require to carry out on operations.
Yesterday’s activities, including pro- tecting a group of refugees in a compound, were designed to prepare soldiers for entry into areas of failing governance.
Combat team Alpha commanding officer Major Tom Day labelled it a “fantastic” opportunity. “We anticipate to be out here for another 10 days conducting training from peace and stability operations all the way through to high end conflict,” he said.
“Because of the nature of the exercise moving all the way through the spectrum of warfare, it prepares our soldiers and officers for any type of contingency Australian defence personnel may have to face overseas at any time.”