A military exercise between the United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) and the Royal Brunei Land Force (RBLF) officially began following an opening ceremony held at Lumut Camp on Wednesday.

The exercise, ‘Pahlawan Warrior’ is in its third iteration and focusses on enhancing partner land force capacity and capabilities, addresses internal security challenges, and increases interoperability operations that reaffirms shared security commitments to the Indo-Pacific region.

The US Deputy Commanding General of Interoperability for 25th Infantry Division (ID) Colonel Michael A van Welie presided over the opening ceremony and addressed the formation on the importance of USARPAC – RBLF partnership to the region.

“Pahlawan Warrior is a feature in our security cooperation calendar and critical to enhancing our joint capability as we each strive to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”

US Soldiers assigned to the 3rd Cavalry, 4th Squadron, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th ID will train alongside the RBLF on jungle skills, military operations in urban terrain, live fire exercises, and conduct a myriad of subject matter expert exchanges.

In addition to the myriad of training events planned, soldiers will participate in sports days to better know their RBLF counterparts and experience cultural days to learn more about Brunei customs and culture.

“Far more important than any technical interoperability we will develop during this exercise are the bonds of friendship and mutual understanding and cultural appreciation that we will develop amongst each of us,” added van Welie.

Chief of Staff of the RBLF Lieutenant Colonel Haji Mohd Shanonnizam bin Sulaiman emphasised how important the RBLF – USARPAC partnership is to the region.

“Exercises like this can inspire confidence and help maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific region. I am very confident that Pahlawan Warrior 2022 will be able to achieve its objective.”

After the ceremony, US Department of State Counsellor Derek Chollet thanked the soldiers on behalf of US President Joe Biden for their commitment to the nation and their efforts on furthering the ties between the two partner nations.

-- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin