Multinational battlegroup practises urban ops

Army’s Brisbane-based 7th Brigade kicked off the South Queensland Warfighter Exercise with more than 1500 soldiers from five nations training at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area.

CAPTION: Australian Army soldiers from 8th/9th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, and Republic of Fiji Military Forces conduct an assault on the urban operations training facility during the South Queensland Warfighter Exercise in Shoalwater Bay, Queensland. Story by Major Martin Hadley. Photos by Corporal Johnny Huang.

Battlegroup Ram, comprising troops from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Tonga and the United Kingdom, attacked the fictional town of Raspberry Creek  – the urban operations training facility  – clearing a well-armed, well-trained and determined ‘enemy’.

The state-of-the-art facility provides realistic, specialised training.

Commanding Officer of the 7th Brigade’s 8th/9th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Raven, said conflict did not just occur in rural areas.

“With urbanisation in the world, wars are fought increasingly in and around cities and towns,” Lieutenant Colonel Raven said.

“Having five nations in the battlegroup represents an opportunity to build partnerships and develop interoperability, which will be vital for future operations.”

This Warfighter exercise is an example of large-scale advanced collective training sponsored by Army’s Land Domain Training System.

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