Leadership ability cuts through at battalion
On Exercise Black Cutlass, the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment (2RAR) proved the Australian Army’s mission to demonstrate leadership at all levels is on track.
CAPTION: A soldier from the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment (2RAR), conducts small boat operations during Exercise Black Cutlass at Cowley Beach Training Area in North Queensland. Story by Captain Cody Tsaousis. Photos by Lance Corporal Luke Donegan.
Conducted at of Cowley Beach Training Area, Townsville Field Training Area and Mission Beach, the exercise tested the abilities of planners and soldiers on the ground to develop and execute tactics on the run.
It featured small boats, reconnaissance operations and an assault on an objective.
Lieutenant William Devilee said a change in plans prompted some soldiers to test themselves in new ways.
“There were a lot of parts of the mission that had to be executed by subordinate commanders without direct supervision from command-and-control there on the ground,” Lieutenant Devilee said.
“At 2RAR, we’re often dislocated from one another so that’s always a possibility, and the junior non-commissioned officers [NCOs] at the battalion really showed their competence and their leadership capabilities.
“It was really great to see some of our junior NCOs take the lead.”
CAPTION: Soldiers from 2RAR conduct a pre-dawn raid on high-value targets during Exercise Black Cutlass at Cowley Beach Training Area.
Commanding Officer 2RAR Lieutenant Colonel Luke Holloway said continuous contingency planning was a big part of it because of the nature of amphibious operations.
“The idea of this activity is that it enables myself, as a commanding officer, to assure both the Commander of the 1st (Australian) Division and the Commander of the AAF [Australian Amphibious Force] that the forces have met all of their key training requirements,” Lieutenant Colonel Holloway said.
“It allows us to roll into Exercise Sea Raider, and because we’ve done Exercise Black Cutlass plus other lead-up training, we’re really focused on just refining points as opposed to doing any new mission profiles.”
2RAR is the nucleus of the ADF’s joint pre-landing force, which is a sub-unit-sized force element that is on a short notice to move, and works primarily for the AAF.
Exercise Black Cutlass is 2RAR’s assurance activity, which ensures the battalion is prepared to conduct short-notice contingency operations.
“On this exercise we’ve seen insertion via rotary wing and insertion via small boats. The activity itself is focused on our primary role, which is reconnaissance,” Lieutenant Colonel Holloway said.
“A lot of the serials are reconnaissance-heavy. We’ve also done some small combat actions, such as raid serials.”
Exercise Black Cutlass culminated with an insertion into jungle terrain at Cowley Beach Training Area, and launching a break-of-dawn clearance on an ‘enemy’ position.
CAPTION: An Australian Army soldier from the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment, conducts a pre-dawn raid on high-value targets during Exercise Black Cutlass at Cowley Beach Training Area in North Queensland.
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