In the sweltering heat, Singapore and US soldiers train and build camaraderie

SINGAPORE — They felt the heat, literally, but when the American soldiers reach the end of their 12-day exercise here this Friday (July 19), it is safe to assume that they will not be packing up in a hurry.

“I think the hardest part for the US forces will be when they have to board the plane to go home,” said Colonel Stephen Logan, the Hawaii Army National Guard chief of staff, on Wednesday.

The United States Army and their Singapore counterparts successfully conducted an integrated urban operations exercise at the Murai Urban Training Facility on Wednesday as part of the annual Exercise Tiger Balm — the longest-running bilateral exercise between the two armies.

First conducted in 1981, the exercise this year involved about 766 personnel from the US and Singapore armies and saw them working together on several operations.

If part of the aim of the exercise is for both armies to exchange know-how and foster closer ties, then this objective has been achieved, said the commanders involved.

“I think it is not common to see that the two armies can operate so comfortably at various echelons,” said Brigadier-General Lee Yi-Jin, commander of the 6th Singapore Division.

“It takes a lot of trust and confidence in each other.”

Colonel Logan said: “We not only share our knowledge, expertise and skill sets, but we have also built some lifelong friendships here.”

Some Singapore Armed Forces personnel said that the exercise had been an eye-opening experience.

“While they are here, they not only share what they know in terms of what the US Army has developed but they also share a lot of their personal experiences, their own war stories,” said Captain Scott Ang Yi Qiang, 26, who is a regular.

Lance Corporal Mo Thana Viknesh Waran, 21, who is a full-time national serviceman, said that it was a valuable experience getting to try out the Americans’ weapons during live-firing exercises.

“We are deployed in a way that we have to work together with them like in real-life scenarios,” he said.

Soldiers from the US army said that the humidity and heat was something they needed to get accustomed to.

Staff Sergeant Ryan P Roe, 33, said: “It’s hot, it is not as humid back home but we still had the heat.”