SINGAPORE – More than 600 soldiers from the Singapore and United States armed forces took part in a two-week-long exercise in California that ended on Saturday.

Exercise Valiant Mark, an annual bilateral exercise, ran from Oct 7 to 21, said the Ministry of Defence on Saturday.

The Singapore Armed Forces was represented by soldiers from the 7th Singapore Infantry Brigade and 1st Battalion Singapore Guards, while the US Marine Corps sent its 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit to the exercise.

The exercise concluded with a battalion-level amphibious mission that involved joint planning and the capturing of urban objectives.

Other exercise elements included subject matter expert exchanges, urban operations training, live-firing and brigade-level planning exercises.

The closing ceremony was co-officiated by Lieutenant-Colonel Stanley Lim, commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Singapore Guards, and Lt-Col Patrick Holland, commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion 4th Marines, at Camp Pendleton.

Exercise Valiant Mark, launched in 1991 and in its 26th edition, “underscores the excellent and longstanding bilateral defence relations between Singapore and the United States”, said Mindef.

The two militaries interact regularly through numerous bilateral and multilateral exercises, high-level visits, professional exchanges and the cross-attendance of courses and seminars, it added.

“These mutually beneficial exchanges have enhanced the cooperation and professionalism of both armed forces, and forged strong rapport and camaraderie among their personnel,” Mindef said.