S'pore, US armies hold first in-person exercise since Covid-19 pandemic

SINGAPORE - More than 1,000 soldiers from the Singapore Army and US Army are taking part in Exercise Tiger Balm 2022, an integrated urban operations drill, the Ministry of Defence said on Thursday (June 16).

Held at the Murai Urban Training Facility from June 6 to June 17, the brigade-level exercise involves participants from the Headquarters 6th Singapore Division/Headquarters Sense & Strike, the Headquarters 10th Singapore Infantry Brigade and 5th Battalion Singapore Infantry Regiment, and the US Army's Hawaii Army National Guard, the 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team and 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment.

Terrex troop carrier vehicles from the Singapore Armed Forces have joined the US Army's Stryker combat vehicles in a combined task force.

It is supported by the SAF's STrike ObserveRs Mission (Storm) team and the US Army's Fire Support Team (Fist).

Commander of the 6th Singapore Division, Colonel Adrian Teng, said: "Exercise Tiger Balm is symbolic of the special relationship built on common interests and values that is shared between our armies.

"Through more than four decades of exchanges, we have learnt from each other, and enhanced our professionalism… This has been made possible by the mutual trust and respect we have for one another.

"Our shared resolution to host Exercise Tiger Balm 2022 physically is an apt expression of the strength and resilience of this bilateral relationship."

First conducted in 1981, Exercise Tiger Balm is the longest-running bilateral exercise between the two armies.

This is the first time it has been held in person since the Covid-19 pandemic. The previous in-person edition of the exercise in 2019 involved more than 700 personnel.

The exercise was conducted virtually last year and suspended the year before that because of the pandemic.

Brigadier-General David Neo, Chief of Army, said last month that the Singapore Army will look to increase both the number and scale of overseas training exercises as Singapore moves to living with Covid-19.

This ramp-up in operational tempo will be done in a calibrated manner, with training safety being a "top of mind" concern added, BG Neo.

Besides Exercise Tiger Balm, the Singapore and United States armies also interact through professional exchange programmes, cross-attendance at training courses, and other bilateral and multilateral exercises.