WAIMANALO, Hawaii – Soldiers of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team “Broncos,” 25th Infantry Division; 29th Brigade Combat Team, Hawaii Army National Guard; and the 9th Infantry Brigade, 6th Division, Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) held an opening ceremony for Tiger Balm 16 at the 298th Regiment, Multi-Functional Training Unit (MFTU), Regional Training Institute (RTI), here, on July 18.
The two-week long bilateral exercise between the U.S. and Singapore are hosted in Hawaii on even years and in Singapore on odd years.
“On behalf of the Singapore army, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to the 25th Infantry Division for hosting us in this year’s edition of exercise Tiger Balm,” said Col. Bervyn Lee, commander, 9th Inf. Bde., 6th Div., SAF.
“The exercise has been an excellent platform for both armies to enhance our professional developments,” Lee said.
Before finishing, Lee asked all the participants to come together in friendship while participating together during the exercise.
Col. Robert Ryan, commander, 3rd BCT, 25th ID, welcomed his SAF counterparts as both countries marked the 36th iteration of Tiger Balm and an even longer history of support.
“Exercises like Tiger Balm enhance our relationships, strengthen our interoperability, and build trust while cross training the three C’s: culture, communications and occupational skill and standard operating procedure driven Soldier competencies,” Ryan said.
Ryan stated that that interoperability between both military forces is “learning to work together as a combined team by sharing tactics, techniques and procedures.”
The 3rd BCT, 29th BCT and 9th Inf. Bde. command teams conduct a command post exercise at RTI during the duration of the exercise.
While Soldiers from 3rd BCT’s 2-27th Inf. Regt., and the 9th Inf. Bde. conduct a an air assault lift from Marine Corps Training Area Bellows to Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) on the island of Hawaii, culminating with a combined arms live fire exercise (CALFEX) at the conclusion of the exercise.
“The U.S. and Singapore armies will continue to work together as we have for many years, to build cooperation, provide security, and respond to crises in Southeast Asia and beyond,” Ryan said.