Army soldiers from Darwin’s 1st Brigade have travelled to Indonesia to participate in Exercise Wirra Jaya 2019, a bilateral training exercise held annually with the Indonesian Army.
Minister for Defence, Senator Linda Reynolds said the two-week training exercise was aimed at fostering cooperation and enhancing interoperability between the Australian and Indonesian forces.
“Since Exercise Wirra Jaya debuted in 2013, it has grown into a sophisticated Defence partnership, strengthening each year based on our shared interest in enhancing peace and security in our region,” Senator Reynolds said.
“The exercise has grown from a single rifle platoon to both nations now contributing engineers, artillery and military vehicles for training.”
Senator Reynolds said this year’s iteration of Wirra Jaya will take place at Dodiklatpur in Asum Bagus, East Java, Indonesia’s premier live-fire field training facility that regularly hosts international exercises.
Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Rick Burr said it will be the first time Australian Army Bushmasters will deploy with soldiers as part of the exercise.
“Our soldiers from the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment introduced the Bushmaster to their Indonesian counterparts in the Northern Territory last year and they will now continue that training on unfamiliar ground,” Lieutenant General Burr said.
The Tentara Nasional Indonesia Army (TNI-AD) strategic reserve force’s 2nd Division Kostrad, will have the opportunity to show the Australian Infantrymen their own armoured fighting vehicle capability as part of the two-week exercise.
“Familiarising ourselves with each other’s doctrine, equipment, tactics and techniques broadens our knowledge and understanding of each other, which in turn naturally builds trust and relationships that endure,” Lieutenant General Burr said.
Each year Australia and Indonesia share hosting duty for Exercise Wirra Jaya.
In 2018 the Australian Army’s 1st Brigade hosted around 90 TNI-AD soldiers to Robertson Barracks in the Northern Territory.
