Officer commanding 13th field squad-ron Major James Kurz said the site was a quiet, safe space for training and a good launch point for the exercise scenario.
“My combat engineers, together with cavalry scouts from 10th Light Horse, used the stretch of river to perfect small boat handling drills and when it was dark we launched the operation,” Major Kurz said.
“The assault boats headed northeast into the Helena River and inserted a reconnaissance team to observe an ‘enemy’ position near Palmer Barrack in Guildford.”
Major Kurz said it was realistic training and demonstrated the benefits of combining different combat capabilities together.
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READ NOW“We had the boats, the crew and the skills to get the reconnaissance team into position without being detected by the enemy,” he said.
The exercise on the Swan River was part of a weeklong training exercise called Borneo for soldiers to practise combat training relevant to regional stabilisation and support operations.
It was named after the World War II amphibious landings on Borneo.