CARAT 2007 Concludes On Upbeat Note
By Lyna Mohamad

Bandar Seri Begawan - Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) 2007 exercise between the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) and the US Navy ended yesterday with a closing ceremony onboard USS JARRET.

Both parties achieved enhanced cooperation and security capabilities, promoted joint situational awareness, information sharing and increased interoperability between them. Present during the ceremony were Colonel (U) Jofri bin Hj Abdullah Director of Operations at The Ministry of Defence, Commander Al Collins, and commanding officers of the combined task force ships.

"As a follow-on to the CARAT activities, the next upcoming exercise will be the Southeast Asia Cooperation onAntiTerrorism which will be held in Brunei from Aug 16-17 and will involved elements from Royal Brunei Land Force, Royal Brunei Navy, Royal Brunei Air Force and the Special Forces Regiment carrying out control boarding activities," said Col (U) Jofri.

He underscored that the CARAT exercise has contributed to what is rapidly developing into one of the most meaningful bilateral exrecises in the region.

"The opportunity to capitalise upon and continue in nurturing the professional skills of both armed forces as well as integrating elements from other law enforcement agencies in the sultanate has proven to be beneficial in terms of readiness and interoperability by sharing and familiarisation of procedures when working together during contingency operations."

"Both parties' display of a high level of commitment in making Exercise CARAT 2007 a success was highlighted in the conduct of several symposiums and exercises that included social activities, community relations work and sport interaction activities.

"These have further promoted as well as strengthened the friendship and enhanced bilateral cooperation between the armed forces of the United States and Brunei Darussalam.

"In this exercise, it will see for the first time the deployment of navy ships supported by surveillance aircraft from the Royal Brunei Air Force in the Critical Contact of Interest tracking.

"The value of Combined Enterprise Regional Information Exchange System (CENTRIXS) is a fairly significant enabler that will allow ship-to-ship to ops centre operational dialogue between the two countries in both text and web-based formats.

"These formats will not only bridge the communication gap between the participating nations but also will take the exercise to a more challenging level and believing that this will provide the opportunity for all parties involved to reach new heights in combined command and control.

"We in the Royal Brunei Armed Forces are looking forward to learn and share information in a tactical, real time setting which will create and enhance interoperability between the participating nations," said Col (U)Jofri.

The US Navy's USS JARRET equipped with HSL Det along with CTF 72 Orion aircrafts) together with RBAF's KDB Waspada, KDB Pejuang, KDB Perwira, Blackhawk S70, Bell 212 and Bolkow B0105 yesterday have conducted a successful one-day sea phase exercise.

The exercise included Divisional Tatical, Photoex, Deck Landing Qualification, Boarding, Critical Contact of Interest Tracking and Search & Rescue off the coast of Brunei Darussalam.

Throughout the week, they have successfully conducted symposiums on Legal, Crime Scene Investigation, Visit Board Search and Seizure, Humanitarian Assistance / Disaster Relief, Diving, Aviation and Homeland Security attended by RBAF personnel and including personnel from the Royal Brunei Police Force, Fisheries Department, Customs & Excise Department and National Disaster Management Centre.

CARAT is a series of bilateral military training exercises held annually between US Navy with several Asian nations. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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