U.S. Army, SAF units complete 41st annual Exercise Tiger Balm

Photo By Staff Sgt. Christopher Hernandez | SINGAPORE - A squad of U.S. Army infantrymen with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team out of Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington, maneuver around the wall of a building during the live-fire exercise for Exercise Tiger Balm 2022 here, June 10, 2022. Tiger Balm is an annual, bilateral exercise that trains U.S. Army Pacific forces to deter potential adversaries in support of their Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) allies. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Staff Sgt. Christopher Hernandez/Released)  

SINGAPORE

06.16.2022

Story by Staff Sgt. Christopher Hernandez 

301st Public Affairs Detachment

SINGAPORE – U.S. Army Soldiers and Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) soldiers completed all training events for Exercise Tiger Balm here, June 15, 2022.

For 10 days, Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team out of Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington and SAF soldiers under 5th Singapore Infantry Regiment (SIR) operated in tandem to augment strong defense relations, interoperability and trust with each other's armies.

"The training has been fantastic here," said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jacob Cross, Commander of 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment. "We had a great opportunity here in this exercise Lightning Strike, which is the field training exercise component of the Exercise Tiger Balm."

SAF Lt. Col. Abu Bakar, commander of 5th SIR, resonates with Cross' sentiments as well for the overall training experience.

"It's been quite a refreshing experience, especially for the soldiers," said Abu Bakar. "I think that the soldiers had a lot to take away in terms of training, attitude, professionalism, training and military in general."

In terms of key points gathered from the exercise conclusion, both Cross and Abu Bakar gave their input.

"My personal takeaway is that this is a necessity to build strong relationships; to learn from each other; to share tactics, techniques and procedures; and to strengthen our relationships," said Cross.

"My key takeaway from this whole exercise is that I find the U.S. Army, despite their levels of experience, are extremely humble, professional and they are people who can relate to us as we can relate to them as well," said Abu Bakar. "That's amazing, because no matter which side of the world that you come from...we talk about the same things, we do the same things, and there are just so much commonalities between our countries. It really is a common touchpoint that enables us to deepen our relationship."

Overall, the experience for both armies have been conducive in preserving the tradition of the bilateral Tiger Balm exercise that has spanned for 41 years.

"The training with the [SAF] has been outstanding," said Cross. "They're a professional army, they're incredibly disciplined, they're tactically proficient, and gracious hosts."

• Date Taken: 06.16.2022
• Date Posted: 06.16.2022 04:44
• Story ID: 423117
• Location: SG