(US) Army successfully conducted the 43rd Exercise Tiger Balm 2024

The Singapore Army and the United States (US) Army successfully conducted the 43rd Exercise Tiger Balm 2024 from 6 to 17 May 2024, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) and Yakima Training Centre (YTC), Washington, USA. Colonel (COL) Anand Sathi Kumar, Commander (Comd) 6th Singapore Division (6 Div) / Headquarters Sense and Strike (HQ SS) and Brigadier General (BG) Phillip L. Mallory, Commander 154th Wing, Hawaii Air National Guard co-officiated the closing ceremony at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), Washington, USA.

This year’s edition of Exercise Tiger Balm, which featured a Brigade-level command post exercise, saw the participation of approximately 670 personnel from the Singapore Army’s Headquarters 6 Div / HQ SS, Headquarters 76th Singapore Infantry Brigade, the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF)’s Peace Carvin V Detachment, as well as the US Army’s Hawaii Army National Guard (HIARNG), the 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, and the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade. This year also saw the inaugural participation of the RSAF’s F-15SG fighters, and Singapore Army’s VELOCE 15 mini-Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, which enabled exercise participants to strengthen air-land integration across both Services.

The Combined Arms Live Firing component of the exercise involved personnel from the Singapore Army’s Strike Observer Mission (STORM) team, 11th Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence Battalion (11 C4I Bn), the RSAF’s Peace Carvin V detachment, the US Army’s Fire Support Team (FiST) and Field Artillery unit, allowing exercise participants from both sides to practise Multi-Domain Smart Warfighting and sense-strike processes.

The exercise also leveraged a Live-Virtual-Constructive (LVC) simulation system integration to link Brigade Command Posts at the Joint Multinational Simulations Centre of Indo-Pacific (JMSC-IP) from JBLM with the SAF Wargame Centre at Pasir Laba Camp to coordinate planning and execution between both brigades. In addition, both armies conducted subject matter exchanges on Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED) and Chemical, Biological and Radiological Defence (CBRD) operations, which culminated in the conduct of a C-IED live-firing exercise and CBRD field exercise.

Speaking on the significance of the exercise, Comd 6 Div / HQ SS COL Anand Sathi Kumar said, “Exercise Tiger Balm is a reflection of the strong, valuable and long-standing partnership between the Singapore Army and US Army. The successful conduct of the complex scenarios within the exercise is a demonstration of the competence and commitment of both forces.”

First conducted in 1981, Exercise Tiger Balm is the longest-running bilateral exercise between the Singapore Army and US Army. This annual exercise allows both armies to collaborate and share tactics, techniques and procedures, and is the hallmark of the excellent and long-standing ties between both armed forces. Both armies also interact extensively through professional exchange programmes, cross-attendance of courses, and other bilateral and multilateral exercises. These regular interactions have fostered and enhanced the professionalism, friendships and mutual understanding among personnel from both armies.