BANGAR, Friday 7 August 2015 – The Officer Cadet School Defence Academy Royal Brunei Armed Forces (OCS DA RBAF) welcomed the Officer Cadet School New Zealand (OCS NZ) contingent, comprising of 67 personnel, to Brunei Darussalam. Their arrival marked the commencement of Eksesais Kepimpinan 2015 between Brunei Darussalam and New Zealand, which was mainly held at Kg. Meriam, Temburong.
Eksesais Kepimpinan 2015 represents the bilateral military exercise between OCS DA RBAF and OCS NZ. The exercise involved the participation of 143 personnel from both nations. The main key players are the 13 Officer Cadets from Brunei and 40 Officer Cadets from New Zealand.
Eksesais Kepimpinan 2015 was conducted from 7 August to 27 August 2015. As the jungle environment is testing for both the officer cadets from OCS DA RBAF and OCS NZ, a very progressive training program was introduced. Following the principles of ‘crawl, walk, run’, the jungle operation was utilised as a tool to develop leadership and test the cadets abilities to assimilate knowledge and command in difficult circumstances.
A visit was made by Yang Dimuliakan Pehin Datu Pekerma Jaya Major General Dato Paduka Seri Mohd Tawih bin Abdullah, Commander Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) to Kg Meriam to observe the cadets giving their orders. Commander RBAF advised cadets on the importance of going back to basics as it is their role and responsibility when they are officers to ensure that their personnel are doing the right thing and so, this is the time to practice. Commander RBAF also spoke about how he believes that in mud, dirt and water in the jungle, we all look the same. Hence, no one is better than the other and we should always think before we speak, learn from each other and share our experiences. Also present during Commander RBAF’s visit was the Commandant of DA RBAF as well as the Commandant of the NZ Army School.
The visits by Commander RBAF, Commander RBLF and high-ranking officers from OCS NZ demonstrated their strong support and commitment in the success of this first joint jungle exercise. The contributions and continuous assistance from the Royal Brunei Land Force, Royal Brunei Navy and Royal Brunei Air Force further provided the boost for the success of this exercise and therefore increased OCS DA RBAF’s confidence and ability in running similar exercises in the future. Eksesais Kepimpinan 2015 marks an important milestone in the relationship between OCS DA RBAF and OCS NZ, and hopefully the first of many ventures with our neighbouring nations.
