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By Capt (L) Ade Roddianne Mohd Rosdi
MUARA, Monday 20 August 2012 - KDB DARULAMAN which is led by 408 Lt Col (L) Pg Mohammad bin Pg Haji Damit as Commanding Officer with 60 crew members including officers had departed Brunei towards sea voyage to Darwin, Australia to take part in Exercise KAKADU 2012. The start of the voyage which also falls on the first day of Aidilfitri will take one week for KDB DARULAMAN to reach Darwin, Australia.
It will be the Royal Brunei Navy's (RBN) first-time ever participation in Exercise KAKADU. It is a multi-national exercise which is hosted annually by Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The exercise itself will go on for two weeks at the deep sea of Darwin, Australia and it will be focused primarily on naval operation specifically in Anti-Surface Warfare.
The RBN's main purpose in taking part in the exercise is to further enhance the professionalism of the involved Royal Brunei Navy's personnel as individuals as well as a team. It is also a strategic mean to enhance Defence Diplomacy initiative in accordance with Brunei Darussalam's Defence White Paper. Although RBN is considered as a small navy but with this initiative, it will also add more values to RBN in playing in a more global role and professionalism equally with other bigger navies. At the same time, the sea voyage experience is no less important as it will enhance knowledge and expertise of every involved personnel in utilising the ship's system and equipment as well as individual's endurance in facing the unexpected challenging sea.
The exercise will involve other friendly navies namely; Australia, France, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and Thailand which consist of 18 naval ships and 14 aircraft. KDB DARULAMAN will be expected to return to Brunei Darussalam on the 24th September 2012.
During the slip off at RBN Jetty, First Admiral Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Abdul Halim bin Haji Mohd Hanifah, Commander of RBN, RBN officers as well as families of the involved personnel were also attended to say farewell and doa that Allah may always grant safety throughout their journey.