Photo By Sgt. Shaina Jupiter | Singapore Guardsman Lt. Col. Mohamad Fahrul Bin Saaid, left, the commanding officer...... read more read more
SINGAPORE – The 27th iteration of Exercise Valiant Mark came to a close on March 26, 2025, as U.S. Marines and Sailors with Marine Rotational Force-Southeast Asia, I Marine Expeditionary Force, and Singapore Guardsmen with 3rd Battalion Singapore Guards, 7th Singapore Infantry Brigade, culminated the exercise with a field-expedient closing ceremony at SAFTI City training facility, Singapore. The U.S. force included Marines from 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, attached to MRF-SEA and integrated with the Singapore Guardsmen during the 10 days of training.
While addressing the combined force before training commenced, U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Michael Cederholm, the commanding general for I Marine Expeditionary Force, reminded participants of the exercise’s purpose. “Our partnership has developed over nearly 60 years and has been built on shared values of peace, security, and stability,” said Cederholm. “The 2015 EDCA agreement further solidified our strategic partnership, enhancing our interoperability and ensuring stronger cooperation for the security and stability of both our nations. Today, our forces may wear different uniforms, but they are united by the same commitment to serve something greater than themselves.”
This year marked a pivotal progression in the Valiant Mark exercise series between the U.S. Marine Corps and Singapore Armed Forces, focusing heavily on the partner nations’ ability to execute a combined assault on an objective in an urban environment. Marines, Sailors and Guardsmen worked together at every stage, from operational planning and intelligence integration to small unmanned aircraft system employment, close air support drills, and the execution of an air assault. As a testament to the level of integration between the force, the exercise featured a platoon exchange, with a U.S. Marine platoon integrated into a Singapore Guards company and vice versa through the conclusion of the field training exercise.
During the initial days of Valiant Mark 25, U.S. Marines with MRF-SEA and Cherokee Company, 1st Bn., 5th Marines began to plan with Singapore’s 3rd GDS battalion staff for their upcoming assault. Their objective was located within SAFTI City, the Singapore Armed Forces’ newly commissioned urban training facility known for being one of the largest and most technologically advanced of its kind in the world and the premier urban training site in Southeast Asia. The facility’s size and complexity would offer a real challenge for the combined force. As the Marines and Guardsmen began to develop their plans, they gained understanding of each other’s respective planning processes, identified similarities and differences, and established a working knowledge that facilitated the development of a holistic plan to take on SAFTI City. This interoperability would prove crucial during execution.
“Everything within the first week has been putting the pieces of the puzzle together so that when we get to the FTX, we’ve already rehearsed all the individual pieces with the SAF; how we patrol through urban terrain, integrating our communications - all these are pieces we need in order to be successful together during the FTX,” said U.S. Marine Corps 1st Lt. Bryan Mansfield, executive officer for Cherokee Co.
As unit leadership continued to plan for the FTX, Marines and Guardsmen conducted expert-led training sessions to increase skills and build effective working relationships. Basic small-arms interoperability live-fire training took place at Nee Soon Camp to ensure Marines and Guardsmen could each employ the SAF’s SAR 21 and the U.S. Marine Corps’ M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle interchangeably and affectively. The exercise force conducted MOUT training at Murai Urban Training Facility to share tactics, techniques, and procedures for operating in urban environments and prepare themselves for SAFTI City’s more challenging facility. In addition to MOUT and weapons training, the Marines and Guardsmen ran training exchanges focused on military intelligence and sUAS employment. A combined team of sUAS operators trained in drone-assisted fire support procedures, urban operations techniques, and reconnaissance. Following the sUAS training, personnel shifted focus to intelligence collection and collaboration, where intelligence specialists utilized imagery and information gathered during the sUAS flights to inform the ongoing planning efforts for the upcoming FTX.
“The collaboration between our intelligence sections enhanced our understanding of each other’s planning processes and standard operating procedures,” said U.S. Marine Sgt. James Zeigler, MRF-SEA’s intelligence chief. “This ultimately strengthened our overall interoperability and was a great opportunity to build relations. My Marines and I are better intelligence specialists because of this training.”
In the early hours of March 25, a small group of Marine and Guardsmen scouts were inserted into the jungle surrounding SAFTI City. The troops made movement toward the objective and deployed their respective sUAS platforms. Through reconnaissance flights, the team collected imagery of the objective and provided vital information on the notional enemy’s disposition and defensive measures. On the evening of the 25th, the combined force inserted into Military Training Area (West) using Singapore CH-47SD/F Chinook helicopters and began their movement on foot toward SAFT City. The Marines and Guardsmen covered multiple kilometers under the cover of darkness through dense jungle with full combat loads. Just before dawn, the assault on SAFTI city began. Over the course of approximately four hours, the combined force established a foothold in buildings at the edge of the facility and began to clear each structure, notionally eliminating all Guardsmen assigned to play the role of opposition forces during the exercise. Throughout the assault, the platoons were challenged by the realistic battlefield effects and complex urban environment characteristic of SAFTI City. Though challenging, the Marines and Guardsmen successfully cleared each building and took their objective. As the opposition forces withdrew from SAFTI City, MRF-SEA’s Tactical Air Control Party Marines, along with their Singapore counterparts, coordinated with Singapore Air Force AH-64D Apache helicopters to conduct notional close air support strikes and ensure the possibility of a counterattack was eliminated.
Speaking about the success of the combined assault at SAFTI City, Singapore Guardsman Capt. Zane Chi, commanding officer of Charlie Company, 3 GDS, said, “As one of the first few to experience [SAFTI City], we had to really rely on each other’s strengths and understanding of the terrain that shaped our battle. It was very natural for us to work together; it seemed as if we had been rehearsing together for years. Each iteration of Valiant Mark is unique and seeks to improve our knowledge and understanding, both in expertise with each other’s procedures and enhancing our interoperability along the way.”
Valiant Mark 25 successfully demonstrated the strong partnership between the U.S. Marine Corps and the Singapore Guards. This year’s combined training at the newly opened SAFTI City validated the capabilities of both forces in a complex and challenging urban environment. The next iteration of Valiant Mark, set to take place aboard Camp Pendleton, California, will further develop the operational capabilities of U.S.-Singapore forces and maintain the interoperability achieved during this year’s exercise in Singapore.
| Date Taken: | 03.30.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.30.2025 03:21 |
| Story ID: | 494099 |
| Location: | SINGAPORE, SG |
| Web Views: | 318 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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