MUARA NAVAL BASE, Monday, 4th September 2023 - The Opening Ceremony for Exercise SEMBILANG Serial 17/2023 was held at Nakhoda Hall, Naval Training Centre. The exercise will be conducted from the 4th September until 8th September 2023 and will involve the Marine Police (MARPOL), Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF) and the Royal Brunei Navy (RBN).
This year’s annual joint exercise is hosted by RBN with the Commanding Officer of KDB MUSTAED of RBN, Lieutenant Nur Mazarina binti Marzlan, RBN as the Exercise Coordinator. Prior to the opening ceremony, the Deputy Director of Operation, Royal Brunei Police Force, SSP Pengiran Muhaimin bin Pengiran Mustapha made a Courtesy Call to Commander Saiful Hazril bin Ali, RBN Fleet Chief of Staff, at the Naval Training Centre. The opening ceremony was then attended by the Fleet Chief of Staff RBN as the Guest of Honour, with the Deputy Director of Operations and officers as well as ratings from RBN and MARPOL RBPF. Also in attendance were the representatives from the Judge Advocate General, Ministry of Defence who are invited to be involved with the exercise.
The ceremony was initiated with the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah by Ustaz Mas Wandi bin Hassan. Following that, Lieutenant Commander Husaini bin Hj Mohd Sofian, RBN as the patron of Exercise SEMBILANG 17/23, delivered his welcoming remarks and the ceremony proceeded with the video showcasing to symbolize the beginning of the exercise. The Guest of Honor then delivered his speech and officiated the ceremony with the activation of the Command Task Group 17 (CTG 17). The main objective for the 17th series of Exercise SEMBILANG is to further enhance the established mutual understanding and interoperability between the Marine Police and RBN in conducting joint operations focusing mainly on combined boarding operation. These operations are conducted in accordance to Prosedur Tetap (PROTAP) SEMBILANG which emphasizes real-time joint operations, focused on investigation, patrol and joint movements. The event concluded with the recitation of
Doa Selamat and a group photo session.
Exercise SEMBILANG Serial 17/23 is composed of three phases. The first phase is conducted from 4th until 5th of September 2023 which involves discussion sessions on the operation scenarios as well as the roles and responsibilities of MARPOL RBPF and RBN. The next phase, Sea Phase, will be conducted from 6th September 2023 and will consist of the practical side of the exercise enabling both units to practice joint boarding operations. The final phase will conclude the whole exercise with a sports interaction where both sides will compete for the SEMBILANG Cup on the 7th September 2023 and the closing ceremony that will be conducted on 8th September 2023.
Exercise SEMBILANG has continuously been conducted annually and it is hoped that the 17th series of this exercise will be a success in terms of developing the capabilities of both organisations in maintaining the maritime sovereignty of Brunei Darussalam waters as well as to strengthen the bond between RBN and RBPF officers and personnel that has been created over the years.
