KOTA KINABALU, SABAH,
Wednesday, 03 March 2020 – Today marked the conclusion of Exercise HORNBILL 27/19, with the closing ceremony and deactivation of Task Group (TG) 27.1 at Kota Kinabalu Naval Base (KKNB), Sepangar Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
The ceremony was officiated by the guest of honour, First Admiral Rusli bin Ahmad, RMN, Deputy Eastern Fleet Commander Royal Malaysia Navy (RMN).
Present at the closing ceremony was Captain Norshahrinizam bin Haji Talib, RBN, Fleet Commander Royal Brunei Navy (RBN), Senior Officers, Ships’ Commanding Officer, Officers and crew of participating ships. The deactivation of TG 27.1 was done by Deputy Eastern Fleet Commander RMN. Subsequently, Fleet Commander RBN presented the BRUMAL Cup to the Deputy Eastern Fleet Commander RMN as a representative of the winning navy for this year’s BRUMAL series. Ship’s Commanding Officers then proceeded on to exchange of momentos.
Exercise HORNBILL 27/19 was conducted in three phases that consist of Harbour Phase, Sea Phase and Post Sea Phase. The Sea phase was conducted in the Brunei and Malaysian Waters on 29th February 2020 and arrived in Kota Kinabalu Naval Base on 1st March 2020. The 2-days sea phase included exercises such as Minefield Transit, Tactical Ship Manoeuvres, Live Surface Firing Exercise, Boarding Exercise, Flaghoist, Flashing and Critical Contact of Interest (CCOI) Tracking Exercise, as well as, Replenishment At Sea (RAS) Approach Exercise. The safe conduct and successful execution of exercises at sea stands as the manifestation of the interoperability and understanding between RBN and RMN.
The Post Exercise Debrief (PXD) which was a culmination of the Hot Wash-Up, was held on the next day on 2nd March 2020 at the Conference Room in the Officer’s Mess, where all the lesson learnt were shared and reviewed. In attendance was Ships’ Commanding Officer from all participating ships.
Upon the arrival of exercising ships at Kota Kinabalu Naval Base, a Deck Reception was hosted onboard KDB DARULEHSAN by Fleet Commander, RBN. The guest of honour for the event was Yang Berbahagia Vice Admiral Dato Pahlawan Syed Zahrul Putra bin Syed Abdullah, RMN, Eastern Fleet Commander. Also present were senior officers from Eastern Fleet Command Headquarters, participating ships’ Commanding Officers, officers and crew from both navies.
In conjunction of Exercise HORNBILL 27/19, a BRUMAL sports interaction had also been held. The BRUMAL sports interaction, hosted alternately between RBN and RMN, consisted of football, volleyball and tug-of-war. The Brumal Sports interaction was followed by a dinner reception hosted by the Deputy Eastern Fleet Commander RMN, at the Navy Yacht Club Kota Kinabalu where RBN officers and crew were graciously invited with the Fleet Commander RBN as Head of Delegation for the RBN.
On 3rd March 2020, as part of the combined Community Relations (COMREL) program, Officers and crews of RBN and RMN had the opportunity to visit Sekolah Rendah Agama Al-Hafiz Tuaran, Kota Kinabalu for a cleaning campaign conducted on the compounds of the school. The COMREL program was followed by the presentation of donations in the form of Yassin, al-Quran and tasbih. The Eastern Fleet Command Headquarters also gifted a commemorative plaque to the school which carried the insignia of all participating ships titled “EX HORNBILL 27/19”.
Exercise Hornbill 27/19 had achieved its main objectives which were to enhance mutual understanding and agreed procedures as well as to establish a sense of camaraderie of both navies to another level. The RBN ships are due to leave Kota Kinabalu Naval Base, Sepangar, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, on 4th March 2020 and expected to arrive Muara Naval Base on Thursday morning, 5th March 2020.
