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The most important lesson I have learnt from the exercise is communication. In my opinion, good communication would have better facilitated the execution of our plan. There were numerous hiccups and issues that boiled down to miscommunication, and these could have been easily avoided. The next would be to trust our appointment holders. As a section/platoon, we have to trust that our appointment holders know what they are doing and listen to their instructions instead of trying to do what we think is best. Vice versa, the appointment holders also have to show that they know what they are doing to gain the trust of the rest of the section/platoon. When in doubt, we should take the initiative to clarify with those around us so that we do not screw up while carrying out our tasks.

One thing that I felt I did well would be the execution of my assigned tasks. I was clear on what I had to do, and I did them confidently and efficiently. An area of improvement would be to be more present and mindful throughout the entire exercise. I should not be bogged down by fatigue and forget certain basics that I have learnt. It is precisely because of the fatigue that I have to sharpen my focus, and help those around me as well.

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As a Sec Com I have learned many new things and SOP that cannot be learned from theory alone. From the simple things such as constantly updating the strength and linking up with the PC, to making fast decisions on the ground to adapt to the different terrain situation. On the first day of store preparation, I believe we did fairly well in preparing for initial and final inspection. However I do believe the smaller details could be touched up, and we could be more conscious of the time limits. Moreover the rehearsal was quite poorly handled, as we were unsure of the G&T between the two sections. In retrospect I should have catered a time to sit down and seriously discuss the plan with my PS and SC. In the ops phase, a lot of stumble and mistakes arose due to inexperience and confusion, as well as the lack of seriousness. I believe after this 1st round of mission, we all have understood the gravity of the mission as well as the different SOP, and hence we definitely can do better next time round.

1 thing I believe we did well in this mission was our store preparation and executions. Though not perfect, we were able to prep our items fast and accurately. Execution wise we were mostly able to execute our drills despite it being only our 2nd or 3rd time. One thing I would improve would be our layout of our initial inspection, and our G&T.

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As a PPC for Ex Backhoe, I thought that Ex Backhoe was a nice way to put all I had learned from the BP package together. I believed I effectively handled the time given the little time given to us PPCs and completed all of my deliverables.
I found the experience from Backhoe was very valuable as it allow me to experience me working in a very stressful environment as I fought against time.

I did not do very well in the presentation portion, however, I think will definitely get better with practice. Another thing that i that we need to improve on is the familiarization of our TTP as to aid our execution out of the field. In crescendo, we should focus more on going through the G&T and rehearse the execution of how the PC has planned for us to overcome the OBS

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This exercise is a teaser for what is about to come in crescendo. It was just to give us a understanding of how an entire exercise goes about and to let us experience the different moving parts during an exercise.
For the planning phase of Backhoe, it really comes down to the nitty gritty details in the planning that makes the mission a success. It important for all the men to believe in the plan that it would work out and execute exactly based on what is stated in the plan. This is something I felt that my platoon did not do. Besides, we also realised the importance of checking the availability of stores and of course the serviceability of the stores have to be checked. This is very crucial especially in times of war where, we cannot afford to make any mistakes during a mission as it can possibly lead to disasters. This was something that I did learn from the other platoon who were careless to not bring their wire cutters and both platoons not checking their DFC cables. Besides, it is very important for the sect comds to take note of the GnT very carefully, knowing when to deploy which men and to also handle their work rest cycle. This can only be achieved when the rehearsals are done properly.
Moving on to the execution phase, there are multiple things that my platoon failed to do. Simply, the basic solider fundamentals. This can be such as not taking cover under vegetation or talking too loudly, or not high kneeling to reduce the body ratio, so as to be not spotted by the enemy easily. They were lacking the basic skills, which I believe was caused by the fatigue and the lack of sleep over the past 24h. However, this has to be learnt to be disregarded and everyone has to play their part in showing their part in helping to complete the mission. Besides the basic soldering skills, many were observed to have forgotten or had to brush up on their TTX, which should have already been done during the rehearsals. These were some things that I observed during Ex Backhoe and hope to avoid them during Ex Crescendo.

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For Ex Backhoe, I have learned the general roles and responsibilities of each appointment in the field. Although I was just a pioneer, I could observe some mistakes we made as a platoon. Firstly, changed too much of the exercise PC's plan during the execution of the mission, which resulted in confusion between the platoon and appointment holders as it deviated from what we rehearsed for, and hence we are unfamiliar with what to do. Furthermore, our rehearsals are not detailed enough, such that we were still unsure of TTPs even during execution. We should go into specific details on how to carry out the task rather than just talking through it. For Ex Crescendo, more emphasis should be placed on the pre-execution phase. Although everyone is tired, we should do whatever we can in camp first before heading out.

One thing I did well in Ex Backhoe is that I did not question the appointment holder's orders and did all that I could, executing whatever they required me to do. However, one area of improvement should be our SOFUN.

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Ex Backhoe was a good consolidation for me for the BP package as a PPC. I get to incorporate all the things I have learned and used it in my planning. One main thing I have learned is to be very detail and deliberate in my planning, putting myself in the shoes of my audience and think through thoroughly about all the considerations. It was mentally tiring yet a fulfilling experience as I get to see how plans can translate into actions on the ground. It is also about teamwork, listening to instructions in order to make things work for mission success. One thing I would have done differently is to be more on the ball as I slacked off a little during the EX and was not paying full attention. Despite being tired, that should not have been the excuse for me to be doing so. In XCD, I will definitely try my best to do better and work well with others in order to make things work. In XCD, I will also try my best to make the fullest out of it and learn as much as I can.

One thing I did well will be planning for details. I tried my best to be as detailed as possible to allow my plan to work and keep every consideration in my mind while doing so. However, I failed to identify my audience well enough and put myself in their shoes while presenting my plan. I was not aware of what is important information for my audience and filter them out.

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As a PPC for Ex Backhoe, I felt that Ex Backhoe was a good consolidation for all the things I learnt during the BP package. In light of the short time made available to us as PPCs, I felt I managed the time well and delivered all my deliverables. The presentation went rather smoothly as I had given thought to my G&T and timings to be met, as well as delivered my AOP in a confident manner. The major takeway from Backhoe was the importance of staying calm under the pressure and being steadfast in decision making especially under time constraints.

For the ops portion of Backhoe, what stood out to me the most was how the success of a plan boiled down to each and every single individual playing the part to follow orders and directives. With my platoon already starting off on the wrong foot with the rehearsals, the confusion was further exacerbated when we were required to clear obstacles under time limit. I think this highlights the importance that in planning and execution, we must ensure that everyone is on the same page before we even set off for ops.

1 thing I felt I should have done better was my SOFUN. Details like where to high kneel and prone was not given enough detail and I’ll definitely do better in Ex Liger

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Ex. Backhoe was an appetizer for what is about to come for Ex. Crescendo. Ex. Backhoe was a quick summary exercise of what we had learnt since we stepped into EOCC and specifically map-planning. I took away some lessons from this exercise and it will be broken down into 3 phases (Pre-phase, Execution and recovery).

Before execution, planning PCs and Ex appointment holders had their taskings such as planning and force preparation for the platoon sergeant and section commanders. One take away from this would be time management for the ground commanders so as to achieve concurrent activities. Upon receiving warning orders from PC, the platoon needs to prepare for initial inspective checking serviceability of all items. Concurrently, planning will take place and checking of all necessary for example; DFC, galvanometer and mini-strike. These items would need to be labelled accordingly for accountability. Besides preparing for the equipment needed, the platoon also needs to do their rehearsals for the potential obstacles that they face in the mission. During Ex. Backhoe, I observed that exercise’s command team were not in cognizant hence during rehearsals a lot of misinterpretations and uncertainties.

With no clear intention, it was difficult to lead the platoon and to factor in that everyone was not very confident in their TTPs. I think section brief should be conducted for the section after section commanders attend their warning orders and operation orders. Everyone needs to know what they need to know before heading out for mission and I realized this was lacking. The section commanders need to time manage and find a good time to gather everyone and update on the situation so moving forward, if I were given an exercise appointment holder, I will work with the PC on the time and work backwards. I think it is important to set realistic timings and cater buffer time for any unforeseen circumstances.

During Execution, like I mentioned on the poor synergy between the command team, it led to confusion on the ground. It slowed down us significantly. Grouping & taskings were not clear and it did not reflect the same on PC’s grouping and taskings tables. I believe it is okay to change the grouping & taskings but the PC should be made known prior so it will not cause any confusion. All grouping & taskings should have been settled and confirmed in base camp prior to move out and if there are any changes it should be changed back then and update to PC and PS. One lesson I had learnt from this phase would be movement around the area of operations. The exercise commanders need to set example on the group then the pioneers will follow suit. For example, upon dismounting vehicle all to be bash into the vegetation which is out of the axis. If you want tactical discipline then exercise commanders lead by example, as pioneers once they see their commanders prone/high-kneeling they will naturally follow. This tactical sense must be carried out to Thailand as it is basic soldiering fundamentals.

Lastly Recovery, the platoon was able to execute their recovery of stores well with no hiccups. All were accounted for despite high fatigue level and this will be the way for Thailand as well. In my opinion, the exercise ends only when everyone reaches back to their bunks and not during recovery. If anyone were tor relax during recovery then essentially, he or she is waiting for something to happen. Hence, for any exercises in Thailand, recovery is still part of the mission and it will only end till we reach our bunks.

I think I executed my TTPs for clearing of con-wire pretty well. My buddy and I were clear in the steps of clearing however there were small hiccups but I believe it will not happen again. One area of improvement will be movement during operations. I did not portray a sense of urgency from point to point. This may cause time delays to our mission outcome and if it is serious, it may even cause failure. Up in Ex. Crescendo, I will definitely be more alert and move with intention. I understand that the fatigue will kick in but who is not tired? Give the required support and push everyone together as a platoon to achieve mission success.

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After this exercise I learned that I need to work with other appointment holders more in regards of operation plan so that we can be on the same page. Next time, i will talk to the PC more and appreciate his/her plan together so that I can discuss manpower management & procedure of clearing the obstacles with the Sect commanders. Hence, all of us will be on the same page. In Ex. Crescendo, I will communicate with the appointment holder more in regards of the mission plan so that we are on the same page and this will lead to smoother flow of the mission.
One thing I did well is the c2 I showed during force prep phase as I gave clear & specific instructions to the sect commanders. The corporation between appointment holders led to us be able to finish our initial inspection quite early.
One area of improvement that I want to work on is the rehearsal of the platoon. I should have show my presence more and control the rehearsal & do a quick rehearsal as the cadets are tired from sleep deprivation.

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Tactical discipline should be adhered to in all mission contexts. This is because enemy remnants may still remain despite us being one bound behind. There is a need to synchronise the plans and specifics in executing said plans with all appointment holders during the rehearsal phase. In doing so, smooth flow of the mission can be ensured. I personally would try to be more focussed and remember my SOFUN despite the lack of sleep hindering my alertness. Hopefully, everyone will be able to do so and press on stronger for Ex Crescendo.

My SOFUN during Ex Backhoe was terrible. There were several instances when I forgot about the mission context we were in and thought it was still like an outfield training, where noise discipline had to be adhered to. Not rushing to complete the task at hand despite being in the open could cost us the mission if we were to be contacted by enemy remnants. On the other hand, I think I remembered the TTP for clearing obstacles rather well and was able to complete the tasks I was assigned, like the clearing of mine cluster in Obs 006.