TWENTY Australian and Chinese soldiers scaled Point Perpendicular’s towering cliffs during a two week adventurous training exercise.
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Exercise Pandaroo was designed to build teamwork, friendship and trust between the two nations through activities in caving, abseiling, rock-climbing and sea-kayaking.
The soldiers spent a day deep underground in a cave at Wee Jasper, scaled Point Perpendicular, and paddled between Manly and Sydney Harbour, ending the exercise with a barbecue on Sydney’s Spectacle Island.
The exercise immediately followed that of Exercise Kowari, which was conducted in the Northern Territory to build on survival techniques.
Deputy Commander of the 2nd Division Brigadier Damian Cantwell said Pandaroo was an unforgettable experience for the soldiers.
“The adventurous training was extremely demanding and it took the level of risk the soldiers felt they were exposed to up another notch,” he said.
“The teamwork they needed to create was noticeably higher and they were able to build on the foundations they laid during Exercise Kowari to achieve that.”
Colonel Xiang Jun Zhang, of the People’s Liberation Army, said the two exercises had strengthened the international relationships.
“These activities allowed mutual exchange and understanding between the armies, as well as developing friendships between the officers and soldiers of our countries,” he said.
The Officer Commanding the Australian Army’s Adventurous Training Wing, Major Jeremy Barraclough, said the soldiers courage was called upon during the roping activities.
“A sort of small tempest came through and even the experienced soldiers needed to rely on their team mates to get through it,” he said.
“One of the Chinese soldiers said that prior to the rafting they were a group of individuals, but on that white water they became a team, so that was a real lesson for them.”