We Don't Talk About Brunei

Written By: Written By: Master Aircrew Attridge, Mobile Air Operations Team Leader, JHSS

OK, so that’s the rubbish dad joke out of the way (it’s a Disney song/film reference for those that don’t understand) but until recently most people at RAF Benson had hardly heard much talk about a small sovereign nation, 8000 miles away, on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia.

Certainly, prior to the announcement regarding the redeployment of the Puma Force to Brunei, the only real connection with anyone at RAF Benson, Oxfordshire, had been through our Unit, Joint Helicopter Support Squadron (JHSS).

There remains a continued permanent presence of British Army personnel in Brunei. Units first arrived in 1962 and remained at the invitation of the current Sultan, after they gained independence in 1984.

A battalion of the Royal Gurkha Rifles, consisting of 1500 personnel, is garrisoned at Seria in the Southwest of the country; centred around the large Shell Oil and Petroleum industry hub. Close by, is the small heliport and camp known as Medicina Lines, which is home to the Jungle Warfare Division, part of the Infantry Battle School of the School of Infantry and 667 Sqn Army Air Corps.

667 Squadron (formerly 7 Flt AAC) currently fly the ubiquitous Bell 212 helicopter and have supported the Jungle Warfare Division in Brunei since 1994, as well as supporting elements of the Special Forces Training Wing, as such, they are part of Joint Helicopter Command.

One of the specialist roles of the JHSS cadre of MAOT Leaders is to complete recces and assurance for helicopter landing sites (HLS) for JHC helicopters across the globe. This can be anything, from a simple patch of ground to a complex multi-landing point heliport, with everything in between. The task in this case was to visit, revalidate and update a Jungle HLS Directory with close to 70+ Landing Points (LPs) spread across 100s of square kilometres of primary jungle in Borneo. This is not a quick job and would require careful planning and execution to compete, not least as this was to take place whilst strict COVID travel restrictions were in place.

On the 4 Jan 22, I set off for the airport with fellow MAOT Leader, Captain Alex Brogan AAC, and began the long journey to Brunei. For anyone going that way in the future, it is a 12–14-hour flight, so take plenty to keep you occupied or stay up late so you can sleep on board! After finally arriving at the capital city of Bandar Seri Begawan, we went through the full COVID testing process before being taken to a government run ‘hotel’ to spend the next 8 days in complete isolation. This is best described as “an experience” and the local cuisine provided was interesting to say the least. However, fast forward to why we were here….

667 Sqn are an Army Air Corps Squadron who operate three Bell 212 helicopters (often referred to as a Huey) and currently commanded by a name familiar to many ex-Merlin people at Benson, Major Luke Hoare. They support the British Forces Brunei by providing helicopter lift for the Jungle Warfare Division and vital Medevac/Casevac cover during jungle training. The HLS’s they use vary from concrete purpose-built pads to tiny ridgelines and clearing deep in the jungle. All of them need to be surveyed and assured for safety every 3 years. That is where we come in.

Although Brunei as a country only covers 2200 square miles, its internal borders are very spread out, surrounded by Malaysian territories. This means that most of the area is only accessible by air, without long cross-country drives through inhospitable terrain.

667 Sqn were able to assist us in our task by flying us deep into the jungle, direct to the LPs that they used. Even as an experienced SH Crewman, my eyes were out on stalks approaching into some of these LPs! Some of the clearings were just about large enough to fit the rotor diameter of the Bell and the actual ridge lines were just large enough to put skids onto.

Stepping off a helicopter with dense jungle, a canopy up to 200ft tall in front of you, and in several cases, a sheer drop of several hundred feet right behind you, certainly focuses the mind! That was just the arrival…

Once on the ground, we had to work quickly as the crew would depart to loiter nearby with only a limited amount of fuel to get us to all the sites and then back to Medicina Lines. The first thing that hits you is the heat. The humidity is often at 100% with temperatures in the 30s and low 40s at times. You become soaked in sweat within minutes.

Then there is the jungle itself; everything in the jungle is designed to “get” you. The insects and creepy crawlies are bigger, the flora is all pointy and sharp, and there is the noise of larger but thankfully more scarce beasts around!! This is probably a good time to mention that on our first day, Capt Brogan causally pointed out the 3-metre-long saltwater crocodile, that was gliding around in the river below, next to one of the HLS we were due to visit. No skinny dipping for us!!

With a combination of the 667 crews flying us and our own self-drive adventures, we managed to complete the whole task in just under 4 weeks or our arrival, including our isolation period. We did manage to get some downtime at the weekends due to no flying and explore some of what Brunei had to offer, despite the COVID restrictions.

A real bucket list tick for me was taking a wooden longboat trip deep upriver into the

Ulu Temberong jungle and then climbing up a hillside to a 40-story scaffold tower, to then climb up to the roof of the jungle canopy another 300ft further up.

The experience was literally breath taking! Once back down to the river valley, we found a natural waterfall and plunge pool for a refreshing dip before white water rafting back to base camp. All in all, an amazing experience which no doubt those Puma Force personnel bound for Brunei will hopefully be able to replicate at some point. Brunei is certainly a country of opportunity for different experiences, which those members of the Puma Force, who are going to take over from 667 Sqn later this year, will hopefully be able to fully embrace. It is certainly a country both of us on this recce have said we would like to return to in the future.