KUANTAN, 12 October 2020 – Opening Ceremony of Exercise PARADISE (Paradrop, Air Defence, Insertion, Strike, Search and Rescue and Extraction) 7/20 was officiated by the Commander of Air Operations (PANGOP), Lt Gen Dato’ Haji Mohammad Salleh bin Haji Osman RMAF and was held at the Bomba Auditorium, Kuantan Air Base (PU Kuantan) today.

Faced with the COVID-19 challenge, the opening ceremony of the exercise was also broadcast live on video conferencing (VC) to the Air Region 2 Headquarters (MAWILUD) and the main air bases of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). Earlier, the arrival of the Commander of Air Operations with the delegation was welcomed by the Commander of Kuantan Air Base, Brigadier General Mohd Fadzil bin Mohd Diah RMAF after going through a disinfection and temperature inspection (thermal scanner) at the Air Movement Building, PU Kuantan as a COVID prevention SOP. Next, PANGOP received respect from the Kuantan PU Quarter Control before being taken to the Bomba Auditorium for the PARADISE 7/20 Exercise Opening Ceremony.

In the opening speech of the exercise, the Commander of Air Operations touched on the characteristics of good leadership: that is competent, professionalism and reliable.

According to him, a leader must be able to convince the person he leads (art of influence) in performing a task by convincing them why a task or matter needs to be performed (sense of purpose) as emphasized by the Commander of the Air Force.

He also stressed that success is not easily achieved without commitment, teamwork, the right strategy and confidence. Therefore, all RMAF personnel in particular are likened to being under one roof and need to work together in whatever task assigned.

The combination of air elements such as fighters, helicopters, mobility and ground support elements will highlight potential and improve performance when tasks involving various skills, experience and assessments are combined.

According to him, due to the situation of the country which is still facing the COVID-19 pandemic, this exercise only involves the elements of the RMAF, a “Single Service”, without any involvement of elements of the Malaysian Army (TDM) and Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN). Despite being implemented on a small scale, this exercise will continue to be the RMAF’s largest platform in improving the procedures and level of professionalism of each member as well as ensuring that RMAF assets are at a high level of readiness to ensure the country’s defense is always maintained.

The opening ceremony was also attended by Major General Dato’ Zulkifli bin Hamid RMAF, Commander of Air Region 1; Major General Felix Gonsalvez RMAF, Chief of Staff, Air Operations Headquarters cum Director of Exercise Paradise 7/20; senior officers and members of the RMAF.

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MAJLIS PERASMIAN PEMBUKAAN EKSESAIS PARADISE 7/20

KUANTAN, 12 Oktober 2020 – Majlis Perasmian Pembukaan Eksesais PARADISE (Paradrop, Air Defence, Insertion, Strike, Search and Rescue and Extraction) 7/20 telah disempurnakan oleh Panglima Operasi Udara (PANGOP), Lt Jen Dato’ Haji Mohammad Salleh bin Haji Osman TUDM bertempat di Auditorium Bomba, Pangkalan Udara Kuantan (PU Kuantan) hari ini. Mendepani cabaran COVID-19, majlis perasmian pembukaan eksesais turut disiarkan secara terus secara persidangan video (VC) ke Markas Wilayah Udara (MAWILUD) 2 dan pangkalan-pangkalan udara utama Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia (TUDM).

Terdahulu, ketibaan Panglima Operasi Udara bersama delegasi telah disambut oleh Komander Pangkalan Udara Kuantan, Brigedier Jeneral Mohd Fadzil bin Mohd Diah TUDM selepas melalui proses disinfeksi dan pemeriksaan suhu (thermal scanner) di Bangunan Pergerakan Udara, PU Kuantan sebagai SOP pencegahan COVID-19. Seterusnya, PANGOP telah menerima hormat daripada Kawalan Kuarter PU Kuantan sebelum dibawa ke Auditorium Bomba untuk Majlis Perasmian Eksesais PARADISE 7/20.

Di dalam ucapan perasmian eksesais, Panglima Operasi Udara menyentuh tentang ciri-ciri kepimpinan yang baik iaitu kompeten (competent), profesionalisme dan dipercayai (reliable). Menurut beliau, seorang pemimpin harus mampu meyakinkan orang yang dipimpin (art of influence) di dalam melaksanakan sesuatu tugas dengan meyakinkan mereka kenapa sesuatu tugas atau perkara tersebut perlu dilaksanakan (sense of purpose) seperti yang ditekankan oleh Panglima Tentera Udara.

Beliau turut menegaskan bahawa kejayaan tidak dicapai dengan mudah tanpa disertai komitmen, kerjasama berpasukan, strategi yang betul serta keyakinan. Maka, semua warga TUDM khususnya diumpamakan berada di bawah satu bumbung dan perlu bekerjasama dalam apa juga tugas yang dilaksanakan. Gabungan elemen udara seperti pejuang, helikopter, mobiliti dan elemen dukungan daratan akan menyerlahkan potensi dan meningkatkan prestasi apabila tugasan yang melibatkan pelbagai kemahiran, pengalaman dan penilaian digabungkan.

Menurut beliau lagi, berikutan situasi negara yang masih berdepan dengan pandemik COVID-19, eksesais pada kali ini hanya melibatkan elemen Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia (TUDM) iaitu “Single Service” tanpa sebarang penglibatan elemen Tentera Darat Malaysia (TDM) dan Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia (TLDM). Meskipun dilaksanakan dalam skala kecil, eksesais ini akan terus menjadi platform terbesar TUDM di dalam menambah baik prosedur dan tahap profesionalisme setiap anggota serta memastikan aset TUDM berada dalam tahap kesiapsiagaan yang tinggi bagi memastikan pertahanan negara sentiasa terjaga.

Majlis pembukaan turut dihadiri oleh Mejar Jeneral Dato’ Zulkifli bin Hamid TUDM, Panglima Wilayah Udara 1; Mejar Jeneral Felix Gonsalvez TUDM, Ketua Staf, Markas Pemerintahan Operasi Udara merangkap Pengarah Eksesais Paradise 7/20; pegawai-pegawai kanan serta anggota TUDM.