Mercian Regiment Quarterly Newsletter
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THE MERCIAN REGIMENT QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER Q4 2018 - NO. 1 progress made is significant team's latest stop on Exercise Frosted Blade and achieved in remarkably PIPEDOWN has been in Les and Nordic Ski short periods of time. Contamines, France; combin- ing their skills in skiing with Pte Steven Roche The aims of the exercise are their marksmanship, compet- to test an individual’s psycho- ing against many Brigades Ar- From November through to logical limits, determination my-wide. January, 1 MERCIAN troops and endeavour towards the were offered the chance to extremes of physical courage They successfully qualified for take part in a unique Adventur- under stress, pressure and fa- the British Biathlon Champion- ous Training package of Alpine tigue. ships and one team member skiing in France known as Ex- took gold in the Novice Bi- ercise FROSTED BLADE. This is all tested in the Infantry athlon event, despite this be- Championship held at the end ing his first season. Next stop Based in Val d’Isere, infantry of the exercise which seeks to Germany. soldiers of all cap badges with select the best team to com- many being complete novices pete against their corps in the The aim of Ex PIPEDOWN is are pushed to their limits as wider Army. to provide a competitive envi- they are initially taught how ronment for soldiers to devel- to ski and then develop their 1 MERCIAN excelled in the op and test their military and skills into taking part in com- event and secured a number personal attributes of determi- petitive downhill slalom racing. of silver and gold medals, win- nation, courage, endeavour, ning the Infantry Ski Champi- leadership, fitness and marks- With top level coaching and onships this year. manship, through Nordic cross a draining number of hours country, biathlon and alpine spent on the slopes daily, the The 1 MERCIAN Nordic Ski skiing. putting them through their pac- The fighters who represent- Brigade Boxing es. ed 1 MERCIAN were: Competition Pte Rodgers With skill and grit, our box- Pte Skerrett Pte Steven Roche ers won 4 out of 7 bouts, with Pte Bradley there being 9 bouts in total. It Pte Murdoch 6 soldiers and 1 officer of The takes courage, confidence, ro- Pte Briggs Mercian Regiment fought hard bustness and the resilience of LCpl Cotterill and won in the 1st Armoured a warrior to step in to the ring, Lt Dyson MERCIAN Infantry Brigade Boxing com- regard- petition. less of the outcome. With intense training, deter- 1 mination and a strong fighting spirit, 1 Mercian Boxing Team were ready to challenge their rivals within the Brigade and 2,500 allies from the UK. by 1 MERCIAN highlighting the vari- Ex SAIF SAREEA III ety, potency and lethality of weapon The exercise was deemed a huge systems able to be utilised in modern Pte Steven Roche success and cemented the Mercian conflict. Regiment’s reputation on the interna- In October, soldiers from 1 MERCIAN tional table. While deployed, elements of 1 MER- deployed on Ex SAIF SAREEA 3 in CIAN were able to make the most Oman where the 1 MERCIAN Battle- Soldiers and Commanders were test- of their free time and participate in group were tested in punishing con- ed in severe extremes of heat and unique adventurous training opportu- ditions. cold as they showcased the op- nities including trekking in the Jebel erational effectiveness of a mod- hills and scuba diving opportunities. 1 MERCIAN were able to demon- ern armoured infantry battalion at strate their expeditionary nature in de- the height of readiness. ploying all the way from Bulford with a full fleet of vehicles and equipment. Key highlights included a fire- power demonstration provided In Oman they were able to highlight their interoperability as they partnered their Omani allies in an exercise in- volving 60,000 Omanis with over try’s adversaries and reassur- 1 MERCIAN in Pictures Upcoming ance to the country as a whole. Events 1 Mercian will have a leading role in NATO’s Enhanced For- There is a lot happening at 1 ward Presence. Mercian, in February troops will be returning to Oman, de- In March the Battalion has Ex- ploying on Exercise KHAN- ercise CITADEL GUIBERT to JHAR EDGE, combining forces look forward to; a combined with the Omanis to better our arms exercise designed to own individual skills as well as test the way various nations building better tactics and key interact, communicate, and ul- relationships with our interna- timately work together on oper- tional allies. Still carrying out ations. vital Operations, 1 Mercian will continue to with two separate Also in March, after winning the deployments; Operation OR- 1st Armoured Infantry Brigade BITAL and Operation CABRIT. boxing competition, the 1 Mer- cian boxing team will be touring Op ORBITAL will see soldiers Boxing Gyms around the UK. and officers from the Battal- With expert coaching, the team ion deploy to Ukraine to train, will be pushing their threshold, mentor and educate Ukrainian becoming evermore capable, Forces to better combat the robust and fierce fighters in the threat of a Russian invasion, ring. The tour will take them whereas Op CABRIT will see from Catterick to South Chesh- other soldiers and officers de- ire and finally Nottingham, all ploy to Estonia; one of NATO’s over the timespan of 3 weeks. Baltic allies. In Estonia, troops will act as a deterrent the coun- B (Malta) Coy and practical training. C (Kohima) Coy Physical training was con- Having been in Cyprus only Since arriving in Cyprus the Bat- ducted each morning by two short weeks, B (Malta) talion has conducted several exer- the company PTIs and Company found itself with cises. The exercises have ranged often took the form of a 5 the task of providing Flight from Section up to CT2 (Company) mile run to the beach be- Line Security (FLS) at RAF level. The lower level exercises fore beginning a vigorous Akrotiri. Although this was CT1 exercises, allowed the Sec- circuit training session by no means a prestigious tions and Platoons to adapt to a alongside the cool waters task, it was of vital impor- completely different environment of the Mediterranean. In tance to ensure that the compared to exercises conducted their down time, members various strike and recon- in the U.K.. The harsh desert like of the company could also naissance assets located conditions provide a fresh chal- take advantage of the ex- at Akrotiri were protected lenge putting soldiers in environ- cellent gym facilities at while on the ground in be- ments they have not worked or RAF Akrotiri. tween their many sorties to operated in. The CT2 exercise is a the Middle East and further Company strength exercise where Along with the opportu- afield. a Company works as one unit – en- nities available to devel- suring we are ready to deploy any- op personal fitness, the The company worked in where in the Middle East or North company could usually be two teams, guarding the Africa on Lead Company Group. found down at the beach airfield for 48 hours and These exercises are a culmination during their free time on then conducting training of lessons learnt during the CT1 OP BRONZE or assisting and PT the following two exercises ran previously and allow the RAF Search and Res- days. Training focussed the company to continually develop cue Squadron with their on a number of areas in- and perfect SOP’s when operating training by volunteering cluding basic navigation, as part of a larger force. This is vi- to act as ‘casualties’ (any CBRN and tactics and tal, as whilst we are in Cyprus we excuse to be winched into techniques for operating in are on standby to support British a hovering helicopter and built up areas which con- foreign policy in the region. have a free sight-seeing sisted of both ROC drills tour around the area). As previously mentioned, the train- ing has taken place in completely new environments, such as clear- ing through quarries, gorges and Mediterranean villages, this has allowed us to face and beat new challenges. This new terrain has ensured that soldiers and com- manders are challenged and best prepared for any situation they may find themselves in. Cyprus provides the Battalion a large variety of train- ing conditions, which the Battalion is maximising at every opportunity seeking to constantly improve. MERCIAN 2 Our camp at Headquarters Resolute Support had OP TORAL 6 good WIFI and welfare facilities, and with the market and Bazaar there was not much you could not get. The In July, Fire Support (Dragon) & A (Grenadier) Compa- cookhouse was better than ours back in Cyprus, with a ny were stood up to deploy to Kabul, Afghanistan as lot of options which helped stave off boredom. Overall, part of the UK uplift. The deployment was due to begin it was something completely new to me and a good in Mid-August, so this meant a quick turnaround to get experience. the relevant briefs and Mission Rehearsals complete and get out the door. It was made even more interest- Sgt Hall ing as this had to be done as the Battalion moved to its new home in Cyprus. This deployment to Afghanistan was a different ex- perience from pervious HERRICK tours. The job and For many this was a return to a country they thought mission were different, but it was still driving towards they wouldn’t see again, the same end state of a but for others it was their more secure Afghanistan. first experience of Afghan- Our living conditions were istan.