Page 22 - Bugle Autumn 2023

3 RIFLES
A (ANTI-TANK) COMPANY DEPLOY
TO ESTONIA ON OP CABRIT
A Company Group, in all its glory
A PLATOON COMMANDER’S PERSPECTIVE
A (A-Tk) Company deployed to Estonia in March as part of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup. This was led by the Queen’s Royal Hussars, includes the French Foreign Legion, and sits within 1st Estonian Brigade.
Tapa Camp is home to British, French, Americans, and of course Estonians. It is
well equipped with gyms, saunas, and NAAFI equivalents. A short walk away is the sleepy railway town of the same name from which the capital, Tallinn, is easily reachable. The seasons turned quickly in April as though Winter yielded straight to Summer; we arrived in a foot of snow and are wearing t-shirts six weeks later; grateful we landed a summer tour.
Barrack routine goes on as normal, albeit with tighter restrictions and new opportunities. We prepare for career courses, gain driver and weapon qualifications, and enjoy being able to train and relax together as platoons. Riflemen have already participated in a range of local
physical events like the gruelling 30km Scouts March, while A Company’s footballers continue to perform well. Members of the battlegroup have been seizing opportunities to explore a new country, while some stand down provides opportunities to go further afield into the Baltic states.
On Exercise BOLD HUSSAR, the first of three battlegroup-level exercises scheduled, our Riflemen demonstrated that infantry mass is indispensable on the modern battlefield and proved themselves equal to their traditional task of skirmishing in difficult terrain. Platoon Commanders were given the first three-day phase to take their platoons through drills and tactical actions of their choosing. This
led to four days of challenging Company level force-on-force battles against the Estonians. Finally, a 36-hour exercise demonstrated
the battlegroup’s preparedness to fight alongside them. It is clear from speaking to our counterparts that Britain’s commitment to
grateful we landed a summer tour
Estonia means a great deal to them.
As an anti-tank Company, our order of
battle is an ongoing experiment. To create the product required by the NATO battlegroup, the battalion’s anti-tank platoon has been asked to integrate into a Rifle Company and promote its specialist skills to officers, NCOs and Riflemen who couldn’t tell a CLU from
a BCU just months ago. Operating in mixed combat teams, we have been negotiating the challenges and opportunities that come with the Mastiff platform, which was not designed for conventional manoeuvre warfare.
The Challenger II tanks of the QRH pack an armoured punch that can crack anything on the ground and tip the balance in favour of friendly forces at key points. However, they are dependent on us “pedestrians” for securing objectives and for thwarting enemy infantry attempting to infiltrate our flanks through Estonia’s vast boggy forests.
The company fought well, but there are still plenty of lessons to carry forward to exercise SPRING STORM.
2Lt Henry Waterson, A Company
Combined Arms – A Company familiarise themselves with their Cavalry comrades
22 RIFLES The Bugle
ROCO – A Company, 2nd in Command greets a fellow NATO Officer