Page 27 - RAPTC 23/24

Iwrite this year’s MBS article having been with 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment (1 PWRR) for
2 years now. I am now approaching the end of the road with the Battalion and this is the perfect time to reflect on what has been an exceptionally busy, demanding and operationally focussed year for 1 PWRR. A year that has seen the Battalion thrust to the forefront of the Army’s and Defence’s operational priorities. A year demonstrating the talent and dedication of our Tigers and the operational effects this achieves.
The Battalion hit the ground running in 2023 with Op INTERFLEX, deploying to North Yorkshire to oversee and run the training of Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF). Assigned to run two large sites, 1 PWRR had undoubtably been assigned the biggest task under the Op INTERFLEX banner, running training for up to 1500 soldiers at any one time. The Bn had the pleasure to be supported by international partners in this task from Denmark, Sweden, Finland, The Netherlands and Norway. Given the requirement to prepare
SSgt (SSI) M Radley RAPTC
civilians for warfighting the course was necessarily high tempo and arduous. As always, the members of 1 PWRR stood up and excelled in the task. By July 2023 1 PWRR had trained in the region of 5000 UAF soldiers, half of the training output for Op INTERFLEX Tranche 2.
After a short and well-earned summer leave, elements of 1 PWRR deployed to Kosovo. I was unable to deploy with the Bn however sent Cpl Ratcliffe in my absence. This was an operational rehearsal of the Strategic Reserve Force (SRF) task the Bn had been at readiness for since December 2022. Whilst on deployment, 1 PWRR also took the opportunity to represent the UK in a various amounts of sporting success. Cpl Ratcliffe came fourth in a weightlifting competition against the US Army. As a pure novice, Cpl Ratcliffe outclassed many seasoned athletes. The 1 PWRR mixed football team also exceeding all expectations against the USA Olympic squad in a friendly match.
With less than a week left of this initial deployment the situation drastically
Cpl J Ratcliffe representing the Bn in a weightlifting competition against the US Army.
changed direction. The focus had quickly diverted and those in country were rapidly reinforced from the UK by the rest of 1 PWRR. Due to rising tensions within Kosovo and a particular escalatory attack on the Kosovan police, The Supreme Allied Commander Europe approved the activation of the full SRF, the first time this has happened in the 24 years of the NATO KFOR mission.
As expected, all members of the Bn took this in their stride and flourished on deployment. After several months of operating, 1 PWRR returned to the UK just in time for Christmas leave.
To mark the significance of this deployment, the Secretary of State for Defence, The Honourable Grant Shapps, visited us in Woolwich in January 2024 and presented the Tigers with their NATO non-article 5 campaign medal.
Bring on the rest of 2024!
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1ST BATTALION THE PRINCESS OF WALES’S ROYAL REGIMENT
1 PWRR mixed Football Team vs the USA Olympic Team
1 PWRR mixed Football Team