Page 15 - Chiron Autumn 2017

Troop Training in Germany
By Pte William Mayer, MWD Handler, 105 MWD Sqn
My rst eld exercise as a new Pte within 1 MWD Regt was a highly enjoyable and challenging experience. I had completed my basic training a year before, so I felt con dent to go back into the eld and revise my basic military skills. As expected it rained incessantly throughout the exercise. The dif cult conditions required everyone to work harder and pull together. The challenging weather gave an excellent insight into how people performed when things got dif cult. It always changes the mood with people but you just have to adjust and carry on, as complaining about it will never solve anything.
Over the time as we applied our basic skills to administrate ourselves, we were reminded of the skills we had learned and it rapidly came back to us as second nature. During the night we conducted stag within our sections, each taking our turn to watch the harbour area for an enemy contact. The exercise was also a chance for me to work upon areas where I had little con dence and experience such as map reading. The night navigation exercises we conducted were very demanding, not only due to the environment but also the distance we had to travel. It was also an experience to conduct the nal navigation exercise with my dog, Alex in tow. It was my rst time doing navigation exercises with the section and it was interesting to see how different people responded to the challenge. The most interesting thing about being on exercise is you see how people cope when put under pressure.
Having Alex my protection dog with me was a good experience. It was a chance to see how Alex would act in the eld with other dogs and living under a basha. Alex throughout the night was very alert as he is highly driven to work so he didn’t relax as much as the other dogs did. He sat mostly outside the basha watching what was going on outside and keeping a close eye. Deploying with your dog inevitably came with more responsibility. It was a test to keep on top of both Alex’s and my own administration while out in the eld. I would health check each chance I could get just in case he picked up any veterinary issues; this would be a standard check as a handler as he is my dog and he has to be 100% healthy to be able to work to his maximum ability. Other things had to be taken into account for example rationing his food around when he would be worked so he wouldn’t be working on a full stomach; he could then be rewarded with his meal afterwards. Other lessons conducted during the exercise included things such as model making, rst aid, counter I.E.D and how to conduct section attacks. I found these very helpful as it was chance to brush up and revise on what I already knew and an opportunity to further improve my knowledge. I found learning in the eld much more engaging than learning in the classroom. Personally for me I particularly enjoyed the counter I.E.D lesson taught to us by SSgt Kyere from the RLC. He explained various subjects in good detail and gave us a chance to share with the group what we knew and what he knew more about.
As a part of the exercise we also conducted multiple section level attacks. These were very good and following de-briefs, we all knew what went well and where we could improve next time. Overall my time on the exercise was enjoyable and very informative to both me and all my fellow soldiers. It was a fantastic chance to learn more about the people I worked with, and enhance my bond with my MWD Alex. It left me con dent for the future and keen for an opportunity to put the skills I had learned into practise for real.
Evacuating Pte Andrew Fortune from the Battle Zone
Pte Chloe Jones and Clara setting off on patrol
Pte Calum Johns and Zek prior to patrol
(from left to right) Pte Calum Johns, Pte Adam Hempstock, Pte Harry Lewer, Pte Molly Luckett and LCpl Laura Howarth collectively pose with their model
CHIRON CALLING 13