Page 32 - MERCIAN Eagle 2022

OC Maj Coutts CSM WO2 Lennon CQMS CSgt Lawrence
CSgt Keaveny
30
HQ (Eagle) Company
The many headed and limbed chimera which is HQ Coy 1 MERCIAN has continued to evolve and grow throughout 2022. Following the operational focus of Op CABRIT, supported by a Rear Ops Group, the return to in-barracks life stretched the departments which make up HQ Coy in all sorts of ways. This included the exercises and training events required as preparation for Lead Armoured Battle Group readiness, supporting the independent company activities and a multitude of other one-off tasks which came the Battalion’s way.
Following the departure of outgoing OC Maj Wayne Roberts to the quieter shores of FTRS; the Battalion Headquarters (BHQ) Staff and CIS
1 MERCIAN Battle Group throughout
the summer. It was a welcome return to Germany for some and an early introduction for many to the delights of the North Rhine-Westphalia region, an area which is set to continue to feature heavily in British armoured training for the foreseeable
future. Full advantage was made of the
drier continental climate and the Catering
Pl treated the Battle Group to a sumptuous BBQ to cap a well provisioned deployment reminiscent of the heady days before ‘Pay As You Dine’.
The next stop on the Combat Ready Training Centre (CRTC) rollercoaster was Castlemartin Ranges for Combined Arms Live Firing. This was almost derailed by
a fleet wide fire extinguisher problem
but thanks to some hasty scavenging, prioritising, and re-fitting, led by the LAD under Capt Lewis Sandoe (EME) and ASM
Platoon embarked on
the Ex IRON STORM
training pipeline to
rehearse combined
Arms battle group
command and control.
This took them first
through introductory
planning cycles in camp
followed by deploying
to Sennelager for the
simulated environment
of CATT and CAST.
There they carried out planning, rehearsing, and executing warfighting missions. This was the first opportunity to exercise with
Z Coy (Royal Regiment of Fusiliers), D Sqn (King’s Royal Hussars) and other attachments who were to be part of the
Malcolm McGlone,
a workable fleet managed to make it
into action. The CIS
Pl and BHQ used this as an opportunity to experiment with different working configurations including at one point delivering Battle Group command and control from a disused kitchen.
The action then moved to Salisbury
Plain for the Final Tactical Exercise which saw all elements being tested – but often not in ways they expected. The Med Section, steered by Sgt Kerry McGrath, was called into action to deliver a suite of additional first aid training at minimal
Medical Training, Castlemartin Ranges, Jun 22
notice to uplift the Battalion’s capability.
The LAD Fitter Sections and CIS Pl raced
to turn around armoured vehicles as they emerged from all corners of the country
to join the exercising fleet. A1 Echelon, commanded by the MTO Capt ‘Skinny’
Hill, found themselves augmented by a boisterous section of Military Working Dogs who weren’t enjoying the mid-July heat. Providing water to cool them and the rest
of the Battle Group down alongside all the other daily supplies turned out to be more than usually problematic; the A1 team’s post-exercise ‘Man of the Match’ Award from the CRTC staff was hard earned and richly deserved. Meanwhile the RAO’s team, led by Lt Tom Littler and Sgt Dean Mills, found themselves balancing between cross- decking multiple vehicles with just their fighting gear and pulling sentry duties ready to fight off enemy attacks, with manipulating their large, white, German printer around the battlefield. Through urban and rural settings, whatever the threat, they stood ready to fire out the Ops Officer’s orders to the ever-demanding subunits to steer them to victory.
September brought ‘Mercian Month’ as the 1st Battalion re-formed as an amalgamation of 1 and 2 MERCIAN. As part of the efforts to build the new team the IO Capt Jasper Clarke planned and coordinated a two-week package of adventure training day trips. He was then
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
The action then moved to Salisbury Plain for the Final Tactical Exercise which saw all elements being tested – but often not in ways they expected