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Infantry Training Centre Catterick
Lt Thomas Thornhill
The operation to train Ukrainian recruits has been an incredible experience for my team and me. The operation takes volunteers from Ukraine and trains them from civilian to soldier in just 5 weeks. The Ukrainians learn how to fight and operate in different environments, including specialist training in FIWAF, FIBUA, and trench warfare. They also dramatically improve their survivability on the battlefield, with extensive training in BCD, BLS and CASEVAC drills.
I deployed on this operation with a team of 8 Corporals and a Sergeant from across ITC. We were working directly under CO
5 RIFLES and were a small cog in a huge machine. Despite this, our job was vital to the success and continued improvement of the operation.
Our main role was to assure that all training that was being conducted was up to the ITC standard, and to give feedback to the chain of command what was
working and what training needed to be amended. In this capacity we have been able to work with the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) which has been an incredible opportunity for us all. We have been able
to work alongside one of our allies on,
what many would consider, to be the most important operation being conducted by the British Army at this time. Doing our part in training the Ukrainians to fight against the Russian aggression and support the overall security of mainland Europe has been a personal highlight of my career so far. My team was inspired by how professional, diligent and dedicated to the operation the NZDF are. We have taken many lessons from them which could be taken back to ITC, such as the way that they teach all their rifle lessons as a Platoon rather than
in Sections. This means that you have one Cpl to teach and two as a demo. When it is then time for the recruits to try and conduct the drills, the NZDF would focus on one Section at a time, with all 3 Cpls watching. This allows for a better student to instructor ratio and errors in drills can be highlighted quicker.
The training was conducted with the help of Interpreters, which added additional challenges as the Ukrainian language cannot be directly translated into English.
AFU Recruit on LFTT
AFU Section Commander listening to a brief on LFTT
This means that you must translate the overall meanings of the phrases, instead
of a word for word translation. Initially,
it could take a while for what we were trying to say to be understood, especially in high pressure situations. Despite this
the interpreters have worked tirelessly
and continually looked to improve their translations. Speaking to one interpreter who went by the pseudonym ‘Lara Croft’ I found out that she had lived in London for the past 7 years and had a career in Global Business Management. On the outbreak
of the War, she quit her job and opened two charities, but she still felt like she could do more to help and so she signed up to become an interpreter. She explained to me how every interpreter was “here for the cause” and wanted to be on, what she described as, the “front line of helping”.
All the interpreters were drawn to do their bit for their homeland. She had been interpreting for the past three rotations and she was so impressed by how the British Army had instilled “discipline in a short period of time” and had provided “great training giving tangible results” in turning civilians into soldiers in just 5 weeks.
The other role that we had was to support 5 RIFLES in teaching lessons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). We have taught BCD, BLS, SA80 SAA, FIWAF, FIBUA as well as running multiple attack and CASEVAC lanes to the AFU. This has been a personal highlight for my team and me, as you can see the personal difference that you are making. Since most of the AFU
AFU recruits on URBAN Ex
recruits are civilians, every topic that they are introduced to is new for them. You can see at the start of the course how alien the military is to them but over the 5 weeks they are shaped into well drilled and competent soldiers. One such example of this was
the FIWAF Exercise. After completing the theory and ROC drills it was time for the AFU to go through their first run through, and initially it was carnage! We kept going through different rehearsals and scenarios and because of their total dedication to learn and improve, within one day they were sweeping through the woodblocks with ease.
The training has been overwhelmingly positive. I spoke to a couple of soldiers about their experience in the UK. Soldier 1 was a Policeman before the outbreak of the War. Once the war started, he volunteered to transfer to the Army and was given the option to train in the UK. He explained that he was very happy to be here because he could train and learn in a “safe-space” and how impressed he was by the training. He stated, “I feel prepared for the battlefield” because the “training feels close to reality” due to the use of a ‘thinking’ enemy, pyrotechnics, and fake blood. Soldier 2 also had a similar sentiment, despite coming from a very different background. Soldier
2 had served in the AFU 22 years ago and because of this had been conscripted. Before the war he had worked as a caretaker in a Nursery School. He also feels that the training in the UK has prepared him for when he returns to Ukraine to
fight. Soldier 2 found the exercises and, especially, Urban “very realistic” and he was confident in the lessons that he had learnt. His morale was very high, and he explained that the Platoon felt the same, all feeling ready to return home to fight.
The dedication, bravery and professionalism shown by the AFU is inspiring to us all and we feel incredibly lucky to have played a part in their war against the illegal Russian occupation of their homeland.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE