Page 46 - Mercian Eagle 2012

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THE MERCIAN EAGLE
Foreword
By the Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Chris Davies
2012 has been characterised by 3 MERCIAN drawing breath since our return from HERRICK 14 in October of 2011 and handing the Afghanistan baton to our sister Battalions for HERRICKs 15 and 17. The ensuing Freedom Parades were
well supported and re-confirmed our close links back home, felt ever more keenly by a Battalion routinely based in Germany.
Post Tour leave was timely
and well deserved but the
Battalion very quickly found
itself meeting the inevitable
and relentless training support
bill to ensure that the wisdom
we had gained during our tour
was passed onto those units within 12 Brigade scheduled to deploy on HERRICK 16. Special mention and congratulations to Cpl Taylor MC, Sgt Moss MiD and Maj Wilde QCVS on their hard won honours and awards.
External Training Support completed, the Battalion turned inwards to deliver its own CT1 and 2 training on Bergen-Hohne and Sennelager ranges. This task should not be underestimated and I frequently remind Brigade and other external observers that Armoured Infantry Battalions are unique given their dual role. The largest Battalion in any Armoured Brigade by an extra 400 men, we are required to achieve the start states of a Light Role Battalion such as dismounted Field Firing
at the same time as achieving the start states for Armoured Infantry in terms of drivers, gunners and vehicle commanders cadres. “Time on Tanks”
is the mantra as this is the only way to integrate the sections with the Warriors, blending man and machine. We never get as much time to train as we would like but nevertheless the Companies pulled out blind and we were well placed to progress onto the main event of the year – BATUS.
firing danger close (200m) all of which took place at night in the added chaos and confusion that
it brings. From my view point training just does not get any better than that. After live firing we switched to Tactical Engagement Systems (TES) which is somewhat akin to laser quest for grown ups. With the men and vehicles fitted with sensors
3 MERCIAN Battlegroup were the training audience for Exercise Prairie Thunder 4 in BATUS, Canada, from September to November 2012. Under command we had a
Squadron of tanks, our own
A Coy Armoured Infantry, our
Dragon (Support Weapons)
Coy, a Light Role Company
from 4 SCOTS and a
Canadian LAV Coy as well
as the usual assortment of
Armoured Engineers, four
AS90 guns, Armoured Medical
Troops and the like. Starting
from individual Company live
firing exercises we gradually
integrated more and more assets together until we were able to conduct recce and prosecution of deliberate river crossings before bouncing straight into Battle Group attacks supported by artillery
Post Tour leave was timely and well deserved...
We are in a good place and having now been confirmed as deploying as a Battle Group in a good role for HerricK 19...
we fought four missions over the next ten days against
a real time thinking enemy commanded by 4 SCOTS. This proved invaluable and we learnt some important lessons along the way. The weather conspired against us however
and the exercise was cut short by a few days, which was just as well as 3ft of snow and -40 wind chill is sufficient to make even the hardiest of us refuse to soldier! In case anyone was left in any doubt, and just for the record, 3 MERCIAN won 4 nil.
I am sure that the Companies will expand further in their reports but it would be remiss of me not
to formally recognise the excellent performance of B Coy who deployed to BATUS with the SCOTS DG Battle Group before then participating as an independent sub-unit on Exercise Sabre Junction, a high profile multi-national exercise, as the sole representatives of the British Army. C Coy were also highly praised spending the summer and early autumn as part of the enemy force in BATUS but we will not hold it against them.
It will come as no surprise to any reader that
the Army 2020 Announcement hit the Battalion hard and there was some initial despondency
as you would expect. However, the Regimental Reorganisation planned for 2014 has ensured that the best interests of all three Battalions and the Regiment itself are looked after. It provides a real opportunity to carry forward the golden threads
of our antecedent Battalions whilst optimising our structures for the future. That, and the terrific news
that the Regiment will retain one Battalion in an Armoured Infantry role, has left a palpable air of anticipation around
3 MERCIAN.
We are in a good place and having now been confirmed as deploying as a Battle Group
in a good role for HERRICK
19 in September 2013, the future is bright. Mission Specific Training begins in earnest from January 2013 which will be all
consuming prior to the deployment itself. Beyond that a return to bases in the UK awaits us so, to quote the best Platoon Sgts “we will see you in the re-org.”
3MerciAn