Page 65 - Mercian Eagle 2012

stalked their quarry, the steely eyed Recon dug deep and fought hard to defeat an attentive and unrelenting enemy manned solely by the competitive Sniper Platoon.
It was a long exercise with little sleep and even less rest but the Recon shone through. They hardened, grew and then waited – the Cadre was just a step to better things.
The focus now flicked swiftly back to Armour, live firing and the build up to PRAIRIE THUNDER took the lead. A successful range package saw mounted sections withdrawing in contact with an Enemy vanguard whilst supported directly by the mortar platoon. It was complex
and furious as hell. They were long weeks and difficult training but essential and well received by all. It put the Platoon in a strong position, when charged to deploy to BATUS 6 weeks early as the COEFOR Tank Coy it fell easily within bounds. The Recon was pleased.
The first 4 weeks of BATUS were spent thrashing the SCOTS DG up and down the prairie, proving that CVR(T) in a T80 wrap was a far superior tank when fought by infantrymen and Recce soldiers. Among the many prized scalps claimed was the CO’s Tac
on Mission 1, the ISTAR BG Tac on mission 2 and during the final attack, a surprise thrust from the rear into BG main through the FUP and into the COs Challenger. Ex PT3 was a resounding success and made it clear to all, that the Recon took no prisoners and they were there to win.
PT4 began well with a decisive sweep through the live firing package however
it was apparent to all that the real test was going head to head with 4 SCOTS in TES. Once again the Recon triumphed. Successes ranged from stalking enemy
tanks to dismounted recce in blizzard conditions whilst maintaining that relentless desire to defeat the enemy throughout. It had nothing to do with the bounty of whisky on offer for the capture of key personnel.
It has been both an arduous yet highly successful year for the Recce, each man better for the having passed through
the crucible of fire that is a back to back BATUS. They have come a long way since that icy morning in January and one thing remains as true now as it is was then. The Recon have no time for amateurs.
Sniper Platoon
Prior to BATUS the Sniper Platoon went
to Sennelager in order to complete their annual ACMT on the Sniper Rifle. The Platoon completed all the live firing build up shoots before attempting the ACMT and did very well, considering most of them hadn’t fired the weapon since Afghanistan. On the ACMT the Platoon had to fire from 400m
in the prone at Figure 12 Targets, then move to the 500m point and engage the same target from different positions; which included kneeling and sitting positions. From 600m to 1000m the targets were Figure 11s and they had to crawl from 5m behind the points and engage the target within 1min. This may sound easy to an untrained sniper, but there is a lot to take into consideration i.e. wind, direction, speed and range. In order to
pass, all snipers needed
a minimum score of
85%, which I’m glad to
say they all achieved.
The Platoon started the sub unit live firing phase on 30th September, this was very challenging and snipers were engaging targets up to 1200m away. They then went on to do killing house 360 by day
and night, sniper raid by day and hostage extraction under fire, with a casualty at
night. This was very demanding and as
we lacked our full compliment of sniper trained Section Commanders. The BATUS Training staff commented on the Platoon’s overall performance, throughout that week. The second week was again live firing but this time we were supporting the light role company on their attack on Tarmeck village by day, firing again out to 1200m at falling plates, then we moved to a new location and did the same again, but this time at night. The Platoon then went back up to the top of the training area to conduct a pairs live firing
stalk over a distance
of 7km, using the
Quad bikes for the first 5km, then on foot for 2km. The Platoon then rejoined the Battle Group to conduct the final live firing exercise.
This time it was war, we had real enemy
and we could be employed to counteract
the worst threat “enemy snipers”, so we prepared by doing counter sniping lessons and a practical battle lesson, before being deployed by the Battle Group Commander. Our first mission was to prove a route and become the Battle Group’s eyes along with Recce and Javelin Platoons. The move was
at night and on the way we had to clear
a small compound so the Mortar Platoon could move in. The next task was to cover the river crossing area so that the engineers could put in a bridge. When the enemy were located we were able to call in the gns on their psitions and destroy their snipers. We sustained two casualties, one came off his Quad after his Night Vision turned off and the other hit a large bolder and the bike landed on top of him.
In one action, at first light around 0530, we identified 2 Pinz Vehicles, a Quad and a Salamander around the Golf Tower so we called in a fire mission and destroyed their Rebro. This split the Enemy forces who found it hard to communicate with each other. The enemy vehicles moved all around us and all we could do was to stay put
and report and call in fire missions. Platoon Headquarters was killed off by the directing staff, so the two remaining sections withdrew and were chased by the enemy all the way back to the bridge demolition. At one point they thought that they were going to be
fired upon by friendly forces, but the quick reaction from one of the Javelin Platoon ‘blokes’ prevented this from happening.
The weather then turned and it began to snow and by the end of the maintenance day, it was around 12 inches deep.
As for the future, we are assisting in the running of 7 Armd Bde Sniper Cadre; Part 1 is in Sennelager between in November through to December 2012, with Part 2 in Haltern in January and February.
On the 14th
September 2012, ten
of the Platoon flew to
BATUS to conduct 5
days of some really
good Adventure Training
at Trails End Camp.
Two soldiers went Parachuting, 3 rode horses and 5 did the multi activity events. Prior to the main exercises, the Sniper Platoon was issued with 10 Quad bikes and 2 Landrovers. 4 of the Quad bikes and both Landrovers had trailers to carry the section’s kit and equipment.
This time it was war, we had real enemy and we could be employed to counteract the worst threat “enemy snipers”
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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