Page 74 - Mercian Eagle 2012

MATCH
NAME
RESULT
20
The Section Advance to Contact Match
Winners
44
The Advance to Contact Match
Winners
53
The Machine Gun Match
Winners
72
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
Foreword
By the Commanding Officer, Lt Col D Wilford
The start point for the 4th Battalion for this edition of the Mercian Eagle is the change of staff that the battalion has experienced over the last few months. In March we said farewell to Brigadier John Thomson as he completed his five-year tenure as Honorary Colonel; I would like to thank him formally for all of the hard work and guidance that he has given throughout his time. He will be greatly missed across 4 MERCIAN. We wish him well and hope that he stays in touch with us. He has been succeeded by Brigadier Simon Bell, whom many of you will know already. Brigadier Simon has had a long and distinguished career with the TA and, having commanded the King’s Cheshire Regiment and served as Deputy Commander of the 2nd Division, he will, I have no doubt, be of great assistance as we navigate the uncertain future that the TA faces.
At grass roots level we have seen a change in Training Major and Quartermaster. Major John James has left us to pursue
a civilian career in his wife’s
Moving onto training, but staying with Cyprus,
I would like to dwell briefly on this year’s annual camp. On May 26, 132 of us deployed to
Cyprus for a two-week exercise that has already gained legendary status. Described by many as the best camp they had ever undertaken, the battalion experienced collective training to level
2, adventurous training which included, 74 men scuba diving, 24 parachuting and the remainder either mountain biking or rock climbing and five complete days (and nights) in the field. Once
again I believe that we have demonstrated that
a good deal can be packed into 14 days even
with the RAF tinkering with flight timings! From
my perspective the high point of the exercise was the Officer and SNCO development package delivered by the 2IC (Major Paul Walkley) and PSAO E(Rifles) Company (Captain Keith Mahoney). Over a three-day period we studied the 1955–59 EOKA campaign both in the rural (Akamas and
native Australia. John will be succeeded by Maj Max Wray who joins us from the Land Warfare Centre. Major Fred Slaney has joined the battalion from 2 MERCIAN and is now the Quartermaster following Major Pete Bullard’s departure.
We have continued to focus on operations. The spirit of volunteering for operational service remains very strong
The spirit of volunteering for operational service remains very strong in 4 MerciAn, and yet again we filled all the vacancies
Troodos) and urban (Nicosia) environments. Using the
‘Staff Ride’ method, both
the officers and the SNCOs were intellectually stretched and developed. For many this was the first time they had experienced this type of military education. A resounding success, the final day in Nicosia was capped by a visit to Wayne’s Keep Cemetery, where we held a short Service of Remembrance, and a tour
in 4 MERCIAN, and yet again we filled all the vacancies HQ Land Forces put before us; 37 men are now part of the 1 MERCIAN Battle Group for HERRICK 17. The majority of our soldiers will be serving as “bayonets” and junior commanders; however, Maj Chris Massingham (OC C Coy (Mansfield)) will be employed as SO2 Plans within the 1 MERCIAN Battle Group.
Sticking with operations, we also made the largest contribution in 143 Brigade to the MoD’s support to the Olympics. In excess of 50 men served as part the “Venue Security Force” and provided security at a number of sites across London. I have to admit that even I was stunned by the level of enthusiasm shown by the battalion at the thought of supporting the Olympics.
I have been informed that 4 MERCIAN will no longer contribute to HERRICK 19 but will support HERRICK 20. This could have been very bad for morale, with a detrimental effect on recruiting, and therefore I was very keen to get hold of something for next year. In the latter part of April we saw
the opportunity for a Cyprus deployment for next year. This will see approximately 70 men deploy
as a formed company for six months under the
HQ of 17 Port and Maritime Regt RLC who are
the lead unit for Op TOSCA. On current planning the company will be commanded by Maj Paul Walkley and will deploy in April 2013 and recover in October. As I am sure you can imagine, volunteers have been coming forward thick and fast!
of the UN ‘line’. In the busy life of a TA battalion it is often too difficult to generate this type of training, but those few days in Cyprus have shown that it is well worth the effort.
You will be pleased to know that once again
we acquitted ourselves extremely well at the
143 Brigade Skill at Arms Meeting, where we were named as the Champion Team. 4 MERCIAN won all but one event – ironically we came second in the ‘falling plate’ which is usually a guaranteed win! Whilst this is clearly a team success, I would like
to single out Major Nick Clarke (OC D Coy (Crewe/ Stoke)) for his leadership and attention to detail;
he was most definitely the architect of the team’s success. I will let the following statistics speak for themselves:
Team events:
21 The Section Attack Match
45 The Attack and Re- Org Match
Winners
Winners
4MerciAn