Page 32 - Bugle No. 17 Spring 2021

5 RIFLES
Testing the ability of the Battlegroup
to respond to activation and meet the deployment timelines dictated by the 1st Est Bde is taken extremely seriously on Op CABRIT and in December, A Company received their first readiness test.
The call went out, the men and women of A Company stood-to in rehearsed movements and collected their weapons with a practiced ease. Warrior engines fired up and in a flurry of movement, the
A Company Combat Team, complete with
a fleet of engineer assets and intimate tank support, was ready to move on to the anticipated mission. Ours was to dig in and
defend against a rapidly moving enemy, leaving us just 20 hours to dig a series of battle trenches and tank pits. The effort
put in by the soldiers was phenomenal. Dismounts attacked their battle trenches with unbridled enthusiasm. Platoon Commanders deftly directed digging
assets to construct an elaborate, staged defence of their given AO, and the tanks rehearsed dozens of routes in and out of their holding areas so the OC knew exactly when to launch them. The stage was set and, despite the pouring rain and thick mist, the Riflemen of A Company were ready. This was an excellent opportunity to prove the
A Coy Dug down and watching out
battle worthiness of the Company. The
1st Est Bde Commander paid a visit to the foremost trenches and left assured that
A Company were up to the task. Within a very short space of time the soldiers had gone from being asleep in their beds to being made ready in stage 1 trenches; a credit to the junior leaders throughout
the ranks. This exercise exactly portrays our reason for being on CABRIT. We must hold ourselves ready to react at short notice, and in so doing, assure our NATO allies that the British Army is ready to fight tonight.
WO2 M Perry, CSM A Company
32 RIFLES The Bugle
The stage was set and, despite the pouring rain and thick
mist, the Riflemen of A Company were ready
Ready to deploy
LIVING READINESS