Page 6 - Bugle Spring 2024

1 RIFLES
OP HALIFAX
The end of August saw 1 RIFLES do something they haven’t done for some time, a Unit Move, not any Unit Move, but an overseas move to the sunny climate of Cyprus!
The Integrated Review paper published late 2021 stated that 1 RIFLES was to move to Cyprus for two years from their deep-rooted home in Chepstow. The move is an extremely complex task, recognised as OPERATION HALIFAX across the Army, which combined many months of planning between the administration, welfare, operations, and logistical functions of the battalion.
Come Easter 2023 things became busy
“Which box was mine?”
within the Battalion. The Unit Welfare Officer and his team began to support 118 families with packing up their homes, the Regimental Administration Officer’s team scoped and booked a number of hotels in the UK and Cyprus, whilst the Quartermaster coordinated the closedown of Beachley Barracks, all under the watchful eye of the Unit Deployment Officer, who of course was overall responsible for delivering the move by road, sea and air.
In June the activity everyone was dreading arrived, it was time to pack the battalion’s equipment into the sea freight containers. The battalion had 21 containers dropped on the parade square, appointed CSM HQ Coy as the
a Unit Move, not any Unit Move, but an overseas move to the sunny climate of Cyprus!
Packing up home
Officer in Charge of the manifest paperwork who then got the Riflemen working with packing the unit’s property, for subsequent sea movement to Cyprus. The CQMS’s worked hard to ensure everything was packed correctly and would survive the forthcoming 2,000-mile trip to Cyprus, a job well done, I know they enjoyed doing it.
The hard work was done... all we had
to do now was hand over the technical equipment to the Royal Anglians, clean and hand the camp to the Beachley Barracks Management Team, and of course deliver
the simple task of moving 684 Riflemen and family members from everchanging airports across the Midlands, to be met by the forward mounted welfare team, with their sun-tanned complexion at RAF Akrotiri – easy!
OPERATION HALIFAX was seen to be a real success, not only because of the detailed planning conducted before the deployment, but mostly because we have great people who just get on with things, that’s not just the Riflemen by the way, but the 1 RIFLES families as well. Thanks team.
Capt Matt Cleaver, MTO
Data Centric Warfare Team – Rising to the Challenge
The 1 Div Cyber Concentration (CC23) is a data-centric warfare competition aimed at upskilling military units in the cyber domain. In a world where cyberattacks occur every 39 seconds and organisations lose thousands of pounds per minute to phishing, skill in the cyber domain is key. Against this backdrop, 1 RIFLES decided to step up to the keyboard.
This competitive event is designed to enhance and expand cyber capabilities within participating units and is driven by the ever-changing digital battlefield and alarming statistics of cyberattacks and disruption to infrastructure and services. It aims to prepare soldiers to defend against evolving threats in the digital realm.
What makes the battalion’s participation in the competition stand out is their audacious leap into the unknown. With no prior cyber experience or qualifications,
a group of ten individuals courageously stepped up to represent the unit, albeit lured
by the carrot that is Defence Cyber Marvel, hosted in Singapore.
The team’s quest for a location with reliable Wi-Fi led them to the unlikeliest
of places – The Turtle Beach bar. It turned out to be the only spot with a strong enough Wi-Fi signal for their ten-person team. Supplied with caffeine and running on beautiful views, electric fumes and ambition, the ones and zeros began. It was a wonderful blend of paradise and cyber warfare.
Our participation demonstrates The Rifles’ adaptability and resilience in the face of evolving threats. The concentration was not only a challenge but also an opportunity for personal and professional growth, proving that the unlikeliest of teams can rise to the occasion when determination and innovation meet. We claimed the top spot with the most labs completed and an impressive average difficulty score. As a team, in the build-up we spent a whopping
1 RIFLES decided to step up to the keyboard
673 hours, smashed 1968 labs, and earned a staggering 229,680 points. Four members even secured a place in the desirable top 100 of the 3600-leaderboard.
This journey is more than a victory; its Singapore, but really, it’s a story of resilience and innovation. It proves that even the most unlikely of teams can succeed with the right motivation and when they embrace the cyber battlefield.
WO2 Jay Noonan, RSWO
1 RIFLES DCW Team, a different form of storming the beaches
6 RIFLES The Bugle