Page 76 - MERCIAN Eagle 2018

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D (Dragon) Company
BATUS and Lithuania
In July, seventeen soldiers and officers
from 4 MERCIAN flew from Brize Norton to BATUS in Alberta, Canada in attendance
of Exercise Warriors Craft II. The annual exercise held in BATUS was hosted by the Royal Tank Regiment with Zulu Company 1 Royal Regiment of Fusiliers and B Company 5 Rifles acting as the armoured infantry element of the battle group exercise. The exercise consisted of over 10 different reserve units filling roles and working alongside the regular soldiers in all capacities. As Light infantry trained soldiers, 4 MERCIAN were exposed to the Armoured Infantry tactics and fighting for the duration of the exercise, operating as dismount commanders and soldiers.
The exercise consisted of multiple phases, the first of which being Company level training conducted in order to refresh and familiarise all soldiers and commanders to the environments they would be working in. In a dismounted role, BATUS offered multiple complex environments, such as
Endex 4 MERCIAN soldiers and officers in Camp Crowfoot
Dismounts move from their Warrior to prepare to assault an enemy position
B Coy 5 Rifles with 4 MERCIAN troops
the large mock villages, modelled from the streets and villages of Afghanistan, and multiple complex trench systems scattered around the training area. B Coy 5 Rifles contained the majority of the 4 MERCIAN element, who spent 5 days deploying into urban environments and fighting through, enabling the Warriors to provide intimate fire support and flank protection in the complex environments. Trenches also offered extensive and specific training, showing how armoured infantry can effectively use their dismounts to clear such environments and how the Warriors can use their 7.62mm chain guns and 30mm Rardon cannon to provide support to troops on the ground.
Alongside elements of engineers, Challenger II tanks and artillery FST elements, manoeuvres were conducted over the training area and often phases could take place over movements up to
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