Page 32 - WishStream Year of 2023

Exercise
ALANBROOKE’S
ADVANCE
OCdt Collier
It was a cold and murky Monday morning as Commissioning Course 232 arose to embark on a perilous journey. Alamein and Burma Compa-
nies had to tackle a formidable challenge in one of the most hostile environments, at the very heart of the Brecon Beacons. These OCdts were about to experience 11 days of physical effort and mental strain, with the burden of leadership appointments on the most sodden and undulating ground they have ever known. Resilience, teamwork and deter- mination are only a few of the characteristics that they would need to show to complete this daunt- ing exercise. For the Intermediate Division, this was to be the cornerstone exercise for this term.
Demanding, long days were ahead for us, as almost every OCdt was thrust into a command role. We were to display leadership and sound tactical understanding and awareness, dictat- ing the movements and actions of the platoon as the Platoon Commander. Under almost constant watch and scrutiny from the Permanent Staff, the pressure was certainly piling on. With the gruelling pace, fatigue started to set-in amongst the OCdts. Leaders-legs worked for those carrying the burden of command, but for many of the rest, trying to stay motivated as thoughts of getting 40 winks in their green time-machine were hard to ignore. One had to forget friendships when dishing out grippings in order to keep the group disciplined and moving in the right direction. These roles and responsibilities were constantly switched to provide freshness,
allowing everyone to demonstrate their strengths and weaknesses, which enabled learning and improvement as the exercise progressed.
Ex ALANBROOKE’S ADVANCE saw the introduc- tion of Ambushes and Raids to add to the Advance to Contacts, Deliberate Attacks and Hasty Attacks that the Intermediate Term were familiar with. It also hammered home the process of writing and then delivering a strong and inspiring set of orders. So inspiring that some OCdts were knocked off their feet in sheer astonishment (definitely not due to sleep deprivation). The orders process was sup- plemented by the platoons producing model pits, a detailed picture of the ground key to the mission; we scrambled around in the dark to find dirt, shrub- bery, branches, or anything that could help por- tray the environment which would be our Area of Operations. The highlights of the ambush included mounting a surprise attack on the enemy with a high concentration of force and then withdrawing as quickly as possible. It required unwavering con- centration, especially from the early warning group, who identify the enemy coming and relay the mes- sage to the rest of the platoon to prepare them to fire. The night sky was lit up with illum and flares as if it were bonfire night, whilst rounds defeated the enemy. Then followed the watch and shoot and the searches, before the rapid withdrawal. The raid was an exhilarating prospect as well, with a few platoons coming nail bitingly close to utilising a Chinook to aid in their operations. Unfortunately, the inclement weather restricted that, and the route in and out was conducted on foot. The raid was an opportunity to see how performing such actions can lead to gathering intelligence to aid further operations.
The last action of the exercise saw both companies conduct its first ever Company attack. There were 3 enemy positions for each platoon to secure one after another, including two buildings to overcome, in order to achieve the objective, Objective EAGLE. Headed up by Major Wilkinson and Company Ser-
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