Page 70 - WishStream Year of 2023

vered and prepared for the battlegroup assault as the blood, sweat and tears, mentioned previously, presumably froze. The penultimate day involved a giant ROC drill. Mr Bevan asked if the model was to scale, but was assured it was just to look at. A stir- ring rendition of “I Vow to Thee” pierced the winter air and the sun shone on the Padre as he delivered a rousing speech, as if the eve of battle was upon us for real.
As the sun disappeared for the final time, we loaded our Bergans, cleared all ground sign and set off for the initial assaults on enemy OPs, before being led by recce through a twisting, muddy slip- and-slide route, reminiscent of something from Alice in Wonderland or Willy Wonka’s psychedelic boat ride from hell (the original with Gene Wilder). The cylumes did little to keep the hallucinations at bay as we trudged through several woodblocks to the line of departure. Several of us were rudely awoken by gunfire at H-Hour, with the rest of us having been brought back to the world of the liv- ing by Captain Meller and a packet of wine gums (thank you, Sir!). This time the Slovenians were on our side and claimed a foothold in the South West of the village, enabling the remainder to advance. Two new OCdts, who went by the names of Col- our-Sergeants Reynolds and Hutton, stepped in to the fire team and gave the Americans “a good grenading”, exhibiting the finest skills, drills and utmost professionalism whilst inspiring those around them with controlled aggression and fight- ing spirit. As morning broke, the guns fell silent and (dynamic) victory was ours.
The beret parade was a brief but moving affair as we replaced the RMAS headdress with our new
regimental ones for the first time. This preceded some kind words from the Commandant and acad- emy staff before the famous EX DV champagne breakfast; a veritable feast of all the ingredients of a full English, fresh fruit, pastries, assorted Euro- pean meats, and pancakes. A huge amount was learnt on this exercise as we brought together eve- rything we have picked up over the past 11 months, and many lessons were learnt the hard way as the enemy and the environment exposed our weak- nesses and vulnerabilities. Perhaps most of all we learnt about ourselves and our teams more inti- mately than ever before, in testing, but ultimately rewarding, circumstances. As the Padre says, “this is the end of the beginning”, and now we can start to look beyond the Commissioning Course to the realities and responsibilities of Platoon Command and life in the Field Army, whilst drawing on experi- ences and lessons learnt at RMAS and in Germany as to best serve, and lead, our troops.
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