Page 26 - Mercian Eagle Year of 2023

8 Platoon
Pl Cmd 2Lt Oliver Sherwood Pl Sgt Sgt Ashley Foster
As the newly appointed 8 Platoon Commander in C (Kohima) Company, I was lucky to deploy straight to Romania on Ex SARMIS 23. This was the perfect opportunity to get to know my soldiers and build a strong team ethos with the also new-in Pl Sgt.
We flew over after an arduous pre- deployment exercise in Brecon to ensure we were ready for the mountainous landscape which awaited us. Upon arrival we began our build up training to get us used to operating in the terrain. Here we were
put through our paces by the Romanian exercise leads. This involved battle exercise lanes testing our anti-ambush, patrolling and mobile defence skills. We also got to meet some of our fellow nations taking
part in the exercise. We instantly gravitated towards the Americans as they took the opportunity to boast their array of platoon weapon systems (obviously compensating for something). The troops were then busy trading patches and
shirts as they displayed
some of Britain’s finest
accents. One soldier
even managed to trade
a US Army headdress
for their jungle hat.
8 Platoon making friends with the civ pop – Romania, Oct 2023
After two days of
build-up we then
entered the final
exercise. Initially, as the
battlegroup reserve,
we secured the rear
echelon by establishing
vehicle checkpoints and Observation Posts overlooking key avenues of approach - namely the Main Supply Route which cut through the mountain landscape on our Battlegroup’s axis. Moreover, we maintained a Quick Reaction Force at high readiness
Bears and snakes soon became the least of our worries as we battled up and down the steep mountain landscape
which responded to multiple probing attack reports. We also seized the chance to hold a Key Leader Engagement at a local village to understand the civilian population’s
needs and bolster support amidst the enduring conflict they were exposed to in the exercise scenario. The result was a collaborative meeting culminating in a group photo and a round
of Romanian tea (a welcome gesture after a long patrol over to the village).
We then inserted into the fight, conducting a relief in place
with the Romanian troops deeper in the mountains. From here we continued their progress, advancing over the mountains in dispersed platoon patrols sweeping through likely enemy positions. Bears and snakes
soon became the least of our worries
as we battled up and down the steep mountain landscape. Remaining balanced as a Company proved difficult with the harsh slopes and vast forest making navigation and fighting for comms difficult. However, we successfully linked up having cleared our allocated area of operations to establish a Company harbour. Although our hardest day yet wasn’t over as we became compromised conducting our resupply meaning we had to rapidly relocate and adapt to avoid the same fate again. Once re-established, we entered our planning process for the final attack to defeat the enemy with support from the US mountain warfare unit. Starting early the following day, we fought through multiple ambushes to our line of departure for launching simultaneous platoon attacks onto the enemy’s HQ elements within a series of farm settlements. Along the way, I managed to link up with the US who were well equipped with snipers, guns, and rockets to provide us overwatch from a hill towering over the objectives. We exchanged some quick laughs as we deconflicted control measures before launching back across the valley to assault the remaining enemy force elements.
After this successful end to the FTX we enjoyed a cultural day with the other nations to recover, with a BBQ, tug of war and
other activities before we undertook our range package. The next day took a long 4km trek up to the mountain top LFTT lane to conduct live platoon attacks. We also managed to share familiarisation shoots with the French and US weaponry.
Finally, having then returned to the barracks we had two days left free to explore the beautiful local town of Brasov. This was a well-deserved break which allowed us to fully appreciate the nation which had so kindly hosted us for nearly two weeks.
8 Platoon with its Romanian Observer Mentor – Romania, Oct 2023
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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