Page 15 - MERCIAN Eagle 2011

Headquarter Company
OC Maj RA Goodwin CSM WO2 M Buckley
The Company has seen a few changes since the last edition; it was handed over to me by Major Rich Grover as he switched his focus to forming the new B (Malta) Company for deployment to Op HERRICK 12. Of special note is the fact he was awarded the MBE after the tour; once
you have listened to his war stories for three days you realise
it was well deserved.
WO2 (Bullets ) Jones
handed over the reins
as Company Sergeant
Major to WO2 Mike
Buckley, who has now
settled well and truly
into this new role.
The CQMS has also
changed over with CSgt
Pollitt handing over to
CSgt Griffiths who has
switched from welfare
to warfare. CSgt Pollitt
has moved into the
county as the BRLO to boost our recruiting statistics and we wish him well in this new role.
The Battalion started to deploy on Op HERRICK 12 during early March 2010.
Yet again we were unfortunately split as
a BG due to the Musa Qa’lah AO being handed over to the Americans and this had
MT Platoon
Since the last edition of The Eagle the majority of the MT has been deployed on Op HERRICK 12. The platoon was split up and the majority of the platoon found themselves working in FOBs or at Camp Bastion. The MTO (Capt Matt Bard) was detached and found himself working with the US Army conducting Baseline audits of ANP Stations. Sgt “Police Horse” Gavin was initially deployed in support
of Operations in Camp Bastion but then returned to the UK to run the MT as part of the ROG.
a corresponding impact on Headquarter Company. We were split between the four fighting rifle companies, Police Advisory Teams, B Ech in Camp Bastion and the Rear Operations Group (ROG). Everybody played their part either deployed forward or back at home forming part of the ROG. This was an extremely difficult tour as I am
sure all readers are aware. My thanks go to all in HQ Company, those engaged in fighting with the insurgents or looking after our bereaved families and injured soldiers at home.
You all performed and contributed magnificently. Headquarter Company has done an outstanding job enabling, supporting,
feeding, driving, cooking, fixing, demanding, communicating and as already mentioned, in some cases fighting.
On return from Op HERRICK homecoming parties were arranged with an excellent week of homecoming parades in the county. Of special note the medals parade and presentation of Elizabeth
platoon managed some leave and looked forward to getting back into the normal routine on return.
The New Year arrived with a promise of a quieter period in which the platoon could re-adjust to normal in camp routine. The platoon is still waiting for this period!!!! Driver training has continued at a pace and Cpl Westmoreland is continuing to push people through a myriad of licences and driving courses. The introduction of the new JAMES operating system kept
HQ Coy Team in Bn March and shoot competition
Crosses to our bereaved families was a special and emotional day for all involved. At the time of writing, after some well deserved leave, the Company has been as busy as always, having just been through the Combined Inspection Week (CIW) receiving green grades on the Logistic Support and Equipment Care inspections. We have also converted onto the new BCIP BOWMAN radios after conducting a plethora of courses and transferred all our equipments onto the new JAMES LAND system. We are now getting back on the treadmill preparing for deployment to Op HERRICK 17 in October 2012, with the Battalion exercise in Kenya to look forward to in January 2012.
9th gear 3000 RPM = 20 mph
20 mph down the runway with a blacked out Speedo whilst being tracked by a speed gun. The expert drivers knew that 9th gear and 3000 RPM would result in
a speed of 20mph. 35 was the highest recorded speed!!! Maybe it was 10th gear after all. Other stands included SV tyre changing, UK Highway Code Test and vehicle documentation. This very simple to organise and execute event raised the level of driver training in the Bn and also helped tick a lot of boxes for the CIW; the next major event of the forecast of events.
The CIW is always an emotional week
in the life of any MT platoon. In April the CIW team arrived at Marne Bks to inspect
1 MERCIAN. The ECI Team were the first to arrive in the MT. Very quickly vehicles were selected and LCpl Wilson and his Servicing Bay team set about the first parade of these vehicles before handing them over to the ECI Team. The inspection was conducted very pragmatically and with a common
Headquarter Company has done an outstanding job enabling, supporting, feeding, driving, cooking, fixing, demanding, communicating and as already mentioned in some cases fighting
The qualifications
gained during training
for Afghanistan, were
certainly tested fully
during the tour. In total
over 200 members of
the Bn held C Licences
and were trained to
drive the UOR vehicles.
Every single licence
and driver was used
throughout the tour. The harsh conditions and heat pushing drivers and vehicles to their limits on many occasions.
On return from Afghanistan the MT looked forward to some well earned down time. Leave was taken but the platoon also supported the Bn Welcome Home Parades which were a positive boon to the Bn as
a whole. Over the Xmas period all of the
the whole platoon on its toes and a series
of e-learning courses were conducted in preparation. The many courses and tests kept the Platoon fixed to their terminals well into the night on several occasions.
MT training was also carried out. A Safe
and Skilled Driving Event took place in February with teams from every company competing in various driving stands. The ‘reversing a landrover and trailer through
a series of cones’ stretched all those who tried to the limits of their driving ability. The Commanding Officer visited the stand being run by Sgt “Diesel Den” Hughes during which drivers were asked to judge
The reversing a landrover and trailer through a series of cones stretched all those who tried to the limits of their driving ability
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
13