Page 26 - MERCIAN Eagle 2011

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A (Grenadier) Coy on top of Ben Nevis July 2011
place on the UK mainland, the Irish Sea obstacle meant that most deployments ate significantly into weekends at each end, and that’s before taking into account the unsung heroes of the CQMS’ party who would always be on the advance and rear parities. Working to 20 Brigade also meant much
of the training, particularly for Company headquarters elements, was conducted in Germany. And so airports, ferry terminals and coaches have featured a lot in MST, but their grudging acceptance has always been surpassed by the Company’s ability to hit the ground running, once they were eventually on it.
The 9 months of MST could have been taken up purely with reading all the material that is sent and classed as ‘essential’. The reality dawns very quickly that, if you are to achieve anything, you need to be selective in what you choose to study. Those long journeys suddenly have a purpose after
all! But, without a doubt, the intellectual, scientific, moral and conceptual efforts that are currently applied in preparing a soldier to deploy, on top of the broad spectrum of the physical aspects, are second to none.
The highlights of MST have been the Confirmatory Field Exercise (CFX) and a conceptual and physical ‘deep dive’ week conducted in Kinlochleven in the Scottish Highlands. The CFX was well resourced,
Pte Durrant and LCpl Davis 01 practice their tracking skills in the highlands of Scotland
especially with very realistic actors playing Afghan Security Forces and Local Nationals. It gave Multiple Commanders a chance to really get hands on their men and live out the skills and drills which individuals had been taught in the months preceding. It was an excellent run-out for the Company headquarters element too. The Company deployed on CFX 173 men strong, with
as full a complement of attached arms as could be wished for. There were a few occasions when, at least for myself sat in shuras listening to ‘local
nationals’ voice their
concerns, I could have
been in Afghanistan all
over again. A difficult
feat to achieve for any
exercise, especially on
Stanford Training Area.
The Company
managed to squeeze in a week away in
the Scottish Highlands before the Final Training Exercise where it could harness everything that had been taught so far
and drive down into the detail to a captive audience. Each Private soldier briefed the Company on one of David Kilcullen’s ‘28 Articles’ (Fundamentals of Company Level Counterinsurgency) or one of the Land Warfare School’s ‘Operational Insights’. Everyone refreshed their route planning and
navigational skills on a 16 mile Navigation Exercise, and took part in discussions regarding the moral component of forthcoming operations including casualties, leadership and why they are actually going to Afghanistan. Every man reached the summit of Ben Nevis (through the July snow) and was taught some basic counter- IED ground-sign awareness and tracking skills by one of Ray Mears’ colleagues. And the high-wire confidence course and ice- climbing wall gave junior commanders the
opportunity to practise convincing their soldiers to conquer their fears and do something they did not necessarily want to do. A skill which may come in handy on the forthcoming tour. Mixed in with a very healthy
dose of early morning PT in the form of mountain runs (you know it is a good PT session when the PTI is being sick), it made for an extremely rewarding exercise.
And so the deployment on Op HERRICK 15 looms. The Company is ready to go; excited, strong and healthily confident. No doubt the next Mercian Eagle instalment will tell the story of a tour where the Grenadiers prove more than their worth yet again.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
you know it is a good PT session when the PTI is being sick
A (Grenadier) Coy multiple descend into Kinoclevan