Page 28 - MERCIAN Eagle 2011

OC
2IC
CSM CQMS
4 Pl Comd 4 Pl Sgt
5 Pl Comd 5 Pl Sgt
6 Pl Comd 6 Pl Sgt
Maj A R Garrett Capt M Brigham WO2 D Aley CSgt A White
Lt Maddock Sgt Cartledge Lt Heinrick Sgt Clements Lt Mofatt
Sgt Coombes
26
Life as a New Platoon Commander in A (Grenadier) Company
Lieutenant Tom Onion, OC 3 Platoon
Having completed a year slogging through the ‘square bashing’ of Sandhurst and 4 months cold weather endurance training
in Brecon, you find yourself gagging to get to your Company and start training with your platoon. Soon enough, I found myself arriving in Belfast to find the Battalion operating at a tempo above anything seen during training; as men were conducting MST all over Europe, and closing back into the Battalion for major exercises.
During my first two months in A (Grenadier) Company, I’ve found myself training all over the UK and in Germany; conducting a Civil Practitioner Course, Field Firing Camp, Mounted and Dismounted Combined Arms Live Firing Exercises, the CFX, Combined Arms Tactical Trainer, Team Medic and Pashto Language courses. And alongside all of this, trying to get used to the additional duties such as Battalion Orderly
Officer and all the checks and administration required of a platoon commander, some of which wasn’t quite as exciting as they made it seem in the careers office.
The intensity of MST has allowed me to get to know
the soldiers within
Grenadier Company
standard.
I was extremely lucky to have an
excellent handover/take over from Lt Tom ‘Wolfie’ Heron, and he allowed me to slip into the seat with minimal fuss. In
B (Champion) Company
quite quickly. I’ve found
a great mix of the old
and bold and fresh
out of training soldiers
within 3 Platoon, who
have complimented
each other well during
MST by drawing on the vast amount of Op HERRICK experience and the enthusiasm of the younger men. Indeed, I’ve found that 3 Platoon characterises itself with a combination of good looks, witty banter and professionalism of the highest
I’ve found a great mix of the old and bold and fresh out of training soldiers within 3 Platoon
addition, my Platoon Sergeant (Sergeant Brown), having very recently completed the Platoon Sergeants’ Battle Course, has the administration of the platoon sewn up and allowed me the freedom to experiment with how
we conduct ourselves on exercise. All in all, life as a new Platoon
Commander has been hectic – but what would you expect?!
Written by Maj R Garrett
My first words must be of thanks having taken over the Company from Major Stu Biggers in March 2011. May I express my gratitude to the
a frenetic year, full of both challenges and opportunities. Whilst spending increasing periods of time away from home is difficult
for soldiers and families, the protracting training period has at the very least afforded the men an opportunity to gel and form a bedrock within the Company, better prepared for the mental and physical rigours of operations in
Afghanistan that lay ahead.
My arrival was also well timed (ominously)
just as the Commanding Officer conferred upon the Company the prestigious title
of ‘Champion Company’. The title was awarded to the company in recognition of
Company HQ - I have
inherited a Company
poised for operations
and in general good
order. My arrival was
timed with the soldiers
increasing familiarity
with the word ‘busy’.
A term that away from
Regimental Duty now characterises much of the British Army – ‘busy’ has for a long time been the new steady state. If anything this upturn in tempo was recognisably synonymous with a Mission Specific Training (MST) cycle – thus this has been
the Commanding Officer conferred upon the Company the prestigious title of ‘Champion Company’
a series of high achievements, beginning with the Battalion sports competition in
late 2010. Nonetheless, it was Exercise ASKARI THUNDER and the Battlegroup exercise in Kenya which allowed the Company to shake off the shadows from the last Afghanistan tour (Op HERRICK 10), and which also allowed a new junior hierarchy to make their mark. Notably, ASKARI THUNDER saw the Company comprehensively defeat all enemy positions
Dismounted CALFEX – “Gentlemen, meet the Mastiff Protected Mobility Vehicle”
THE MERCIAN EAGLE