Page 31 - MERCIAN Eagle 2011

Ex ASKARI THUNDER 3 - A Platoon Commander’s perspective By Lt J Clark
I was relishing the chance to join the Battalion on a seven week exercise to Kenya, just four weeks after finishing Brecon, but I still had some doubts. Would the section attacks, FIBUA and FIWAF I had been practising for months be anything like the Hybrid Foundation Training we would undertake there? Would my Platoon respond well to such an extended period with their ‘Crow’ Officer? Would my Platoon Sergeant, ex Army boxing and 6”6 tall, nicknamed ‘Leonidis’, get bored of eating rations and devour me instead? Thankfully Ex ASKARI THUNDER proved a challenging and exciting platform on which to build
for future deployments, Op HERRICK
or otherwise. My Platoon made me feel welcome and the exercise was a great opportunity to bond with them. And my Platoon Sergeant supplemented his rations with all manner of ingredients picked up locally rather than eating me for breakfast!
We arrived at Terraco Farm, a staging post, in early October and from there
travelled some six hours overland to Company training areas. It was a great opportunity to not only utilise the lessons learnt on Live Firing
Platoon joined the Engineers for two
days of explosive demolition and bridge construction. Not only did this mean another
Pte’s Smith 96, Scott, Blakey and Glasby ready for action on the FTX, Aug 11
Training for Afghanistan By 2Lt L Beetlestone
Mission Specific Training (MST) is the vehicle through which the Army trains
itself for current operations in Afghanistan. Instead of conventional war fighting or the Hybrid Foundation Training the company practiced on Ex ASKARI THUNDER 3, MST on drills and situations specific to Helmand Province. As the training progresses, so too does the scenario until the Battle Group and Company are simulating operating in the AO they will deploy to.
The Company delivers a significant part of MST training internally. Lance Corporals, Corporals and Sergeants are sent away on courses and then return to pass on what they have learnt. In this way the Platoons have specialists to draw experience from and the soldiers have someone they’ve worked closely with before, to teach
them new essential skills. Ground Sign Awareness, All Arms Search and Pashtun language courses are good examples of where C Company have benefitted.
The Company practices soldiers on
those lessons they’ve been taught in camp by going on exercise and C Company
have had a number of really successful exercises this year. The Battalion run Ex McPHEARSON’S MARCH added an element of competition between multiples
in different Companies, which focused the soldiers’ minds. Although C Company didn’t win the competition,
everything it has taught itself so far. It was
the first time that the Company deployed
as it would do in Afghanistan, with two full Platoons and all of its attachments. There were plenty of fresh faces and as expected mistakes were plentiful in the early stages of
Tactical Training at
Brecon concerning
running ranges, but
there was ample
opportunity to take
part in the ranges
myself. The heat was
stifling and the wildlife
breathtaking; we saw
elephants, zebras,
gazelles and hippos. It
was a great chance to see our attachments working hard as well: Engineers built the FOBs we stayed in and the medics were kept busy with various bites and burns. Even the RMP got stuck in taking detainee handling lessons and coming down the ranges as riflemen!
As the OC of the Assault Pioneer Platoon an excursion was organised so that my
helicopter safari, but we learnt a lot and got to practise some of the more unusual skills the Platoon specialises in. LCpl Alsop celebrated his birthday in style
by initiating the Dems which caused a scrub fire large enough to threaten a vast swathe of the training area.
After completing training with our Platoons, we moved on to Company and finally Battalion training. We successfully completed a gruelling live fire Company attack spread over two days and then moved on to the Deployable Tactical Engagement Simulation phase which allowed for more informative debriefs. The serials were well thought
out and managed by the Directing Staff;
the Platoon and Company benefited as a result, especially in terms of learning how to utilise our ISTAR assets and how to move independent units around the battlefield. It was also very productive to see the attached arms at work and to see how they might be integrated with Infantry companies on future operations.
After EndEx was called and the brass was picked up from the final attack, the Platoon were eager for the Company ‘Smoker’ followed by a few days of Adventurous Training. Alcohol consumption was tempered with outdoor sports, cycling and swimming. If that wasn’t enough we escaped bad weather until the last day when we handed over to the Welsh Guards for the beginning of their Exercise ASKARI THUNDER 4. Perfect!
up to the Battle Group Ops room and
the decision-making cycle is tested. 2 MERCIAN and C Company in particular made full use of this training and it showed on the two main field exercises; the CFX and the FTX later in the year.
The CFX is a week long exercise in Thetford and tests a Company on
Would my Platoon Sergeant, ex Army boxing and 6”6 tall, nicknamed ‘Leonidis’, get bored of eating rations and devour me instead?
a lot of progress was made and their skills and drills have been steadily improving throughout this phase in our training.
There were plenty of fresh faces and as expected mistakes were plentiful in the early stages of the exercise
There are also
exercises run for the
Battle Group by various
training organizations
within the Army. CAST
and CATT, based in Paderborn, offered the Ops Rooms chance to practice and hone their skills using computer-simulated situations. Reports and Returns get fired
the exercise. The Company grasped what thy needed to improve on with both hands and by the end of the week the OPTAG staff were left with little to be concerned about.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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