Page 147 - Rifles 2017 Issue No 3

ZAMBATT3
In early January 2017, 7 RIFLES were given the opportunity to mobilise a Short Term Training Team to support the Zambian Army and prepare them for a year long deployment to the Central African Republic (CAR). Their mission in CAR was under a UN Mandate to support peace operations in the area. The Training team comprised 6 personnel including WO1 RSM Ash Curson, Sjt Chris Creed, Sjt ‘Smudge’ Smith, Sjt ‘T’ Turaga, Cpl Clint Hunt and Cpl Ben Ashall.
Our rst impressions upon arrival in Zambia were very positive and the commitment of the Zambian force was obvious and extremely high. Our US colleagues in the African Contingency Operations TA (ACOTA) had obviously done a good job in the 5 weeks prior to our arrival. We soon realised that the unit we were training were a composite unit from across the Zambian Army who had all volunteered for operations; they therefore shared our ethos for volunteering as Reserve soldiers. Despite the rain (it was the end of the Zambian winter) we quickly got to grips with their weapons which included AK variant assault ri es, PKM light machine guns, 81mm Mortars and the Dragunov sniper ri e. Whilst tactics were very American due to previous training their Battle Procedure and Orders Process followed the British Army model.
The Core activity for the 7 RIFLES team was Infantry training based on what could be described as a mixture of Northern Ireland and Afghanistan type Scenarios/low level tactics. Each of the 7 RIFLES Instructors was attached as an Advisor/Mentor to a Company grouping of up to 130 men, this saw them advising in a wide spectrum of activities from base location protection, the orders process and battle procedure and then onto patrol action and tactics. The feedback from the Zambian soldiers was highly complementary, they appreciated the Ri emen’s depth of knowledge, clear communication, and calm, measured coaching style. During the Final Test Exercise (FTX) the Zambian soldiers exceeded our expectations and demonstrated their readiness for Operations in what was forecast be a hostile environment in CAR.
The STTT wasn’t all pleasure however; it was extremely testing to make the long journey to Victoria Falls travelling through majestic countryside, meeting wonderful people and visiting some of the best wildlife gameparks in Africa.
A few lessons learnt from the STTT were that short notice for Reserve Forces to mobilise is challenging, more notice the better in these cases. Early engagement with the excellent British Peace Support team (BPST) in Africa will halve your questions and problems. In all a STTT tasking such as Zambia is highly suited to Reserve Battalions and we were delighted to be asked to return next year. WO1 (RSM) Ash Curson
THE CORE ACTIVITY FOR THE 7 RIFLES TEAM WAS INFANTRY TRAINING
Op FORTIFY Recruiting
There will probably be a time soon when Op FORTIFY fades into the distance but for now it continues with no sign of waning and I can happily report that it has delivered for 7 RIFLES. At the time of writing the battalion is in excess of 100% trained strength. Just to clarify, in the Reserves a reservist is classed as a trained soldier once they have completed phase 1b training. Attaining this magical gure has largely been down to the determination and hard work of the Regimental Sub Unit Support Of cers (RSUSOs) and the many reservists that they have cajoled into helping them over the past year. Having a successful recruiting engine requires that each RSUSO has an in-depth knowledge of the recruiting pipeline, along with all the applicants, candi- dates and recruits in their sub unit. In addition, the Recruiting, Retention and Monitoring Teams (RRMTs) have been instrumental in ensuring that the recruits are kept engaged, prepared and motivated during the transition from civilian to Rfn. This is a constant challenge with up to 40 potential rfn, medics, chefs and clerks at various stages of training in any one company at any one time.
The battalion will not be allowed to bask in the 100% trained strength glow for much longer though as the long awaited Army 2020 (Revised) implemen- tation order hits the COs in-tray sometime soon. This will sadly see 7 RIFLES losing F Company who will be subordinated to the London Regiment. The battalion will be handing over a strong, well-manned company with a complement of reservists, of whom an unusually large proportion has operational experience. The order also brings opportunity in the shape of a new company to be formed in Swindon with an additional platoon location in Bulford. Sharing Ward Barracks with 5 RIFLES will undoubtedly lead to fantastic training opportunities as the battlion enhances its new armoured infantry role.
Maintaining a well manned battalion is not only down to successful recruiting, more attention is being placed on retention of late and it is probably this that will be a battle-winner in the future. Exciting training with real opportunities to deploy and gain new skills will be key to retaining what Op FORTIFY has delivered. There are still issues with a convoluted recruiting pipeline but many of the speed bumps have been ironed out of late and the process is, in the main, delivering a steady stream of future Rfn and enablers into the battalion.
Capt Paul Woolman, ROSO
THE RIFLES
SEVENTH BATTALION 145
Sjt Creed doing his impersonation of a Borrower in Zambia