Page 29 - Rifles 2017 Issue No 3

A Company - Op ELGIN
Since January, A Coy of 1 RIFLES has been training for our upcoming deployment to Bosnia as part of the European force ensuring the stability of the country. The Company trained in public order techniques, live ring and use of armoured vehicles.
The public order training was conducted on Salisbury Plain over two weeks, preparing the Coy to deal with public unrest as part of our skill set. Faced with a civilian population that had a striking resemblance to our fearsome Support ‘S’ Coy, we conducted urban patrolling to understand the local dynamics. As the situation deteriorated and unrest broke out between the two ethnic communities and the police force, the Coy was able to deploy and practice its crowd control, separation drills, and dispersal both at day and night and with our armoured land rovers. The Ri emen performed exceptionally well, bringing order back to the community and achieving the requisite level of controlled aggression to prepare us for Op ELGIN.
To test our conventional capability, we also went through a series of live ring exercises. The Ri emen built up from individual skills to a Company night attack, which allowed us to practice our full planning cycle and test our tactics against an entrenched enemy position. The CT2 ranges expertly facili- tated by our C Company, saw us patrol up a river valley in Brecon and clear through numerous bunker positions, defend our anks and practice our casualty drills with quad bikes. It was a key training oppor- tunity for us, with many young Ri emen conducting LFTT for the rst time, and others stepping up to ful l roles above their current ranks.
With our training complete, language courses and vehicles prepared, we now stand ready to ful l our commitment to supporting Bosnia should we be called upon. Our other eye remains xed on our Ex ASKARI STORM (Kenya) pre-training in the autumn. Maj Jono Mills,
OC A Coy
THE RIFLEMEN PERFORMED EXCEPTIONALLY WELL, BRINGING ORDER BACK TO THE COMMUNITY
A Coy taking petrol bombs during Public Order training for Op ELGIN
A Coy conducting Public Order training
A Coy Orders Gp during training for Op ELGIN
THE RIFLES
FIRST BATTALION 27