Page 41 - Rifles 2017 Issue No 3

Defence Engagement
Uzbekistan Short Term Training Team (STTT)
The United Kingdom - Uzbekistan relationship is certainly in its infancy, and this June saw 1 RIFLES deploy a 7 man STTT to Forrish Training Area, Uzbekistan for two weeks to develop this edgling association. The aim of the STTT is to enable and prepare the Uzbek Army to enter a team into this year’s Exercise CAMBRIAN PATROL in October. The S Coy lead team was a strong balance of youth and experience that included a CMT and our resident Russian linguist Ri eman. The training area was remote and arid where temperatures regularly reached into the 40’s with snakes, tarantulas and locusts regular visitors. The training audience was a platoon of 40 soldiers from which the nal patrol will be selected; it was obvious that competition is erce with the rare opportunity to visit the UK on offer. The platoon was motivated, disciplined and keen to understand the very different ways in which our two armies operate. With early starts to avoid the high temperatures, this deployment saw us start by teaching basic infantry skills such as patrolling, RTR, recce and rst aid with a view to progress to more complex training in September when the same team will deploy to further develop the Uzbek infantry skills.
Outside the military training there was plenty of opportunity to build relationships and our inaugural Ri es vs Uzbekistan football match sadly ended in a 4-3 victory to the hosts, but we blamed the midday heat for our poor performance. During the evening
we would screen military lms such as ‘Kajaki’ and relate British military experience from those con icts directly to the training that they were receiving. Uzbekistan has a long and rich history within an empire that once stretched across 3 continents with rulers such as Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan and Amir Timur and we were able to enjoy a cultural day trip to the historic city of Samarqand which is one of the oldest inhabited cities in Central Asia. This STTT provided valuable experience for 1 RIFLES to develop working in remote locations independently with little to no assistance; it also provided a golden opportunity to enhance relations with a strategically and geographically signi cant country. We look forward to deploying again in September and to then hosting the patrol in the UK for their build up training to Ex CP 17.
Capt Josh Leccia,
MG Pl Comd and OIC UZB STTT
THE TRAINING AREA WAS REMOTE AND ARID WHERE TEMPERATURES REGULARLY REACHED INTO THE 40’S WITH SNAKES, TARANTULAS AND LOCUSTS REGULAR VISITORS
Uzbekistan STTT mentors patrolling at Forrish Training Area
THE RIFLES
FIRST BATTALION 39