Page 89 - Chronicle Vol 17

that they won last year at Bisley. The
team finished third this year but with
a notable mention, Lance Corporal
Burgess, who was the second placed
individual shot. LCpl Burgess now
departs the battalion, having been
awarded a place on the regular com-
missioning course at the Royal Military
Academy Sandhurst. The affiliation
with the Virginia National Guard has
been ongoing with one officer on a
two year attachment and a number of
riflemen deploying to Virginia to com-
plete the Military Reserve Exchange
Programme in June. In return, we wel-
comed fourteen National Guardsmen to Exercise BALTIC FIST. The Waterloo Band and Bugles continued to deliver a high tempo of engagements. On their annual camp they deployed to Belgium and provided support to SHAPE head- quarters, the King’s Birthday celebrations and performed in a concert at Waterloo. In June the Band also played at the Regent’s Park Bandstand, which was the first such occasion since the bombing in 1982 and Bugler Howard became the first Reservist to play the Ceremony of the Keys in the Tower of London. Operationally we continue to provide a steady flow of individuals to the Regular Army with eight Riflemen deployed on Operation INTERFLEX and two Officers mobilised in 11th Security Assistance Force Brigade Headquarters. This ongoing operation delivers training to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the United Kingdom, and we are collating volunteers for the future iterations. We also have one officer cur- rently deployed to Nairobi under 77th Brigade.
WORKFORCE UPDATE
The battalion remains well recruited and is currently overbearing on our work- force at 120% of liability although work continues to convert our huge pipeline of applicants and recruits into trained soldiers. We have been greatly boosted this year with the throughput from the Infantry Battle School. Five platoon com- manders and two platoon serjeants have passed the arduous course in Brecon and have taken over their respective platoons. We have seen significant turno- ver in our commanders this year, with all companies receiving new officers com- manding. Furthermore, next year will see a large changeover of our permanent staff with a new Executive Officer, Quartermaster and Regimental Serjeant Major coming into the battalion. Despite this churn, we have seen another 26 riflemen qualified and added to our trained strength this year. Also of note, Riflemen and Civil Service staff from the battalion have earned an array honours and awards, from Commander Field Army to Brigade Commander’s Commendations, Lord Lieutenant’s awards, and further nominations to the New Year’s Honours List to be confirmed early in the New Year.
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Riflemen clear a Russian trench system on Tapa training area, Estonia