Page 31 - Mercian Eagle 2016

A (Grenadier) Company
A (Grenadier) ‘Champion’ Company overview Major A J Bourne (OC)
For the last 12 months the lives of the
men of A (Grenadier) Company have been dominated by readiness. The readiness requirement was to be at R2 (7 days NTM) as part of NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (Land) (known as VJTF(L)) for the entirety of 2016). This Task-Force is a relatively new concept which was agreed by the NATO nations at the
Wales summit a couple
of years ago. The most
important aspect of
this new NATO force
was that the head of
NATO, the Supreme
Allied Commander
(Europe) could mobilise
this force without the
consent of all member
nations which was the case before. What this meant was that it had to be a credible force and it had a realistic chance of actually being mobilised. This added a much sharper focus to the task than has previously been associated with such commitments, especially with the on-going situation in the Ukraine still bubbling along. For the first time in a long time, there was
a realistic expectation that this force could actually be used; if not in anger, at least as a demonstration by NATO.
2 MERCIAN were the Light Infantry element of what was a multinational Spanish led Brigade. Due to a number of the other units in the Brigade being mechanised or armoured, it was decided that we should
be able to self-lift the battalion in one move. This, coupled with the readiness timelines meant that the Company was required to
take on much additional equipment, vehicles and also to be one
of the first sub-units
in the British Army to receive the new VRITUS body armour and load carriage system. We were, and still are at
the time of writing an
effective fighting force that is ready for the call.
However, to prepare us for this commitment, and to demonstrate to the wider Army that A (Grenadier) Company was up to the task, we were first required to take part in Ex ASKARI THUNDER in Kenya. The Company was back-filled with elements from B (Malta) Company to bring us to full strength and we exercised alongside both
C (Kohima) Company and Chindit Company from 2 LANCS who provided the third Rifle Coy. The exercise was a complete success
2 MERCIAN were the Light Infantry element of what was a multinational Spanish led Brigade.
Roaring Thunder – A (Grenadier) Company O Gp on Ex ANAKONDA
Teaching FIWAF to other nations in Poland
for the Grenadiers who once again lived up to the Grenadier ethos of being the best soldiers in the battalion. The article written by LCpl Macklin will give you a good feel for how the exercise progressed from a grass-
They’re behind you...A (Grenadier) Company in Poland on Ex ANAKONDA
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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