Page 39 - Mercian Eagle 2016

My Arrival In Battalion – Pl Comd Perspective Lt E Ireland, 2IC
I arrived in Battalion back in September last year fresh from Brecon. Our final exercise in Garelochead had perfectly acclimatised me for where I would deploy with the Platoon just four weeks later. In between arriving in Battalion and deploying to Kenya I got a few checks done, did some Orderly Officering, and went back to Brecon to focus on Section and Platoon level tactics with A (Grenadier) Coy.
It was great to land in Kenya with the rest of the Battalion and then get out
onto the ground. Ex ASKARI STORM is a great exercise, particularly for a Platoon Commander and I was able to get to know
the soldiers of 4 Pl, B (Malta) Coy very quickly.
We had a few interesting run ins with the wildlife, some which ended in an orderly withdrawal from a lion in the middle of the night, some which ended in a section stood on the roof of an ambulance. Either way, we weren’t in Brecon.
We switched regularly from live firing to blank firing, from the high up to low down, from conventional to non-conventional. We moved around a lot, going to different areas in order to be tested in different ways by the BATUK staff.
We finished off with the final exercise which involved some pretty sizeable
insertion marches, a lot of time spent in defence and again, more lions, hyenas, elephants and giraffes than we were entirely comfortable with.
As a new Platoon Commander I was lucky to have a very knowledgeable Platoon Sergeant and three extremely experienced Cpls who ran a very tight Platoon. I was able to spend time testing out what I had learnt in Brecon and working out how a Platoon of Officers and a Platoon of soldiers differ.
Once we got back the Pl has continued to keep itself ready, deployed to Poland with the Bn and continues to maintain its previously set high standards.
Platoon Commanders Perspective On Pre- Deployment Training (PDT) Lt T J Yaxley, OC 4 Pl
2017 is going to be a very busy year
for the Battalion with three overseas operational tours; it’s an exciting time to be a new Platoon commander. However, deploying on these requires a lot of pre deployment training in the preceding months.
B Company’s training began earlier
this year, when we were warned off for Op SHADER; quickly the boxes of books and mission packs arrived in order to start building our background knowledge. This is essential, as Iraq has been shaped by many complex geo-political, religious issues, some dating back hundreds of
years, a fair few of which we have our colonial predecessors to thank for.
2016, was nicely rounded off with a large portion of the company getting on AT, a great opportunity to come together before the inevitable increase in tempo. As the back end of the year approaches, it is already starting to ramp up with the required ground work, such as: Driver Qualifications, MATTs, ACMTs, LFTT, TLFTT etc..
Looking forward, 2017 holds a considerable amount more. First there are all the Conceptual and Cultural Briefs, as well as keeping up-to-date with the constantly changing intelligence picture.
That’s before we have really started to make sure that our kinetic capabilities are intact.
The key will be to make sure that we harness the knowledge we have gained from courses such as SCBC, PSBC & PCBC and effectively pass this on to the native forces.
2 MERCIAN left the HERRICK
cycle as one of the most decorate Battalions in the Army. Although it is a fundamentally different style of campaign, Malta Company plan to build upon this pedigree and reputation, further upholding the Regiments standing.
VJTF Deployment Lt P T Price, OC 5 Pl
Throughout May and Jun 2016, the
2 MERCIAN BG deployed as part of the VJTF construct to Poland in a two part exercise named Ex BRILLIANT JUMP II and Ex ANAKONDA. The deployment was an opportunity to train, exercise and integrate 2 MERCIAN BG into an allied, joint, and multinational environment. Furthermore, it allowed for further improvement of the BG’s rapid deployment procedures.
From a Platoon Commander’s perspective, it allowed for further training and development of the Platoon at the tactical level, ultimately with one eye on
the strategic affect to be achieved. Initially based in the Zagan training area in Western Poland, the Platoon integrated as the third Rifle Platoon of Chindit Company, 2 LANCS. The training area was comprised of dense forestry, interspersed with large areas
of barren land, suitable for mechanised
or armoured units. The forestry, unlike
many of the training areas in found in the
UK, allowed for detailed training on how an Infantryman would navigate, survive and fight in such a dense and large
area. This allowed for the progression of training to continue up to Section, Platoon and Company level, each stage adding
another lever of complexity. This complexity had to be managed through detailed command of control parameters in order
to achieve the full potential of the unit, whether that is the Section or the Company operating within a BG context.
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