Page 51 - Mercian Eagle 2016

2 MERCIAN RECONNAISSANCE PLATOON Capt S J Vause, OC RECCE
The commitment to the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force brought
a number of significant changes to
2 MERCIAN in the last year, and for the Reconnaissance Platoon, the opportunity to train to an operational standard on the Weapons Mounted Installation Kit ((WMIK); essentially a stripped out Land Rover with weapons on it). As such, there can be few platoons within 2 MERCIAN who noticed the uplift in equipment given to the Battalion more than the Reconnaissance Platoon. We went from a 24 man platoon with no vehicles, only light weapons, and very few qualified drivers, to a 24 man platoon with
8 vehicles and an impressive array of heavy weapons, in which every man needed
to be a qualified driver, commander or gunner. We faced a significant multi-faceted challenge, requiring huge efforts in training, administration and logistics so that the Platoon could develop a credible mounted recce capability. This challenge also coincided with a time when the Platoon had undergone significant changes in manning, particularly among the Senior NCOs in the Platoon.
This training culminated in the deployment to Poland on Exercise ANAKONDA in May and June of 2016.
Thus began a year of very different training to that which the Platoon are
used to, starting with travelling to
Pirbright to begin the qualifications
on the WMIK vehicles. Two weeks of vehicle maintenance, off road driving and commanding saw the Platoon qualify to operate the vehicles. Fighting the vehicles and operating from them tactically, however, is another thing entirely and so time was spent in Brecon and Leek training areas learning to do just that.
This training culminated in the deployment to Poland on Exercise ANAKONDA in May and June of 2016. Here, the Platoon lived out of the
2 MERCIAN RECCE / C/S 63A / POLAND / 10 JUNE 2016
vehicles for several weeks, and turned
a fledging understanding into a real skill set, trained and held alongside the light role reconnaissance skills which had only recently been tested in Kenya. Poland also allowed the Platoon to work alongside their partners from Spanish Recce and conduct some memorable and valuable cross training.
More recently, the Platoon formed a team to take part in a Spanish Army event; the Tui to Santiago race. This is a march conduced as a team of 6, across 120km of undulating Galicia on route to the famous pilgrimage city of Santiago de Compostella. During the march, the team were required to execute a river crossing, abseil from
a bridge and conduct a marksmanship test, amongst other tests of military skills. The team also enjoyed a two week stay
in Galicia in summer and all of the cultural highlights which that region offers... The event itself proved to be a gruelling test of determination and 120km in less than 24 hours should not be underestimated.
What follows in 2017 for the Recce Platoon will be revealed, but the surety of operational deployments and the calibre
of the men drawn to the Reconnaissance world at all ranks, will no doubt ensure that recon will continue to be at the forefront of the Battalion’s activity.
STAND FIRM, STRIKE HARD. 2 MERCIAN
Pte / Twitchen / Spain / 7 Sep 16
2MERCIAN RECCE / C/S61 / POLAND / 6 JUNE 2016
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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