Page 10 - MERCIAN Eagle 2017

Pl Comd Pl Sgt WR Sgt
Lt Margetts Sgt Johnson Sgt Gardner
8
1 Platoon, A (Grenadier) Company
It has been a busy 2017 for 1 Platoon and A (Grenadier) Company. From exercises on the Plain to Public Duties to BATUS, the members of 1 Platoon
and the Royal Lancers. Working with 3 RIFLES, we proved a difficult and cunning enemy, frequently testing our opposition
this era of Army cutbacks and financial hardship, the effect that a small group of well-trained, driven men can have on a seemingly superior force.
1 Platoon ended 2017 on Op TEMPERER, ready to respond to any national emergencies. However, some members of 1 Platoon were lucky enough to be selected for the 1 MERCIAN Alpine Ski team and have been competing in
the Infantry Ski Championships in Val d’Isere, France. The team have been highly successful, finishing 2nd overall with numerous individual and team gold medals along the way.
1 Platoon has had a fantastically varied year and has excelled at every opportunity, we look forward to 2018 as we prepare for our deployment to BATUS in Canada over the spring and further afield to Estonia in 2019.
Lt Margetts training for the Infantry Ski Championships in Val d’Isere, December 2017
have enjoyed the full spectrum of Army life. As always, the Army is continually evolving, and the Grenadiers are leading the way, employing the new Battle Craft Syllabus (BCS) to ensure our men are trained to the highest level.
‘The exercise was a brilliant training aide to 1 Platoon and the Grenadiers as it enabled us to practice operating against a more powerful, larger force’
to the point of failure. Using the Warriors enabled A Company to pack a powerful punch whilst maintaining our fast manoeuvrability, demonstrating to
our friends from
other regiments, our effectiveness and necessity on the battlefield. The exercise was a brilliant training
A Company had the
opportunity to test the new syllabus in October using our Warrior Armoured Fighting Vehicles in both the urban and rural environments. The training was conducted predominantly by our JNCOs showing the depth of knowledge and experience within the Company. Particular highlights were full black-light, armoured, night attacks within Copehill Down Village. The efforts shown
in training over the previous days shone through and the assaults were fantastic, with every man working for the man next to him in classic Mercian spirit. Our success on the exercise was further exploited when the Grenadiers won a Battalion Urban Ops competition, demonstrating our position as a leading company in the Battalion.
Ex LIGHTNING ACE 2 was an opportunity for the Grenadiers to test themselves as enemy forces against the Scots Guards
aide to 1 Platoon and the Grenadiers as it enabled us to practice operating against a more powerful, larger force. Our success further demonstrated the ability, spirit and comradeship within the Company and proved to the men of A Company, that in
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
Preparing to assault on dismounted training
1 Platoon soldiers on the Changing of the Guard, The Mall, June 2017