Page 66 - MERCIAN Eagle 2017

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Anti-Tanks
Corporal B Pogmore
The Anti-Tank Platoon made the most of opportunities to revert back to basics and enjoy a stint as a Rifle Platoon. The first step on this road was through supporting
1 Royal Anglian on Ex Wessex Storm. A challenging exercise that allowed us to figure out how we operated with our rifle coy augmentees, this set the platoon up for success on our deployment to the Falkland Islands later in the year.
The Falkland Islands Roulement
Infantry Company tasking provides true autonomy to experiment and develop procedures on an excellent training area which the Company is the sole user. The soldiers of the Anti-Tank Platoon delivered a highly successful deployment coming away far better prepared for whatever future tasks lie in wait.
With a landmass
the size of Northern
Ireland, patrolling and
management of tasks is
naturally about careful
planning. As patrol
commanders, we not
only had to deploy our
teams to distant areas,
isolated from support
to conduct a variety
of tasks. We utilised
the patrols as opportunities to mentor and develop our soldiers. The sheer scale of the operations from a section perspective is enormous, with considerations for
kit carriage and
Med support being incomparable to operating in other modern environments where our supply and med chains are so close.
With so much on offer outside of patrols, most of the platoon was able to focus
on their personal development, mainly centered around the impressive fitness and education facilities of the combined service environment. Outside of the gym,
we were able to get involved in the varied adventurous training including Falkland Island fishing. The quality of the fishing on the island is so high that civilians were flying across the world just to experience it, and thanks to Sgt Gooch we were able to make the most of this.
The Platoon has been able to reinvest in its core soldiering skills, and as specialist platoon soldiers, the basics are always
an important area to develop. We’re now looking forward to carrying out our specific special weapons cadres in the New Year and refocusing our attention on the next phase for 2 MERCIAN being that of high readiness in Cyprus.
‘With a landmass the size of Northern Ireland, patrolling and management of tasks is naturally about careful planning’
THE MERCIAN EAGLE