Page 21 - MERCIAN Eagle 2015

A (Grenadier) Company
OC Major Keith Page
2IC Lieutenant Rich Peacock /
Lt Matt Ellison CSM WO2 Davies
WSM Lt P Anderson
CQMS WO2 Antony Hill / Colour Sergeant
Dugmore
OC Foreword Major Keith Page
It is a privilege to write this, my first foreword, and to have commanded such
a capable and well balanced fighting force over a busy six months. The pace of life over the last year, along with legacy merger and conversion challenges, are not lost
on me and I remain truly impressed by the resilience and resolve shown by all in A Coy.
There can be no greater proof of
your hard work than the excellent result
we achieved in BATUS. Our ME for a substantial period of time, it has demanded flexibility from all ranks to adapt to Armd Inf Soldiering and the dedication of our Junior and senior NCOs to get the Coy ready
to deploy. The fact that we repeatedly produced the best attacks, best defensive shoots and that we never failed to meet a H hour or the Commanding Officers intent is testament to your ability to learn, adjust and fight to the finish. I couldn’t be more pleased or proud. Lt Skelding’s article will hopefully bring BATUS to life over the next few pages.
Despite the long days, and nights, it hasn’t been all work and no play. As this article goes to print A Coy have six Soldiers sailing in the Solent and another six in Castlemartin. In total over 40% of our men have managed to get away on a myriad of AT exercises and I was pleased to see us exploit Trails End Camp in Canada, filling
all of our allocated spaces and taking a large number of spare slots. AT Articles by Lt Ellison and Sgt Gooch should give you a flavour of the fun had by some.
So, what’s next. In the short term we must continue to chip away at career courses, select the right people for assignment to D Coy and integrate a
new cohort of Soldiers; Ptes Du Plessis, Waldren, Lishman, Coley, Eyre and Walsh are our first crop, welcome to A Coy, you are in good hands. We must also recover fully from BATUS and re-set ourselves to best meet our LABG and UK resilience commitments; these will once again demand flexibility from our men but will equally provide a plethora of training and exercise opportunities that we must exploit.
Finally, I would like to formally welcome, bid fare well to and congratulate some of
A Coy. 2Lt Andy Zeal, Sgt Taylor MC, Sgt Simmonds, Sgt Goodwin and Ptes France, Foxlow, Jarram and Whitby; having been through BATUS you are now officially A Coy veterans; welcome! A thank you to Lt Matt Ellison, Sgt Street and Sgt Gooch who have moved on to greener pastures, your efforts over the year are much appreciated. And good luck to Lt Chris Parry, Sgt Hill and Cpl Geoghegan who are about to endure the challenges of selection; I can’t think of more capable and well suited individuals.
Congratulations also to Cpl Davis and Cpl Dorney on your well deserved promotions; to Pte Bennet 25 on his Bde Comd’s certificate; to Pte McKeown on her marriage in May and to LCpl Asprey & Doyle and Ptes Avery, Garman, Haynes and Shaw on the birth of their children.
“Once a Grenadier, always a Grenadier”
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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