Page 51 - MERCIAN Eagle 2015

2 Platoon - Platoon Routine in the Era of Contingency Lt Chris Lloyd
Following our deployment to Lithuania
and some well-earned Christmas Leave, Grenadier Company returned to Chester
to find ourselves busy on KAPE tours, supporting 4 MERCIAN, coy training and even completing the fan dance – welcome back! Suddenly it was April and only
then did it dawn that soon we would be deploying to Kenya in support of 2 LANCS and we needed to sharpen our teeth for
it. A week in Sealand gave us the chance
to hone our marksmanship skills, where over half of the Coy earned the prized Marksmanship award on a very challenging day for shooting while further Live Firing in Warcop got us up to standard for Kenya. Despite such a busy schedule, there was still the chance to have some fun and a platoon AT trip to Ambleside saw us Hill Walking, Mountain Biking and spending evenings in the pub. Overall, it has been
a busy but worthwhile period and with another deployment to Kenya on the horizon, the men of 2 Platoon will be looking forward.
A Company 2 MERCIAN – another busy year
2 Platoon - Ex GRIM GRENADIER - Pte Humberstone, 2 Section, 2 Platoon
Having recently been to Lithuania, Lydd and Brecon, the news that we were deploying to Leek for a low-level skills competition didn’t really register. It began the week before we deployed, out on the back area sorting out our Section SOPs and blowing the cobwebs off our patrolling skills. At
this point, we were used to early starts
on a Monday and so the 0530 start came as no shock to the system. The four-hour drive to Leek training area provided a good chance to get some sleep before we began Ex GRIM GRENADIER.
We awoke on the Derbyshire moors in Leek to the sight of dark clouds moving
our way; suddenly the ‘Grim’ name
seemed fitting. After moving our kit and
the inevitable safely briefs, we began the series of tests, beginning with a navigational exercise around the training area, already leaving some of the lads slightly lost, quite confused and very wet.
We then moved on to a test of our medical skills, where we first took on a written test, followed by a practical in a small field just outside of our compound;
both covered nothing we had not done before and most of us breezed through them without a problem. Next up was the two miler which turned out to be one of the steepest routes I’d done, but eventually the finish came in to sight and it was all over before we knew it. The rest of the day was spent on other stands which included military knowledge, CBRN and a host of other topics, a busy day to say the least.
The next two days consisted of some lessons and model building in preparation for orders for the section patrols competition, which turned out to be our very own Cambrian Patrol. Cambrian Patrol had been thrown around by the lads a lot
in the build up to GRIM GRENADIER and it’s safe to say that we were all flapping.
My team set off at half six in the evening on the 36-hour patrol consisting of recces, a river crossing, CBRN, artillery targeting an ambush and a section attack. All the tests were challenging, but not as challenging
as the tabbing in between. The patrol was topped off by a surprise second section attack straight after the first, which was... nice.
After all the teams had finished, there was a tense wait but luckily for me 2 Section,
2 Platoon, my section, came out on top to win overall. Feeling like all our effort was justified we fell asleep on the coach home.
A Company 2 MERCIAN GRIM GRENADIER
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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