Page 42 - Mercian Eagle 2013

Ex FISH FINGERS by 2Lt Jazz Burridge
Back in November, Corporal Hughes enquired into taking some of the men of the Battalion on a Carp Fishing competition – enquiries which quickly had him in front of the CO. Luckily the conversation was two way and Cpl Hughes was granted permission to lead a trip to France, specifically the Dream Lakes, in the Champagne region. The trip would allow for nine men, travel, fishing and food for a week, requiring a small contribution from each, with most of the cost being met by funds found by the CO.
The lads set off on Friday 28th June on the 24 hour journey to Dream Lakes. After a long day travelling, they could not wait to put up their bivvys and bed-chairs around the lake and begin the week of fishing. With Full English every morning and “man size dinner” provided in the evening, Carp were proving to be the pursuit of kings. The
men had mixed success, with Cpl Thornton weighing in the record at 43lb and Cpl Hughes landing 20 – including himself in a badly aimed hooking accident.
The end of the week saw some long faces as the men had to depart. Though for Cpl Hughes, and Ptes Sampford and Cornish, it was to meet the Company in North Cornwall. Ex FISH FINGERS was great fun for, all so well done to Corporal Hughes for putting the expedition together, though Hughes has said ‘were he to do it again he would ensure hourly kit checks of Pte Wilson, a man who always remembers the essentials!
7 Platoon by 2Lt Dave Bell The past year has been an unforgettable
shock to the system, learning and practising the skill set and attributes of an officer,
and more importantly an infantry platoon commander. During training, both at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) and the Platoon Commanders Battle
Course (PCBC), friendships have been strengthened through hardship and equal experience, but now with the fundamentals of training complete the time had come
to take responsibility of the soldiers of
7 Platoon C (Skirmish) Company. The forecast for the company was very busy
throughout the year to come, which instilled a real sense of purpose. Arriving in early January the first big task was to act as
the permanent range team for RSOI on
Op HERRICK 17/18. After all the advice of those that have gone before, in terms of earning your platoon’s respect and the
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Op HERRICK 17/18 by Major C S Fowler
C (Skirmish) Company provided the Op HERRICK 17/18 Relief in Place Coordination Group (RCG) between 31 Jan – 27 May 13. Following the Warning Order in late 2012, the Company had a tight Mission Specific Training (MST) window to achieve all mandatory and specialist training for the task and only just achieved it following assistance from various training providers.
The Company Group consisted of elements from across the Battalion and was largely made up of volunteers less the core
C Company personnel. We made up approximately half (112)
of the RiP enablers for the RCG. Once in Theatre many of these individuals became subsumed into the C Company Group and were employed within our orbat. Along with OPTAG (fwd) we became subordinate to the Bastion Training Centre and Joint Force Support Afghanistan (JFSp(A)).
The primary tasks for the Company Group involved the operational execution of the Integrated Training Programme of the Reception Staging Onward Movement and Integration (RSOI) process and the setting up and running of a Crew Training School (CTS). In essence we provided the coordination and training function for all Force Elements (FE) RiPing into and out of theatre and the majority of our effort was provided through the Permanent Range Team (PRT) and CTS.
The CTS ran over a thousand courses on primarily the Protected Mobility (PM) fleet in theatre. FOXHOUND was the latest addition
to the fleet and along with HUSKY was the most in demand training requirement. These vehicles were tested to the limit and beyond in order to fully prepare the troops deploying forward on to the ground. We also had a remit to train individuals on the Quad Bike. Our three instructors are probably three of the best in the Army given the number of courses they ran and due to their ability to get absolutely everything out of the bikes.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE