Page 50 - Mercian 2015

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1 Platoon - Exercise ASKARI STORM Private Brown
A (Grenadier) Company deployed to Kenya for Exercise ASKARI STORM in good order after busy, detailed preparations to meet
all the required quali cations. The exercise itself is split into three phases; WARRIOR, CENTURION and SPARTAN.
First Phase: ASKARI WARRIOR
The rst phase consists of 10 days of training and acclimatisation. With the temperatures reaching above 40°C and
at an altitude of over 1900m this was necessary to allow us to operate effectively in the arduous terrain. The training during this phase covered live re team attacks
up to platoon attacks at night, as well as several blank ring ranges using the Saab TES laser equipment many of us hadn’t had the opportunity to use before. Also covered were trench clearances and Fighting in Built Up Area (FIBUA) drills. The trench clearing was particularly useful due to the fact that many of the less senior soldiers had never covered this before. Having the chance to practice FIBUA was also highly bene cial
as again it’s not something we often get the opportunity to practice in the UK.
Second Phase: ASKARI CENTURION
The second phase is often regarded as the hardest of the exercise. Located in Archers Post, one of the hottest places on earth,
it consists of a CALFEX (live company attacks), a defensive phase and the
enabling phase (a company vehicle convoy). The CALFEX was a particular highlight. It consists of a live company day and night attack followed by trench and FIBUA clearances the next day. For me the FIBUA was the highlight of Kenya, although I don’t have fond memories of the heat which added to the arduous terrain.
Third Phase: ASKARI SPARTAN
The nal exercise ASKARI SPARTAN was demanding but the previous phases had prepared the soldiers for it. For the nal attack the Battlegroup formed up and set out to attack a village held by enemy forces.
Straight away a platoon were destroyed by the enemy mortars and sniper re
Straight away a platoon were destroyed by the enemy mortars and sniper re, which were on a rocky feature in the distance. Therefore 1 Platoon set off to destroy the enemy. This however proved to be more dif cult than we thought, as we battled not only the enemy but with the mountainous terrain and blistering heat. Despite these
dif culties the attack was successful and the enemy were destroyed.
Having taken it, we now had to defend the village. At this stage sleep deprivation began to take its toll and the constant enemy attacks throughout the night did not aid this. However, we successfully defended the village and it was now time for the nal attack.
The nal attack was easily the hardest part of our time in Kenya, as we had to tab throughout the night to reach the Forming Up Points and then were involved in the attack for most of the day. Overall A (Grenadier) Company gave a very good account of ourselves and hopefully are
set up for success for our second go in October when we return with the rest of the Battalion. I am planning to get as much sleep as possible between now and then. Can’t wait...
THE MERCIAN EAGLE