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4th Regiment Royal Artillery
129 (DRAGON) BATTERY Maj James Garmory RA
MYTH MEETS REALITY
– Dragons tackle the wilds of Kenya’s training areas
Maj Garmory RA Capt Brackenby RA Capt Hodson RA Capt Wise RA WO2 (BSM) Holt Sgt Mockler
Bdr Arwuah Blay Bdr Barnes
Bdr Bilverstone
Bdr Cowell
Bdr Clougher
Bdr Hollingsworth Bdr Jobson
LBdr Daw
LBdr Green
LBdr Johns
LBdr Lyons
Gnr Balderson
Gnr Fairclough
Gnr Kemp
Gnr Mattinson
“Day becomes night and the burn- ing heat of the day quickly turns to a sharp, breezy chill. The men and women of C Company, 1st Battalion The Rifles fumble forwards through the blackness of the night, a shallow dry riv- erbed their road toward the village that is to be their objective for tonight’s attack. Every brief pause allows their sweat soaked clothes to stick, cold and clammy, to their rapidly freezing bodies. Who ever thought Africa would be this cold? A driz-
zling rain begins to fall.
After what feels like hours of shuffling and crawling, punctuated by one exciting encounter with a pack of hyenas, and the Company are in position, the sound of life in the village just a few hundred metres away. With 5 minutes to go until the attack the preparatory work begins. The guns of 4th Regiment Royal Artillery sing as pre-identified enemy positions outside
the village are sought out and systemati- cally destroyed, unable to escape the eyes of 129 (Dragon) Battery’s Fire Support Teams. As fire begins to lift, the riflemen of C Company rise from the riverbed and move toward the village, mopping up the remains of the destroyed enemy positions as they advance. As the Company reaches the edge of the village, the Dragons have their final say: an Exactor missile strike destroys a reinforced enemy position inside a building commanding the centre of the village. The Gunners’ job done; the Riflemen descend to finish the job.”
2022-23 has been an interesting and rewarding period for Dragons, who have spent their time attached to 1st Battalion, The Rifles. Several key training activities, including a successful Combined Arms Staff Trainer (CAST) validation exercise on Salisbury Plain and Battery-level live firing and dismounted Observation Post
(OP) exercises in Otterburn, culminated in a September to December 2022 deploy- ment to Kenya for validation on Ex ASKARI STORM.
Anyone who has exercised on the awe- some training areas of Archers Post, Ole Doinyo Lemboro (ODL) and Lolldaiga will attest to the grand vistas, dangerous wild- life, and arduous training to be found there, and the Dragons’ deployment was no exception. After arriving in Nyati Barracks the Battery got to work integrating with 1 RIFLES, which began with their deploy- ment on adventurous training. A series of activities from white water rafting and climbing, to mountain biking and kayaking were thoroughly enjoyed by all and pro- vided an excellent chance to get to know our infantry counterparts and acclimatise to the heat and altitude of Kenya.
The fun of adventure training over, 1 RIFLES Battlegroup deployed to ODL for their first taste of exercise in the wilds of Africa. A Company-level runout, exer- cise CENTURION, proved very useful for the Battlegroup by enabling the FSTs to deliver Artillery Target Indication lessons to their Rifle Company’s, the Joint Fires Cell and BC’s Tac to integrate with Bat- tlegroup Headquarters and, some would argue most importantly, allowing the Bat- tlegroup to partake in it’s first “combat safari” with some truly awesome close encounters with elephants, giraffes and hyenas – something civilians really do pay thousands for.
C Coy FST train in the heat of Archers Post preparing for the CALFEX
One of many awe-inspiring wildlife encounters, this one in Ole Doinyo Lemboro
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