Page 27 - 4RA 2021-2023

4th Regiment Royal Artillery
REME Capt Sam Mead REME
Capt Mead REME WO1 (ASM) Eyton WO2 (WSM) Hall SSgt Richardson SSgt Tate
Sgt Anderson Sgt Hardman
Sgt Mcewen
Sgt Partenheimer Sgt Sadler
Sgt Vitler
Cpl Davison Cpl Brammer Cpl Carrick Cpl Foster Cpl Boswell Cpl Edwards Cpl Findlay Cpl Garlick Cpl Haslam
Cpl Lindsey Cpl Mitchell Cpl Parkin Cpl Stewart Cpl Sissons Cpl Stokes Cpl Thurlow LCpl Dutton LCpl Lovick LCpl Scott
LCpl Sleeman LCpl Stocks LCpl Watson LCpl White Cfn Bell
Cfn Brown Cfn Conroy Cfn Davison Cfn Davison Cfn Ellwood
Cfn Jones
Cfn Mcknight
Cfn Mcleod
Cfn Morris
Cfn Wilcock-Newman Pte Osborne
Pte Roberts
Corporal Lindsey
Since January 2021 the workshop has been involved with several major exercises and an operational tour.
This has meant that every single mem- ber of the workshop has had to at times work around the clock to make sure every piece of equipment is in the best condi- tion possible, alongside the normal burden of internal training activities and duties around camp.
In January 2021 the workshop deployed in support of Exercise ASKARI STORM. This was the first ASKARI STORM to run since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and saw multiple battlegroups deploy to Kenya for a two-month period of intensive train- ing. The imposition of strict health secu- rity measures to protect exercising troops and the local civilian population from an outbreak of the virus added considerable difficulty to all aspects of training, includ- ing logistics, vehicle recovery and sustain- ment. Regardless, the exercise was a suc- cess, and all training objectives were met.
In February 2021, concurrently to the deployment in Kenya, elements from the workshop deployed on exercise in the UK, providing recovery support to Exer- cise SWALE RAPTOR which covered the majority of Otterburn training grounds, 5th Regiment Royal Artillery’s annual unit-level exercise. Despite harsh conditions and the heavy demands of the exercise, the fitter section was able to provide the support required for the exercise to meet its objec- tives. After a few months of recuperation, the summer of 2021 saw the workshop deploy on two large UK exercises in quick succession: Exercise WESSEX STORM from May to June on the Salisbury Plain and Exercise SUNDERLAND DAGGER 21 in July on Otterburn training grounds. With the worst of the pandemic appearing to fade into memory, these exercises saw an increased tempo, extensive experimen- tation with new tactics, techniques and procedures and consequentially greater demands on the REME support element. At several points on Ex WESSEX STORM, in particular, the 4RA workshop was sup-
porting not only 4RA’s fleet but also the vehicles of a number of attached units.
After a period focused on rehabilitating and repairing the fleet, the next major exercise was SUNDERLAND BAYONET in January 2022. The aim of this exercise was to re-learn and rehearse the core sol- diering skills demanded of every British soldier, and so the workshop spent most of it practicing infantry and fieldcraft skills rather than recovering and repairing vehi- cles. The team pushed on through wet January weather and demonstrated resil- ience and professionalism under pressure.
Hot on the heels of Exercise SUNDER- LAND BAYONET came Operation ALU- MINIUM – the stand-up readiness call in response to the Ukraine crisis, which saw an intense period of activity in which every single piece of equipment held by the Reg- iment had to be inspected and readied for immediate deployment. Despite the short deadline, and with the help of many late nights and a lot of caffeine, the readiness date was met and the Regiment was ready to deploy in good order.
The next exercise was an adventurous training package. Exercise SUNDER- LAND CLIMB was based just outside of Benidorm in Spain, where several mem- bers of the workshop swapped spanners and rifles for sunshine and rock climbing. Despite the warm weather and pleasant location, the exercise was demanding for those who deployed, where troops were (safely!) pushed outside of their comfort zones, where they learned new technical and leadership skills, as well as fostering cohesion and teamwork.
Another round of Exercise SUNDERLAND DAGGER in June 2022 was followed in July
Recovery mechanics come to the rescue
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The environmental conditions of the training area in Kenya present a unique challenge