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1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
The Training Year Major J Wells RHA
The Regiment has been privileged this year to have deployed on no less than four major live fire training events, in both the ’special to arm’ and combined arms settings. Unusu- ally, the gifting of the majority of the Army’s AS90 to Ukraine cre- ated a surplus of 155mm ammunition for training, of which the Regiment gladly accepted 500 extra rounds HE this Spring. This enabled Exercise CHESTNUT STRIKE, a dedicated live fire pre- deployment training event generally not provided to gun groups in recent years. Combined with combined arms live fire train- ing events in the UK and Germany, and live firing in Estonia, the tempo of training is far more bracing than perhaps one might imagine in the 2020s.
1RHA continues to build wide renown for its determination to train well, its exercises demonstrating across the RA that despite ever tightening policy constraints, with imagination, energy and willpower, we can deliver challenging, novel and relevant train- ing events. On its last two training events, 1RHA executed live fire practices- that while commonplace in BATUS, have not been seen on a UK range in many years. Examples include the conduct of ‘close target engagements’ battened-down in Warrior OPV, and live fire artillery raids. 1RHA’s, resurrection of these practises has apparently inspired other regiments and training teams to join in making them routine once again: E Bty raided live a sec- ond time this summer in Castlemartin and BC Chestnut Troop has planned danger close inoculation ranges with the 5 Rifles BG in Estonia this summer.
Live firing aside, the Regiment continues at pace in its conceptual training with the newly remodelled CYPHER SHARPEN series of exercises. Ranging from lectures and seminars, to model-based exercises, TEWTs and simulations, this series of training events is aimed at deepening and confirming our core expertise at all lev- els. SHARPEN events are synchronised with the deployed WAR- RIOR series or exercises and the Regiment’s reinvigorated les- sons exploitation process to ensure that the Regiment is always building progressively from the last training event.
With such rich opportunities is will not come as a surprise to learn that 1RHA is proudly leading the way across Close Sup-
port with conceptual development. Following 1RHA’s circulation of the Standard Orders Cards (SOC 18) for Artillery Raid with accompanying doctrinal notes, the Regiment was asked to write the SOI for 1 DRS BCT’s Lead Fires Group Concept. The Regi- ment’s much-referenced Standard Operating Instructions and Lessons Exploitation process have been hailed as ‘best practise’ by the RSA’s newly formed ‘Develop Pillar,’ responsible for bring- ing RA doctrine up to date. We can be very proud that on larger deployments the Regiment has been widely acknowledged for having consistently stood out for its committed, professional and soldierly culture.
CHESTNUT STRIKE
Ex CHESTNUT STRIKE represented the Chestnut Troop Gun Group’s final exercise before their Op CABRIT deployment, alongside L “Néry” Battery’s Tac Group as they prepare to join them on CABRIT 15. Beginning with dry training, Chestnuts worked on honing their manoeuvrability and mastering the prin- ciple of perpetual motion as the guns conducted AMAs upon the Plain. Bringing together lessons learned from Ukraine, the new Regimental SOIs were put to the test in the real
world as 1RHA embarked on a busy period of training.
Sandwiched amidst all the gun- nery on this exercise, The Chest-
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