Page 12 - Bugle Spring 2025

2 RIFLES
‘THE NEW
KENYA’
Ex HARAKA STORM RSOI
and CYCLONE Phase
The RSOI (Reception, Staging and Onward
Integration) package was incredibly useful
and a sobering reminder that Kenya is not
like the average European training area,
the dangers and risks are more overt
and numerous so ensuring all Riflemen
understood that was imperative as we
prepared to step off from Nyati Camp to
conduct the Cyclone training phase.
Cyclone – Collective Training Group
coined the phrase for their new ‘Land
Training System’. The BLUF? 10 weeks of
training every year with access to expert
knowledge and resources. Well, that’s
what the PAM says; the reality was it was
our chance to run Company training and
to progress to TL-C both Dry and Live prior
to the CALFEX and FTX. For myself as a
Company 2IC, it was essentially moving the
MEL from excel to the ground, an exciting
opportunity all the same.
For the Section Commander, this was it.
The chance to take your section away in
the Kenyan Bush, empowered to focus your
Riflemen, hone their skills, and lead them
in battle. They certainly took the bull by
the horns, and it was a pleasure to watch
Corporals in their element with professional
pride on display. The recurring theme
amongst the Riflemen was the appreciation
of ‘how much time they had training as a
section’. It was evident how important this
time during Cyclone had been when we
reached FTX, with the quality of low-level
skills and drills from the C Company
Riflemen noted consistently by
OCT’s, BATUK DS and when they
weren’t too tired, the BGHQ staff.
During Cyclone, the PL HQs were
tested simultaneously on their tactical
prowess as well as overseeing the pilot
for a new approach to a PJNCO Cadre
during an exercise. This saw the best
Riflemen in the Company stepping-up in
role for the majority of Ex HS, demonstrating
their prowess and potential for both the CoC
and their fellow Riflemen to see. Cyclone
saw the Company tackle BCS and LFTT
from Section level both ‘day and night’, to
Platoon and finishing at Company which
would prove invaluable as the Company
demonstrated its quality during the CALFEX
run by BATUK, who’s Senior RCO noted ‘the
quality in aggression and tactical knowledge
that C Company brought’ to the CALFEX lane.
Cyclone was a great success, putting us in a
strong position in readiness for FTX, which
was ‘buckshee’ by all accounts.
Lt Mike Mizzi, Company Second in
Command, C Company
They certainly
took the bull by
the horns
12 RIFLES The Bugle