Page 34 - Bugle Issue 19 Spring 2022

5 RIFLES
Ex IRON FIRE LIVE FIRING:
INTO THE FIRE
Each of the 5 RIFLES Companies launched into three weeks readiness training on Ex IRON FIRE at Castlemartin ranges in May. This comprised of both dismounted and mounted Live Fire Tactical Training ranges.
IRON FIRE was a fitting exercise name that captured the baptism of complex dismounted LFTT ranges that the Companies experienced, building from individual and culminating in a Company attack lane. A refreshing change from colloquial LFTT ranges, the range staff headed by Training Officer Capt Colin Nuffer, had invested heavily in developing a realistic battle picture. Each Company formed part of the wider battlegroup’s UN mandated stabilisation operation on the Castlemartin peninsular, combating a tenacious local militia force that was well resourced by a foreign state actor.
The range team had seamlessly integrated the battle picture within all their ranges,
with the operational situation developing
as weeks progressed. The introduction of non-combatant targets added significant training value and was highly commended in the way it tested the Riflemen’s ability
to discriminate between targets during engagements. Well devised range layouts saw that in particular the Section and Platoon attack lanes made best use of the ground, with commanders denied the simplicity of an obvious left or right flank; instead forced to think through the problem of how best to clear the enemy from the ground they found ahead of them, which included a ravine that was like a trench system, or a network of sand dunes.
The pressure that these ranges placed on
Fighting on the cliffs of Castlemartin
the teams at all levels made it a truly educative experience that encouraged a learning environment at the lowest level. It meant the development of useful SOPs and TTPs in all the teams, with Platoons sharing their findings, informing each Company’s future operating procedures. With the Sections and Platoons having taken satisfaction in feeling they had been tested, Ex IRON FIRE stands out as an exceptional example of what ‘good’ looks like for those participating in LFTT range packages. Lt Prince, OC 3 Platoon
Images: LCpl H-M
34 RIFLES The Bugle
Tank Action! An NLAW is used to destroy an armoured target
Ex IRON FIRE stands
out as an exceptional example
of what ‘good’ looks like
Rifleman Penfold moves into position