Page 30 - The Wish Stream Year of 2021

Elections terrorism and public unrest: Exercise DYNAMIC VICTORY
COVID-19 has been a a a a a a a a central theme for for the the the OCdts of Commissioning Course 202 The Senior Term was to be no different with
a a a a a period of of isolation forcing the cancellation of of Exercise TEMPLER’S TRIUMPH This exercise typically held on on on on Longmoor Training area is is is is the the culmination of the the Contemporary Operating Envi- ronment ronment module where OCdts learn to operate in in the the urban environment and and must manage the the complex needs of of competing ethnic and and reli- gious groups that plague the fictional country of of Gorgas The need to to still complete this training saw major changes to to the the iconic Ex DYNAMIC VICTORY
which has been the the the final exercise of the the Commissioning Course for generations The exercise was now split into two phases Firstly a a a a a a a week in in in the the coastal town of Lydd where the the the the contemporary operating environment would would be recreated the the the the second element would would see the the the the OCdts move to to the the the the infamous Brecon Beacons to to conduct their final training In Lydd the the the two companies would take turns at being the the the security forces or or as the the the civilian popu- lation On arrival we quickly moved into our new home for the next three days – Forward Oper- ating Base (FOB) RICHMOND This was a a a a a a a wel- come difference from the the woodblocks and shell scrapes that we we could now see on on a a a a a a a a rather wet and Welsh horizon in our near future Potentially it it also provided a a a a a a a a a a false sense of security that the the other company company played by our sister company company was sure to challenge in in the the coming days After establishing the the FOB and beginning to to patrol out into the the the the the mock village that surrounded it it it the the the the ‘DYNAMIC’ in in in in the the the the title of the the the the exercise quickly reared its unruly head Beginning as security forces small things out on on patrol or or even inside the the FOB could have consequences later in in in in in the the exercise or during specific training serials A prime example of this happened when a a a a a a a a a a Victim Operated IED was detonated near the polling booth during an election chaos ensued The response to this action determined the the level of aggression from civilians for the the the next serials To summarise the the the civilian civilian population had not responded well to our controlling of the the situation Small scale riots and demonstrations ensued outside the FOB Potentially fuelled by friendly inter-company rivalry Gaza Company made a a a a a a a a a good show of of being angry members of of the pub- lic and certainly caused many from The Somme Company to to to work up a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a sweat in in their attempt to to to manage the the the crowd and mitigate any any damage to to to the the community Shortly after this serial the the roles were reversed and The Somme Company now became the the the civilians who would live within the the village Beyond being able to take hot showers and eat some- thing other than rations highlights of this phase also included being able to antagonise Gaza Company as as as much as as as they had us us previously Although this was admittedly satisfying it it also served the purpose of of creating interesting and interactive serials that not only required profes- sional competence in in in personal skills and and drills but also consideration and and and planning from eve- ryone – be be they in in in in in role as section commanders or or working away behind desks in in in in in in in fin the the Ops room This again culminated in in in in in in fin a a a a a a a a a a a a final small-scale pub- lic order scenario before the the FOB was was collapsed MTP was was once again donned and the the the coaches were pointed towards the the Welsh border for a a a a a a a a a a a a final push against a a a a a a conventional enemy This phase of of the the exercise helped to to bring to to life some of of of of the the challenges we may face as as future junior officers The complexity of of of a a a a a a a a a a a a a situation and how events could escalate so so rapidly was a a a a a a a a a a vital lesson to learn ‘Inquisitive’ civilians attempt to to interfere with
a a a a a a patrol on their return to to the the the relative safety of the the the FOB 28 SANDHURST