Page 57 - MERCIAN Eagle 2019

Public Order Training
DRAGON Coy deployed to Troodos mountains to brush up on public order training. The mountainous terrain was picked for the slightly cooler temperatures than in Episkopi and without much consideration for the cliff-like inclines. The public order training is a requirement of Cyprus and the UK and enables us to support operations to prevent civil unrest.
The Company started as the civilian protesters and began to harass the soldiers of MALTA Coy as they tried to carry out normal duties. As the protesters escalated the level of violence, potatoes started to fly and MALTA deployed in full ‘Robocop’ gear to counter the threat. After fighting their way up hill against the protesters, the heavily clad members of MALTA were looking worse for wear. With the high temperatures, DRAGON took the humanitarian route
and deployed a fire hose to cool down the flagging men. Best effect was achieved from aiming directly at the visor. This charitable behaviour was reinforced by identifying the water-cooled 2Lt Tuck and making him lie down to rest with a subtle two footed push to the chest.
Eventually the noble protestors ran out of potatoes and talcum powder so retired to the cookhouse. In the completely unbiased scoring system, it was declared a victory for DRAGON Coy. DRAGON 1 – 0 MALTA.
The roles switched and DRAGON became the public order Troops and MALTA the ignorant protestors, inflicting senseless violence across the mountain top. Learning the lessons illustrated in the bruises covering MALTA, the men of DRAGON used speed and concentration of force to isolate the hard-core protestors and intimidate the rest into withdrawing. Resistance quickly crumbled and was swiftly followed by a painless victory - except for one lost tooth!
As well as being good competition between the companies it was also highly beneficial to those involved. Public order training is excellent for exposing troops
to extremely high-pressure situations that require quick thinking and split section action. The controlled environment ensured that troops were constantly pushed to the limits and challenged far beyond that which they have faced before. Without a doubt the cuts and bruises sustained here will have certainly prevented far more serious ones from occurring if conducting these types of operations for real. Final Score: DRAGON
2 – 0 MALTA.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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