Page 23 - Bugle Issue 18 Auntumn 2021

3 RIFLES
MOUNTED MINDSET – A COY
Although 2020/2021 has been largely dominated by the pandemic, outside of supporting Op RESCRIPT and other deploy- ments such as Op ORBITAL, A Company
3 RIFLES have made significant gains in adopting a ‘Mounted Mindset’ in the day-to-day life of the company.
Maintaining the manning of the Battalion in Edinburgh and our mechanised fleet
in Catterick has and always will have its frictions, however it makes A Company’s achievements in the previous months all the more impressive.
Firstly, the integrating of REME fitter sections into all aspects of Coy life, from PT to daily training. This means Riflemen who rely on vehicles to transport them around the battlefield, work hand in hand with those who understand the intricacies of the vehicles and keeping them on the road.
The MRW fleet is brought up to Edinburgh more frequently, providing opportunities
for Riflemen to learn about working on
and fighting out of Mastiffs. This has paid dividends when deployed on recent urban exercises in a mechanised role. As time with the vehicles on exercise is at a premium, it makes a huge difference when Company personnel are current and familiar with the
vehicles prior to deploying, so time training can be better spent honing skills and tactics in challenging environments.
Finally, the sometimes-overlooked aspect of MRW driver/commander readiness. Maintaining fully deployable driver and commander teams at Company level can be difficult with green training going on every week and the constant churn of Riflemen
of all ranks to new positions and new jobs. However, with hard work at all levels of the Company, from CQ Techs constantly engaging with the driver pipeline, to young Riflemen putting in the hard hours on Cat C training, A company has significantly improved, and will continue to do so.
The end state is a Company that is fully set up to sustain and fight as a mechanised unit, whatever the vehicle may be.
Lt Freddie James
OC 3 Platoon, A Company, 3 RIFLES
Op RESCRIPT
Op RESCRIPT is an operation by the army to help the government and the civilian authorities tackle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. In February 3 RIFLES FSP company deployed a 24-man team on a three-week tasking to locations across Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland.
The team’s mission was to deploy to various vaccination centres across the council as requested by the local authorities.
These vaccination centres were the Millen- nium Centre, MacMillan Hall, Mountain Hall Hospital, Lockerbie Town Hall and Newington Leisure Centre. Some of the centres were open from 0900 to 1700 Monday to Friday while others were open during the weekends which was subject to vaccine availability.
A normal day for the group will commence at 0700 to give the team ample time to be
at the centres before 0900. Upon arrival,
the group leader liaised with the NHS Head of Operations to inform them of the team’s mission to support them with all non-clinical task. Some of the tasks entailed monitoring parking in the car park, registering people, monitoring the waiting area and ensuring social distancing guidelines were adhered to.
Dumfries and Galloway comprises well-connected communities, which was evident in the various vaccination centres. We witnessed families, friends and neighbours seeing each other for the first time after months of lockdown which was very heart- warming to see. However, they were surprised to see the Army’s involvement on the frontline, but it was clear that they appreciated our presence and most of them engaged the Riflemen in conversations as they waited.
Overall, the team thoroughly enjoyed their time working with the NHS. It was a collective effort to roll out the programme, and the team’s hard work was highlighted by the government during the daily COVID press briefings. This also helped the team to maintain a high level of morale throughout the mission. Considering the circumstances and nature of the task, the team still managed to make the best out of an unprecedented time in history.
CSjt Sanyang, FSp CQMS
RIFLES The Bugle 23
Riflemen who rely on vehicles to transport them around the battlefield, work hand in hand with those who understand the intricacies of the vehicles and keeping them on the road