Page 13 - Bugle Spring 2023

2 RIFLES
In July, C Company deployed for two months to Finland on Op CASARIA. This was part
of a bi-lateral agreement between the UK and Finland, which came a matter of weeks after NATO signed an accession protocol with Finland to join the military alliance. The result of which was an almost immediate increase in media attention for some of the more forthcoming Riflemen to engage with.
The deployment began in an exciting manner as the sub-unit travelled the 112 km on Royal Air Force Chinooks across Estonia and the Gulf of Finland. For many of the 150 personnel making up the C Company group this was a new experience and was certainly more interesting than getting a ferry.
The Company’s permanent base was on the island of Santahamina. Which was, quite literally, a stone’s throw from the Finnish Capital, Helsinki. While there, we trained closely with several Finnish units, including the prestigious Jaegar Guards Regiment and the Karelia Brigade. The Rifle platoons were given plenty of time to conduct their own training, but the focus early on was integrating with the Finnish forces and improving awareness of our respective Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and best practices. Section Commanders took the lead, producing engaging and quality training in the state-of-the-art urban facilities. Meanwhile the Close Support Section of the Royal Engineers enjoyed almost unrestricted opportunity to practise their breaching skills by blowing doors, windows, and obstacles.
The training was punctuated by two large multi-national exercises. The first, Ex VIGILANT FOX, saw a total of 750 British, US and Finnish troops deployed on the 4-day exercise. The purpose of this international exercise was to test how quickly the Finnish could mobilise
The exercise ended on a high note as the company was air lifted into the rear of the enemy position and then forced to fight its way off the HLS to complete the counter- attack plan
its readiness and reserve units and be set
to defend their nation. This gave C Company the opportunity to develop our own offensive and defensive plans, especially in the face of a heavily armoured opponent. The exercise ended on a high note as the company was
air lifted into the rear of the enemy position and then forced to fight its way off the HLS to complete the counterattack plan. Few in the company will have experienced an exercise as well-resourced and diverse as this, and even fewer will have experienced the rumble of a battlegroup’s worth of armour rolling towards them.
Some unique Live-Fire Tactical Training followed the exercise, culminating in platoon-level FIWAF and Urban attacks onto a Finnish village. This was scheduled to be our last notable activity, however a last-minute invitation to take part in another readiness exercise arrived, this time in Lapland. After a few hasty phone calls, we gratefully accepted the invitation and a thirteen-hour coach journey followed. C Company soon found itself in a training area well within the Arctic Circle, this time playing red forces against Swedish and Finnish Battlegroups on Ex VIGILANT KNIFE. We found ourselves fighting armour and having to prove our agility against an abundance of Swedish Leopard 2s. Over the course of the exercise, we successfully refined our tactics and order of battle to best fit the task given to us by our Finnish Battlegroup Commander.
As well as developing their green skills, those on Op CASARIA were also given the opportunity to explore Finland. Trips to
Helsinki and Hameenlinna provided additional opportunities to learn about Finnish culture and lifestyle. We quickly learnt that saunas are an essential part of Finnish life, even during the summer months. A particular highlight of the deployment was therefore an invite to the world’s largest sauna used exclusively by the Finnish Military. We were transported on Jurmo Landing Crafts, which can reach 37 knots, to the nearby Suomenlinna Island where we were lucky enough to be given complete access to the island and its facilities. A relaxing end to a unique deployment.
RIFLES The Bugle 13
OP CASARIA