Page 25 - MERCIAN Eagle 2021

Dragon (Earl of Chester’s) Coy
OC
Coy 2IC
CSM CQ(M) CQ(T) Tiffy
Maj Terry Williams Capt Niall O’Malley- Pearson
WO2 Luke Mason CSgt Gary Hill
CSgt James Lord SSgt Simon Rickman
What a year! Dragon Company have battled the staff at the Combat Ready Training Centre (CRTC) who were frustrated that we were not B Company; battled COVID and bouts of isolation; battled the German winter with knee deep snow; and finally battled the Estonian summer with its biblical swarms of mosquitos. And throughout we were careful not to poke the Russian Bear too much.
We concluded our Mission Ready Training for a summer tour in Estonia during the depths of winter in Germany. Our training from CRTC was meant to be a ‘light touch’ as they were only mandated to train a rifle company and tank squadron. However, with B Company in isolation, CRTC were short of a training audience and Dragon Company were asked to re-role to a rifle company.
We duly stepped up to conduct the only Company/Squadron attack of the deployment.
The -17C conditions in Germany did however prepare us for arrival in Estonia where we were greeted by the ominously grey and cold Tapa Camp. There was
no time to rest with the 1 MERCIAN Battlegroup having to conduct integration training with our French and Estonian allies. Whilst the conditions were tough, it was COVID that proved the biggest challenge. Rather smugly, Dragon Company had escaped much of the isolation periods in Germany, but with our immunity low this was not to last and our first few weeks
in Estonia saw most of the Company in isolation for at least one 10-day period. Owing to the miracle of the vaccination programme, we broke the cycle of constant reinfection and got on with some training.
Combining our specialist capabilities with those from attachments from the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers, Dragon worked throughout the tour as the Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) Group Combat Team. It was clear however, in the dense and channelled forest of Estonia’s Central Training Area, with the Battlegroup often forced to advance down one track, that a large armoured ISTAR Group would not be able to shape the battle for other sub-units as well as we might have hoped.
meet any aggression against Estonia. We tested our ability to project force to counter any attack, conducting a snap exercise ‘DRAGON’S DEMONSTRATE’, deploying the ISTAR Gp VCT 150km by road in a matter of hours, with attached French armour and an Infantry Platoon, striking
an objective commanded by ‘Comrade Frankie’ and his Estonian Defence League chums. Throughout the entirety of the 150km march it rained heavily; again,
the OC was not popular. The success of Ex DRAGON’S DEMONSTRATE was a testament to the professionalism of our crews, technical teams and Fitter Section, which saw all 19 Warrior get on to the objective.
All Platoons thoroughly exploited the opportunities Estonia has to offer, working with Attached Arms and Allies to conduct some excellent training, demonstrating
On Ex SPRING STORM, the Anti-Tank Platoon supported B Company and Badger Squadron whilst elements of Recce, Snipers, Assault Pioneers and Mortar Platoons infiltrated behind the enemy
lines, with the main objective of keeping
the enemy guessing. In the first few hours, with the first river crossing at chest height and the bog up to our
knees, the OC was not
at all popular. Once
we broke out of the
bog and dodged old
WW2 minefields, we
began to have fun with
CSgt Sinclair’s team
capturing 60 Prisoners
of War and CSgt
Lawrence hog-tying the
enemy’s Anti-Tank screen troops. We even found and destroyed the enemy’s Brigade Headquarters, but Estonia got its revenge with swarms of mosquitos the size of small birds. After drying out a little, Anti-Tank, Recce and Mortar Platoons conducted a complex Live Fire exercise involving British, French and Estonian armour with UK and US Apache helicopters.
Along with the French Squadron,
Rifle Company and Armoured Squadron Combat Teams, we rotated through periods of high readiness as the Vanguard Combat Team (VCT), holding our people and equipment at very short notice to deploy to
imagination and drive to upskill their soldiers in both basic soldiering and their specialist capabilities. It was Anti- Tank Platoon however that demonstrated a real ‘flare’ for training delivery under Capt ‘Sparky’ Scott.
We say goodbye to some old Dragons and wish them
well in their new ventures: Capt Bobby Gardner, WO2 (CSM) Daz Street, Capt Tom Margetts, CSgt Dan Lawrence, SSgt Carl Empsall and CSgt Martin Keaveny
all move on. However, we welcome; Capt Niall O’Malley-Pearson, WO2 (CSM) Luke Mason, Capt Adam Phenix-Norman, CSgt Paul Simmonds and SSgt Simon Rickman. Finally, I’d like to publicly thank WO2 (Cat) Catarall for stepping in as CSM for most
of the tour as well as covering off many of the 2IC’s duties while he was away; his role in the Company’s success cannot be overstated.
Dragon Company at the culmination of Ex DRAGON’S DEMONSTRATE.
Throughout the entirety of the 150km march it rained heavily; again, the OC was not popular.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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