Page 58 - MERCIAN Eagle 2021

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B (Malta) Company
Maj D A Wiejak
It’s too easy to say B (Malta) Company
has had a busy 12 months, but it really is the truth! Ex ASKARI STORM, Op TORAL training, support to Op ESCALIN (the fuel crisis) and Op RESCRIPT (providing COVID vaccinators) has left a skeleton crew in Weeton for much of the year.
Within Company HQ, there has been a big change in personalities, saying goodbye to Maj Smyth, Lt Williams and CSgt Joynes, while welcoming in Lt Davenport into the second in command chair and CSgt Katia into the store.
The forecast of events has had just as many changes. Starting the year in Kenya the Company worked hard in challenging circumstances to perfect their traditional soldiering skills. There was time for other activities, and a particularly determined band of men should be congratulated
for completing a 24-hour non-stop run because, as Sgt Hallam put it, ‘we were bored in COVID isolation’.
Returning to the UK the Company switched focus to preparing for the deployment to Afghanistan. After weeks of pre-deployment training, including learning how to use the Foxhound armoured vehicle, B (Malta) Company were told that they would no longer be going on the operational tour. The end of the UK’s contribution to
Op TORAL was difficult moment. It may sound odd, but to a group of professional soldiers, the loss of an opportunity to
put their training to use caused a lot of disappointment across the Company.
It is testament to the character of everyone within the Company how quickly we picked ourselves up and moved on to the next challenge. I don’t think anyone anticipated how difficult the final months of
Lt Williams briefs his platoon during live fire training in Warcop.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
2021 would be. Supporting fuel shortages, COVID vaccinations and other tasks across the country, B Company routinely had 90% of its personnel out of the door. These UK resilience tasks, while not glamourous, have significant positive impact on the general public of the UK. The positive attitude
and can-do reaction that everyone in
the Company showed is something that I, as the chain of command, am very proud.
The unsung heroes of the year though, as ever, are the B (Malta) Company families. It has been a difficult year for you, with much uncertainty, change and short notice commitments. Without your support, the soldiers of B (Malta) Company could not achieve what they have.
This might be the last entry for
2 MERCIAN’s B (Malta) Company, but without a doubt, the Company are finishing on a high. The entire Malta Company family can be proud of everything we have done this year.
Night live firing in Warcop
The company during a PT session at Lytham Beach