Page 7 - MERCIAN Eagle 2021

Infantry Engagement Team
This year has seen some significant changes that have impacted the way
in which we operate and how we live our day to day lives. One of the biggest impacts being the challenges presented from COVID-19 here in the UK.
Our role as the Infantry Engagement Team (IET) is to engage with the general public in our own recruiting areas. You will often find us involved within major recruiting events and engaging with the local schools, colleges, and community centres. Within these locations we deliver presentations, command tasks, and military lessons, which gives the public a valuable insight into what a soldier does and what our job role entails.
However, due to the effects of the coronavirus and lockdown procedures, we had to rethink our tactics. Where we couldn’t visit ‘face to face’, we had to find new ways to continue reaching out to the public in our local areas.
We began by creating virtual events; inviting young students to log on and have a chat to real soldiers and ask them questions about careers and
what the army could offer them. We also developed some virtual command tasks to challenge candidates and bring together team building skills.
Another factor that has changed
the way we work is the new rebrand
in Infantry recruiting. Previously our primary task was to recruit and inform people about the Mercian Regiment. However, the process has since been optimised across the rest of the Infantry. This means that instead of each
regiment recruiting for their units, we now recruit for all regiments within the Infantry. This has meant that our subject knowledge must include information on eighteen different Infantry cap badges!
With our rebrand in place, we have now expanded our engagement area across the UK, meaning more events and more opportunities to reach out to different communities far and wide.
As restrictions have slowly begun to ease across the country, we are now fully involved in all recruiting opportunities, local surges, insight courses, and tri-service sports
competitions. So far, we have had massive appraisal from both other IET units and other core recruiting elements on how well we have conducted ourselves on events. This is down to the hard work and committed attitude our team has delivered throughout the year.
Looking forward to next year, we hope to be involved in more and more events in order to spread the Infantry message across the UK and increase numbers within the armed forces.
Image: Maddie Hughes.
Soldiers from the Infantry Engagement Team developing tasks for an upcoming event. Image: Maddie Hughes.