Page 34 - MERCIAN Eagle 2020

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1 Platoon
2Lt Blake
The first four weeks of life in battalion
have been action packed as 1 Platoon have not spent a full working day in camp. The first week was spent on Dhkelia and Pyla ranges, practising low level skills and drills. This provided the opportunity for the platoon to hone their marksmanship skills, culminating in a shooting competition which Private Yates won – the only member of
the platoon not to miss a shot! We then practised pairs fire and manoeuvre and reaction to contact from the enemy in different pieces of cover, allowing us to develop our aggression whilst moving and communication between each other.
The platoon then moved onto a week- long exercise in Paramali village. Due to
the high temperatures in the day, most
of the training was conducted at night.
This provides the perfect opportunity for soldiers to develop their night drills, including fighting in built up areas (FIBUA). The platoon had lessons during the day and
provided the new commanders time to begin developing their relationship and the soldiers had a chance to learn their section SOPs (standard operating procedures). The company conducted advance to contacts,
by night put the drills
into practise. Moving
smoothly through
urban environments
is the most complex
form of soldiering,
requiring soldiers to be
forward thinking and
able to operate without
constant direction from
their commanders. Not
enough time is spent
on FIBUA training, but
after the couple of days
the platoon was starting to look confident. In modern day conflict there is always an urban element and future operations will almost certainly involve working in towns and cities and so developing these skills is essential.
The platoon then deployed on company level Ex AETOS FURY with 2 Platoon. This
recces and ambushes. The final attack onto Paramali village was successful despite
the mountainous TAB in. We systematically cleared through the village in under an hour, using all the skills and lessons learnt from the previous three weeks of exercise.
At the end of the third week Ex FALLEN GRENADIER commenced. The exercise is
a yearly section competition to remember soldiers from A Company who have lost their lives on operations since the Mercian Regiment was formed in 2007. Four stands are completed in a race against the clock before conducting a section attack by night.
I have no doubt that the agility, tenacity and robustness that Cyprus has imbued in our people will set us up for extraordinary success moving forward
The winners by 1 point were 3 Section,
led by Corporal Edwards. The results were announced following a field service from the 2 MERCIAN Padre and the awarding of the coveted grenadier flash to those who do not already have one by the Company Commander.
Over the course of the four weeks, as
a new Platoon Commander it has been fantastic to see the progression in the platoon’s ability and confidence. We are in a good position to perform well on Ex ASKARI STORM in Kenya next year, with the aim to be ready for Op TORAL at the end of next year.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE