Page 39 - MERCIAN Eagle 2020

Joining During COVID-19
Pte Owen
On February 2nd, I passed out of ITC. COVID-19 had only just started to spread
in the UK so we were able to have one of the last Pass Out parades before they got cancelled. On arriving to Battalion on March 16th, I was immediately moved into isolation after getting to camp and was moved to the A Company block. At that time both 2 and 3 Platoons were providing force protection at RAF Akrotiri and 1 Platoon were in Bahrain, so myself and the other new lads were left in the company lines alone apart from when the senior privates in the stores delivered food to us.
Once out of isolation we went to RAF Akrotiri; despite not being able to conduct company phys or use the gym we were able to do phys alone or in pairs. There was a running challenge on the Nike Running app which all the blokes were required to complete once per week.
On moving back to Episkopi and taking over as Lead Company Group (LCG)
we moved to do public order training at Bloodhound Camp. While we were there
the chefs had to stay on camp due to COVID-19. At one point one of the chef’s family had to self-isolate, and so the
training slowed down greatly as hobby chefs from the company had to cook the food. Restrictions were put on the gym equipment and on interactions between the different buildings; however, I enjoyed public order training as it was not something I had done before.
After public order was completed and we were able to take leave, we had to isolate back at Bloodhound Camp upon return from the UK. However, as COVID-19 had been going on a while this time we were better prepared for isolation. Whereas before when I arrived in March, we sat alone in our rooms for 14 days, there was now a much more of a schedule for us to follow at Bloodhound Camp, complete with acclimatisation PT as well as a gym to use in our spare time. Food had improved from breakfast baguettes to sausages, hash browns, beans, bacon and fried bread in a metal tray.
We have just finished a week on the ranges and three weeks of exercise which was good as we could do some proper soldiering again. We were a bit rusty initially but after lots of practise working at night, I felt that we improved. As we get ready for leave now there’s still a lot of talk about if the UK is going to have its categorisation changed in Cyprus.
Despite the challenges that COVID-19 has created I have enjoyed spending down time in Cyprus now that restrictions have eased off again.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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