Page 69 - MERCIAN Eagle 2020

Infantry Battle School
Capt Alex Johl
2020 has been the year of significant challenges across the board in all walks of life but throughout, the aim for us has remained the same; to produce high quality infantry leaders across all ranks. As ever, MERCIAN soldiers and officers continue to play a key role
in every corner of the Infantry Battle School (IBS). This year has seen some churn with CSgt Peake and Capt Berridge moving
onto pastures new. In their place, myself, Capt Garcia and CSgt Bircumshaw have joined the IBS MERCIAN team in the last few months. We all continue to improve IBS output while also trying to align the courses with the aim of professionalising the courses even further.
It would be untrue to state that the current circumstances have not affected training courses and participation of Army sport. However, IBS and the MERCIAN staff have fought hard to continue to deliver the best training possible while also staying ready for when things become more normal. The school has strived to maintain a business-as-usual approach while mitigating all risks as much as possible to alleviate potential issues – overall it has been a success and where possible, IBS has tried to alleviate some pressure across the Infantry. There have been a number of highlights.
Capt Berridge delivered a Pan-Infantry Junior Non-Commissioned Officer Cadre to 149 infantry Ptes. This was a great success, not only because of the scale of the task but also because a number
of MERCIAN soldiers excelled, two of which were the top student within their platoons – epic. In addition to this, the ‘Wet Gap crossing’ was successfully introduced into Section Commander’s Battle Course. This was primarily planned by CSgt Peake before he posted out and was taken over by myself for its execution. More recently, myself and Capt Berridge were fortunate enough to support A ‘Grenadier’ Company, 1 MERCIAN with their ‘Fan Dance’ and Bayonet Lane. It was excellent to see our soldiers operating so
well on the challenging terrain of the Brecon Beacons – the spiritual home of the Infantry.
In terms of the students themselves, MERCIAN instructors are reporting strong performances across the board from our soldiers which bodes well for the future of the Regiment as a fighting force. As a MERCIAN rep at the Battle School, I encourage Commanders from all of our Battalions to come and visit their soldiers on courses (when permitted post-COVID) and to engage with the latest up to date training and doctrine we are delivering on our courses – please get in touch!
MERCIAN Pl Comd Instructor leading a SCBC Pl attack insertion
Current Mercian Regiment Staff
Instructor, Junior Division
MTO
Instructor, Platoon Commanders Division Instructor, Senior Division CQMS, Junior Division
AAPTI, Training Support Division
Capt Alex Johl Capt Nigel Garcia
CSgt Steve Bircumshaw CSgt Luke Mason
CSgt Jesse (Goldie) Kauleta Cpl Tejendra Thapa
MERCIAN soldiers on successful completion of SCBC
MERCIAN PCBC student conducting LFTT
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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