Page 34 - 1RHA 2022

1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
Ex DYNAMIC FRONT Capt P E Clarke RHA
In July, members of O HQ Battery, the Chestnut Troop, E Battery and the LAD deployed to Grafenwöhr Training Area in Bavaria on Exercise DYNAMIC FRONT. Ex DYNAMIC FRONT is a US
led, multinational exercise focusing on the employment of artil- lery in support of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC). It saw the deployment of the 41st Field Artillery Brigade, a US led Artil- lery Headquarters and the Multinational FAB (MNFAB) a UK led HQ with augmentees from many different countries. With around 2500 troops deploying on the exercise, 1 RHA played a small but vital role in what was an incredibly relevant exercise given the geopolitical context we find ourselves in. The exercise saw allied and partner nations training together under a unified command structure to build readiness and improve interoperability. Partici- pating nations included Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United Sates.
The task to deploy the majority of the 1 RHA overseas into main- land Europe presented a great opportunity for the Regiment to review and test its Readiness Action Plan (RAP), which is enacted if the Vanguard Armoured Infantry Brigade is activated. It details the actions to be carried out upon receiving the Activation Order to ensure that the Regiment is ready to deploy in 40 days (R6).
Having reviewed the RAP in the early part of 2022, the Regiment received the “Operation DYNAMIC FRONT” Activation Order at the end of May, triggering the implementation of the plan and gradually reducing readiness timelines from 40 days to 0. The initial stages of executing the plan were a success and saw improvements with regards to workforce deployability, equip- ment availability and training, however not long after “Activation”, the vast majority of our REME workforce had the important task of deploying to Belgium in support of Project SPRING GENERA- TION which had a significant impact on the shape and scope of the exercise. From what was originally going to be a deployment of the entire Regiment less for B Battery, it became the minimum that could deploy but still deliver the aims of the exercise.
Following lots of meetings about what was possible, eventually it was decided an element of the regimental Joint Fires Cell, the Fire Direction Centre, a Command Post, a Fire Support Team with logis- tics support from the LAD and O HQ’s Battery Quartermaster Ser- geant’s department would deploy, but unfortunately that meant no guns. These elements of the Regiment departed on their 56 hour journey to Grafenwöhr via the Hook of Holland, eventually arriv- ing in good order on the night of the 9th July. Credit must go to Sgt Fisher and his team from the LAD for ensuring all the vehicles made it with no breakdowns en route. Although not the number of vehicles originally expected, it did allow many lessons to be drawn from the experience which will be pulled forward to any future deployments of green fleet into Europe.
Prior to the tactical phases of the exercise starting there was a period of training and integration with the MNFAB. One of the key outputs of the exercise was to test the capability of Artillery Systems Cooperation Activities (ASCA), a system that allows other nations’ Fire Control Systems to communicate with each other. As it is not widely used or understood by any of the nations represented in the MNFAB, it required a number of individuals
Bdr Hodgkinson receiving her commendation from the Vampires.
from the JFC to attend the US delivered “ASCA University” so that when the exercise started all nations’ fire units could be used to prosecute targets regardless of who had originated a mission.
Crucial to ensuring the success of the exercise was the integra- tion within the MNFAB prior to starting. Across the exercise, there was representation from 19 different nations, of which the vast majority were communicating in their second languages and all with slightly different tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs), therefore a common understanding of how the MNFAB would operate was essential.
As the dry phase started there were understandably still some frictions with ASCA, TTPs and the language barrier, however once the first few missions had been sent, all elements of the MNFAB seemed to become much more comfortable with the processes that were being carried out and the response times between the sensor and shooter were greatly reduced over the first couple of days. Unfortunately, 1 RHA’s contribution to the live phase was minimal due to the lack of guns on the training area, however it was great to see that by the end of the exercise the MNFAB was functioning smoothly and had engaged targets with guns and launchers from many different nations.
Two special mentions go to BSM Byrne and Bdr Hodgkinson. As an attachment to the US Vampire team (exercise validation) BSM Byrne was awarded a Commendation for his forward lean- ing nature and unquestionable professional competence, spe- cifically thanked for explaining the various nuances of the British Army processes. The Vampire Team identified Bdr Hodgkinson’s professional excellence and willingness to learn. She was very keen to understand the additional roles within the FDC and JFC in addition to excelling in the CP.
Although not the exercise the Regiment had initially hoped for, it proved a great opportunity to improve our readiness, develop our understanding of deploying the Regiment overseas and enhanced our Joint Fires capability within a multinational envi- ronment. As a Regiment we now look forward to developing these aspects further as we return to the Operation CABRIT cycle in 2023.
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