Page 11 - Mercian Eagle 2014

Soldiers donning NBC suits
were left to their own devices to conduct various tasks and to continue to build the strong relationship between the Islanders and UK forces by helping out the locals, doing various jobs from fixing fences to helping a farmer with the ‘gate to plate’ process using a .303 rifle!
During LFTT, the Company was able
to conduct training from CQB lanes to Platoon attacks at Onion camp. As well as the live firing, the lads were subjected to a gruelling bayonet range, with freezing water, knee deep bogs and an endless number
of mountains to ‘check what is at the top’. This is where it first became apparent to
the lads that this was far from Sennybridge or Catterick back area. The ground under their feet consisted of mainly moss and peat bogs, making every step a challenge, and the weather consistently subjected them
to all 4 seasons a day with no ozone to protect them from the sun’s rays. This made it apparent that the Company final live firing exercise, Ex Cape Bayonet would not be as ‘buckshee’ as previously thought!
After a 24 hour ‘teaser’ exercise that brought home what the Falkland Island’s weather could really be like, the Company prepared itself for a week on Ex Cape
Bayonet; Deploying by HAF onto Onion range training area, the Coy was thrown straight into contact. Fighting through position after position, up and over the Onion mountain range, the company finally established a harbour and prepared itself for the next day. The next few days continued to be as fast paced as day 1 with complex ambushes at night, fighting patrols, and
recces being conducted, leading to the final attack. After a set of deliberate orders from the OC Major C Somers on the evening of the penultimate day, the platoons started
to prepare for a hard days fighting. At H-hour, mortar platoon provided DFs onto the known enemy positions as 3 Pl crossed the LD as the initial assaulting platoon, followed by 1 Pl then 2 Pl. After hours of fighting, constant mortar bombardment and becoming one Pl Commander
lighter, A Company reached the LOE and extracted back to camp for a well deserved brew, knowing that they had successfully operated in some of the world’s toughest conditions.
As the tour neared its end, there was ample opportunity for everyone to relax and see what else the Falklands had to offer. Battlefield tours to Goose Green, Mt Tumbledown and various other areas of interest from the campaign in 1982 were conducted as well as Go-Karting, Bowling and visits to the capital Port Stanley. The battlefield tours really provided an insight into the realities of a relatively modern international conflict and it brought home the horrors of the Falklands war.
Ex Northern Desert Scramble By Lt MJ Ellison
“You’re kidding right? You guys are crazy”. It’s a response we’ve gotten used to as we rest in a roadside café in the Californian High Desert. The group of thirteen Mercian soldiers are starting to think they might be right. The plan is to trek 277 miles from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in twelve days, at the hottest time of year. It sounded so simple when we pitched the idea. We would average twenty three miles per day with a day’s rest at the half way point, with a vehicle carrying our kit and equipment. What could go wrong?
The group arrived in Las Vegas and began four days of acclimatisation. Even here near the Pacific Ocean, temperatures in the day were in excess of 30oC. Short ten mile treks to nearby Hollywood took all day and numerous ice cream stops. But there
At the finish point in Las Vegas
Penguins in Falklands
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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