Page 14 - Mercian Eagle 2014

OC Maj Rich Grover MBE 2IC Lt Ed Whatling
CSM WO2 Andy White WSM CSgt Craig Scott CQMS(M) CSgt George Moitt CQMS(T) CSgt Lee Howdle
Adventurous Training 2014
2014 has been a good year for adventurous training for B Company. The Company has managed to get the soldiers away on some pretty diverse packages.
Downhill Alpine skiing,
Germany – January 2014
Pte Sturgess was one of the soldiers who attended an alpine skiing course in Germany for 10 days.
All 30 of the group were accommodated in a cottage in a village and got immersed in the German culture. The group enjoyed the nearby cafés and enjoyed the German tradition of drinking a few Steins in the evening.
As the week progressed the skiers were tested more and more on the slopes. By the end of the week the group were whizzing down red slopes. Pte Sturgess said it was one of the: ‘best weeks of my life, and that includes outside the army.’
Nordic Skiing, France – January 2014
The fact that no one from the team had ever skied before was fully taken into consideration and a whole one day of training was factored into the programme
to prepare the team for the Army Championships.
The following day 7 of the team were entered in the classic 5 km race. The
four fastest skiers from the classic race, which included B Company’s very own Pte Buchanon, were entered in a biathlon relay race.
Luckily the trip wasn’t completely made up of demanding events. The group stayed in a chalet in a nice village. Although there were plenty of French bars to visit, our team managed to seek out the bars where the bar staff were English, they served English beer and played English music; Commercialism – 1, Cultural Diversity – 0.
Multi-Activity, Newquay – March 2014
The week started with coasteering. Pte Greasely said that: ‘being in the caves with the water coming in was the best part of the week. You had to feel your way in the darkness to try and guide yourself through the caves. Jumping into the pools was such an adrenaline rush, trying to land in what seemed like a bottomless pool of water.’
Wednesday and Thursday were filled with trike kite flying, indoor rock climbing and kayaking.
The surfing on Friday was the highlight of the week for some, especially Pte Sturgess who said he’d never tried it before.
Multi-Activity, Kenya – March 2014
Some of B Company were sent to Kenya to act as range staff but luckily the trip wasn’t all hard work and the men managed to fit
in some well earned Adventurous Training as well.
The three day package included mountain biking, climbing and, the high light, which was white water rafting. The first challenge of the day was to put one of the rafts in a part of the river called the ‘Tumble Dryer’, an eddy of water that meant the boat was
LCpl Findlow leading his raft over the rapids
12
B (Malta) Company
Foreword Maj R Grover
Having spent the last decade continually preparing for operations ranging from Northern Ireland to Iraq and Afghanistan, it is a new challenge to revert to training for ‘a war’, instead of ‘the war’. The leadership challenge to keep our soldiers engaged in barracks, is a different one to grapple with. Without a set operational focus to laze our training onto, the onus is more than ever on us to keep our men as well trained as they can be, within the resource constraints set. Whilst not easy, we now look to BATUS as our operational tour.
Looking back on the year since the last edition of the Mercian Eagle, it is difficult to see where the time has gone. A year which has culminated in a Regimental merger of three battalions into two, an arms plot and
the start of an armoured infantry re-role, has meant much churn for all and the dust of
an incredibly busy year for all is just about beginning to settle, now we are firm in Bulford.
Almost exactly a year ago B Coy deployed to France on Ex GAULISH EAGLE, a two week urban CT2 package. An intense exercise which proved a challenge to all,
it was a unique experience which was thoroughly enjoyable.
France was soon swapped with Newquay as B Coy were deployed to cover the
real life support to Ex IRON TRIANGLE in Newquay, in the November for four weeks. Whilst certainly not high up in the glamour stakes, especially not at 0445hrs every morning when lighting a puffing billy or tying down the guy ropes of a flapping tent in the wind, it was nevertheless as high profile an exercise as they come and once again and in typically understated fashion the men of Malta did their shift without fuss and came away with a deserved
pat on the back. Alongside numerous
low level training
exercises, the majority of
2014 to date has been
spent preparing for the
move to Bulford and
in June we bid farewell
to half the Coy who
moved to Chester and received in return, our batch of men from 2 MERCIAN. Without giving them too much time to spend getting used to the delights of Catterick, we were soon on the move to Bulford in July and
to our new home in Picton Barracks. Here
we met our new arrivals from 3 MERCIAN, many of whom had just returned from a busy operational tour on Op HERRICK 19, and they have already proved their worth in guiding us on the new Armoured Infantry path, that we are now following.
As we consolidate in our new home
in Bulford, we are now working hard to integrate and build our new identity ensuring we combine all the virtues and traditions
of our past. We are well set for the future
with a lot to be excited about. There are
many opportunities in Armoured Infantry, it is an exciting place to be. With our deployment to BATUS in May 15 with the RTR Battle Group on the horizon we are certainly going to have
a busy year in the lead up to it, but it is a challenge we are well set for. With a little bit of imagination, hard work and forward planning the training we have in place will stand us in good stead.
We are well set for the future with a lot to be excited about.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE