Page 24 - Mercian Eagle 2014

OC Lt Stu Lowe
2IC CSgt Wez Werret
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and welcome to the new members from Belfast. For the soldiers based in Germany it was also a year engulfed in confusion and change.
This time last year they were a fully formed mortar platoon preparing themselves for a winter tour in Afghanistan and much of last summer was spent integrating with 3 RHA on multiple exercises across the length and breadth of the UK.
It was a challenging period but they were focused and it honed their skills ready for a challenging tour.
Unfortunately this wasn’t to be. With the ever changing role of the British Army in Afghanistan, it was decided that the Battalion deploying to Afghanistan should
Recce Pl
In early July, after returning from POTL,
I took over from Capt Tim Fisher as OC Recce. I was faced with the challenge of converting a light role Recce Pl into an armoured close Recce Pl. The Pl, under Tim, completed a gruelling Recce cadre late last year before beginning the merger. At the end of July, 1 MERCIAN moved to Bulford and over a two week period, the
Pl began to take shape with soldiers from all three Battalions. After an intense period of administration the guys were sent away on much needed leave. The Pl’s initial groaning of light role thoughts on fat tankies and how much easier life was going to be, were all quickly quashed. When the realties of CVR(T) driver, gunner and commander training began to come through and the guys accepted that it was never going to be
re-role from a ground holding unit to an advisory unit, resulting in the Mortar Platoon being surplus to requirement. It was then a hectic schedule to get those that wanted
to deploy into an available job which would still allow them to go in whichever capacity they could fill. This saw CSgt Webster,
Sgt Franks and Cpl Fayle employed in teaching the ANA in the use of 82mm and 60mm mortars, some of the soldiers filling Rifle Company positions and a few helping out in COS TAC. The main frustrations stemmed from the support provided by
the ANA to allow the course to happen. Most of the time we wouldn’t even see a mortar to teach on until the second week
of the course and then it was hit or miss if
as easy as putting a bergen on your back and tabbing.
September quickly came around and every man from Cpl and below was sent away on internal and external courses
to start getting to grips with CVR(T) and Armoured Close Recce. This gave CSgt Werret the opportunity to delve into the Pl’s future development, whilst I spent 4 weeks learning BG planning, on the arduous JOTAC course.
We still have a further couple of months to train as many members in the Pl as possible, in order to deploy on CATT
in January before moving to Brecon to complete our Recce Cadre, hopefully with some new, enthusiastic and fit soldiers. The following months will see us honing our skills in armour to ensure we are as
it was going to be serviceable. Obtaining ammunition for the ranges was another issue but in fairness they would eventually provide what we needed. Patience was the key. All in all the students themselves were not bad on the whole, if you could overlook their inability to turn up on time and the need to answer phones in the middle of lessons. They did pick up the drills well and proved effective when taken onto the range.
The pace of forming the new battalions gathered and we are now at our new home in Bulford. With the re-roleing from a Light Role Infantry Battalion to an Armoured Infantry Battalion, it is already building up to be as equally busy and exciting time for all members of the 1 MERCIAN Mortar Platoon.
well prepared for the extreme conditions of being on the Prairie in October. We have a long road ahead with many nights out of our beds however it will pay off when it comes to leading the Battalion in BATUS.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE