Page 41 - Mercian Eagle 2014

Ex POTENTIAL GRENADIER – 2 Platoon – 2Lt Chris Lloyd
Since arriving in A (Grenadier) Company, much emphasis has been placed on the Grenadier ethos and its embodiment in the Grenadier Flash.
Ex POTENTIAL GRENADIER was a
2 week package based in Lydd. This involved a week long range package taking the Company through a progression of
training from ACMT to Live Fire Section Attack by day, followed by a 6 day blank fire rural exercise focussing on CT1 level tactics within the context of a war against
a similar regular Army. This formed our
first opportunity to exercise since the amalgamation of our three Battalions to two, and was a welcome opportunity to get away from camp and form our relationships and ethos as a Company.
The ethos of the Grenadiers is difficult to pin down, but it seems to be based on “inclusive exclusivity” – once you’re in, you’re in for
life, but you have to meet high professional standards in order to do so. Possibly more succinctly summed up by the old tagline, “Once a Grenadier, Always a Grenadier.”
Half way through the exercise, after the live fire phase had ceased, the Company conducted Ex MACPHERSON’S MARCH. Taking it’s name from Lt Macpherson of the Grenadier Company at Badajoz, this was
a 9 mile march carrying 25kg and weapon and had to be completed, in platoon groups, in under 2 hours. Upon completion, troops were awarded the coveted Grenadier Flashes.
The tactical phase of the exercise offered the usual challenges one expects on
A (Grenadier) Coy training/Assualt Course, Palace Barracks, NI/Feb 2014
Ex Potential Grenadier/Lydd ranges/Sept 2014
exercise – from the long insertion march
to the constant digging, selection of the wettest routes possible and so forth. The exercise culminated a Company night helicopter-borne assault which was a highlight for all troops regardless of the wide array of experience within the Company.
After this exercise, and with upcoming tasks including exercise alongside our Reserve counterparts, OTX in Lithuania and STTT to Uganda, A (Grenadier) Company is the place to be.
From Belfast to Castlemartin to Chester – 1 Platoon – Lt Jamie Russell
Having arrived in Palace Barracks from PCBC and experienced all of the wonders Northern Ireland has to offer, I was sad to be leaving the province. This said, once I had been told that Chester University campus lay between the Dale Barracks and the
local watering holes, my sadness subsided and my enthusiasm for the Dale grew exponentially. However; before we were to move, the rare opportunity arose to conduct some 60mm mortar training in conjunction with the new SF Gunners. The Plt deployed to Castlemartin with an enviable amount of ammunition at our disposal.
The range team consisted of 4 x 60mm teams and 3 x SF Gun teams with over 900 rounds of 60mm (Illum & HE) and 42,000
60MM Mortar training in castlemartin/Dec 2013
rounds of 7.62mm. This rare amount of normally scarce ammunition allowed me to really hone the skills
of the mortar teams in
The 60mm stalk was a type of offensive action that the men rarely get to partake
in, and the plethora of ammunition made this training one of the most enjoyed activities of the year to date.
I see real benefit from having the SF Guns so integrated within the Plt and Coy Groups. We must now seize on the forthcoming training
opportunities to further hone these skills in order to bring the full effectiveness of these wpn systems to bear.
conjunction with the
new SF teams that
under our new construct
are in direct support of
the Coy group. We set
out training objectives
that would enable the
60mm teams to become
proficient in the planning
and execution of integrated illum and HE fire plans with the SF gun teams moving and engaging tgts, with cover provided from the 60mm HE and Tgt ID from Illum plans.
I see real benefit from having the SF Guns so integrated within the Plt and Coy Groups.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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