Page 38 - The Bugle Issue 12 Autumn 2016

10 PL
Once ROTO 1 deployed on Op SHADER, it soon became apparent that a rm base was needed for the Ri emen left behind. It was con rmed that 1 RIFLES would be committed in at least Company strength until early 2017 and that in this time some Ri emen that were unable to deploy would require command and leadership, especially a rm and stable structure, as well as training and devel- opment. 10 Pl was established to meet all of these under the command of CSjt Coleman, who couldn’t resist the opportunity to command a large Platoon of Ri emen. The Platoon formed up as part of HQ company with 78 Ri emen. CSjt Coleman and his succession of Platoon Serjeants (Beard, Campbell,
THE FORMATION OF 10 PL PROVED TO BE ABSOLUTELY THE RIGHT CHOICE;
Livingstone and Boyd) set about keeping this mixed bunch stimulated, t, trained and in many cases ready to ll the BCR requirement. The formation of 10 Pl proved to be absolutely the right choice; it provided the deploying sub-units with the con - dence that those left behind were well catered for and in turn, it freed them to focus on the job in hand. In the 12 months of inception, and despite being tasked with 18 weeks of guard duty, 10 Pl achieved much.
10 Pl, when not on duty, trained as a collective unit with JNCOs planning and delivering SAA, eldcraft, Adventure Training and MATTs throughout. This was interspersed with some signi cant exercises in which at least 20 members of the Platoon developed their light role Infantry skills. The opportunity to get a Fire Team away with 4 RIFLES to Belize was seized upon as was support to STTTs in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
Maj R J Hunt
CSjt Coleman during Ex Antur Buge, Snowdonia
10 Pl ascending Glyder Fach in Snowdonia