Page 25 - The Bugle Autumn 2016 Issue 12

Captain Kenji Ara keeps an eye on his recruits’ stairway drills
serial also gave the recruits an opportunity to demon- strate a little aggression and robustness during the participation phases. This was a tting end to a constructive exercise that provided a good base for some of the very fundamentals of soldiering. As is always the case, much of this subject matter will have to be re-visited and revised but the bene t of having an exercise dedicated to these fundamental skills should not be under-estimated.
Captain Harry Jenner, Scots 5 Platoon Commander
Training for Urban Operations at the Infantry Training Centre
A signi cant and increasing proportion of the global population live in urban areas. The rst opportunity for our Ri emen to learn the skills and drills required of them when operating in built up areas is during week 14 of training and comes in the form a 36 hour exercise named BUCS and LLUST. This stands for Basic Urban Combat Skills and Low Level Urban Skills Trainer. BUCS allows the section commanders to spend a day teaching the very basics of building clearance including room clearance, stairway drills and basic methods of entry. It also offers a brief overview of defending buildings and the typical routine to be expected when operating out of urban areas.
LLUST allows the section commander to analyse their Ri emen’s positioning and re effect during building clearance through after action review. GPS tags and lasers xed to the ri e allow our Ri emen to identify errors in their drills and to improve their performance. This exercise is extremely useful for disabusing the idea that plywood walls make good cover as the ri e GPS attachments have been programmed to allow casualties to be taken through thin walls. This is a nasty surprise for the average Ri eman raised on Goldeneye, Call of Duty and similar console games!
BUCS and LLUST is conducted in Whinny Hill, a THE RIFLES
former family living quarter’s estate adjacent to the Infantry Training Centre and now converted into the Army’s best OBUA facility in the North of England. Complete with an (unused) sewer network, a purpose built block of ats and an urban obstacle course, Whinny Hill is an excellent facility for our nascent Ri emen to learn their new profession. Captain Hugh Hemsley, Ri es 7 Platoon Commander
THIS IS A NASTY SURPRISE FOR THE AVERAGE RIFLEMAN RAISED ON GOLDENEYE, CALL OF DUTY AND SIMILAR CONSOLE GAMES!
TRAINING 23
Ri es recruits conduct urban entry drills at Whinny Hill