Page 75 - The Bugle Autumn 2016 Issue 12

What we were expecting was not what we got. We were met at a ruined building with a busy highway running either side by members of ‘The Daughters of the British Empire’ group, along with other prominent members from the local community, who have done outstanding work conserving British history and ensuring the British soldiers who had fought in the war are remembered. The building served as a British hospital during the battle of New Orleans in 1815.
We enjoyed listening to a short talk, laid a wreath and the local school jazz band played the American and British national anthems. The Daughters of the British Empire had prepared a buffet and refresh- ments in the local court located a few minutes’ walk down the road. In true New Orleans style, B Company headed down the road, and it is the rst and most likely the last time anyone will ever see a company of Ri emen marched down the road accompanied by a Jazz band! Refreshments were followed by speeches from some members of the local community in the largest courtroom in Louisiana.
Thankfully that was the last time we saw the inside of an American courtroom. From there we moved to the site of the Battle of New Orleans, which was fought between 8th and the 18th January 1815. It was the nal major battle of the war of 1812 before a Treaty between the United States and United Kingdom was rati ed in February 1815. It was here at the battle eld that we found further history of one of our antecedent regiments. A small museum at the visitor centre has a Ri eman’s sword, found during excavation of the battle eld; this belonged to a Ri eman of the 95th Ri es, 3rd Battalion, 5th Company.
The 95th Ri es fought in the last major battle of the war. The end of this war was incidentally also the beginning of over two centuries of peaceful relations between the US and the UK. Exercise RATTLESNAKE was all about US and UK relationships and interop- erability. During B Company’s time in Louisiana, they started building on that relationship and developing capabilities together with the US. At the end of our time there, it seemed tting that we stood shoulder to shoulder with them and discovered where it all started. The end of exercise allowed a short time to re ect on various issues: will and does interopera- bility between US and UK forces work? Can we (the UK) integrate into an American battalion or brigade? The simple answer is yes to both of those questions. Soldiers are soldiers and soldiering is soldiering.
The higher up the chain of command you look, the more complex it becomes. We can learn from the 501st soldiers and they can learn from us. Pants and trousers or boots and trunks, it is the same with military terminology - the differences only exist for as long as it takes to realise that both parties are talking about the same things with different names. The more the US and UK work together, the easier this will become. B Coy, 3 RIFLES has developed a strong bond with the 501st Battalion that we rmly believe and trust will last. Goodbyes were exchanged – Americans again attempting English accents ‘See you laaater’ to which we replied (with equally poor attempts at American accents), ‘see ya dude, take it easy maaan’ all backed up with handshakes, enthusiastic high ves and st bumps. Sjt Craig Hayes, AIO
THE RIFLES
UK Standby Battalion
and contribution to
UK Resilience
During the summer of 2015, 3 RIFLES was tasked to assume readiness as the UK Standby Battalion (UKSB) over the period of 10 Aug – 2 Nov 15. This would see the battalion ready to respond to any incidents within the UK where the Army was required to provide military assistance to the civil authorities. Tasks could range from assisting ood stricken areas of the country during periods of extreme weather, through to assisting the police during a major incident in one of the UK’s cities. A thorough pre-deployment training package was conducted throughout July 2015 and included an all ranks brief, police integration briefs, a staff advisory visit from the UK Ops CAST team and a defence contribution to resilience course for all SNCOs and above. For the duration of the task, the battalion was required to maintain the Commanding Of cers’ tactical party (CO, Operations Of cer and two signallers) and one ri e company (known as the lead company) of 100 ri emen and of cers at 12 hours’ notice to move, along with suf cient vehicles to deploy them out of Dreghorn Barracks in one lift. The remainder of the battalion – two ri e companies (echelon companies), battalion headquarters and the various enablers (including medics, the Light Aid Detachment and Quartermaster’s Department staff) were held at 24 hours’ notice to move.
In order to ensure that the battalion was able to meet the stringent notice to move timelines, various measures were taken to ensure that the companies would always be ready to deploy at extremely short notice, whether in barracks, on exercise or enjoying a weekend at home. All Ri emen at 12 hours’ notice to move had their kit packed onto vehicles that were all parked in order of march on the battalion parade square. ISO containers placed behind the vehicle eet contained all of the rations, communications equipment and other consum- ables that the battalion would require to deploy for up to 48 hours. The battalion conference room was equipped to become a temporary operations room and geographical restrictions were imposed on individuals to make sure they could meet the callout timelines. The ri e companies and Fire Support Company rotated through 12 and 24 hours’ notice to move on a bi-weekly basis but retained the ability to continue with routine training regardless of their readiness with every company tested on its call-back procedures. 3 RIFLES was not called upon to deploy during this period of readiness but was stood ready and will be again.
100 RIFLEMEN AND OFFICERS AT 12 HOURS’ NOTICE TO MOVE, ALONG WITH SUFFICIENT VEHICLES TO DEPLOY THEM
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