Page 29 - RAPTC Number 102 2018/19

1ST BATTALION THE MERCIAN REGIMENT
SSgt (SSI) S Damon RAPTC
The MERCIANs continue to provide me with daily challenges, enjoyment and a sense of achievement and as an RAPTCI in a Field Force Unit what more could I ask for.
Preparing for and deploying to Oman on Ex SAIF SAREEA 3 (SS3) was certainly the focus of the year. It was the largest exercise of its kind in 17 years involving 5500 troops from across 3 services with 1 MERCIAN as the battlegroup (BG) lead it therefore became our priority. The BG comprised of the RTR, RMP, RE and MERCIAN Regiments. As the BG lead, it was decided to incorporate sport and fitness into the PDT and use it as the vehicle to bond everyone together prior to our joint deployment to Oman. The activities included some Tactical PT and an Inter-Unit Athletics Competition. B Coy 1 MERCIAN came out as the winners but more importantly we managed to have fun in the process breaking down any barriers so that we could operate together during the exercise.
AT, Sport and Battle Field Studies were programmed into the exercise to provide the moral component which included, climbing, mountaineering and sailing. WO1 (SMI) Jessey was the main lead for all activities with me in a supporting role. My role once on the exercise was to head up the sailing element of the AT package. My main responsibility was to coordinate everything from picking the right students up, trouble shoot any issues during the course, and then drop them back off again and repeat for 7
sailing courses. The sailing course ran from Mussannah, North Oman and we were accommodated in a Joint Force Airbase, 1hr from the sailing centre. There was a clear concern that we could undermine all our Defence Engagement activity by over indulging in the hotel bar so primarily I had to position myself at a vantage point to ensure this didn’t happen – clearly the right man for the job! Over the 7 weeks we managed to deliver an enormous variety of AT to 60% of the 1 MERCIAN BG deployed force. The whole experience from the instructors to the students was very positive and thoroughly enjoyable.
Our return prior to Christmas didn’t mean that we could relax. The Battalion was keen to enter the Brigade Boxing and did so by putting together a scratch team in the closing days of SS3 and then getting them on the first flights back to train. The team managed to compete and beat 1RRF in the final becoming the Brigade Champions for 2018. This success has resulted in a full- time team being developed with a view to grow and enter the Army Inter-Units competition in 2 years’ time.
On the future deployments front, A Coy have joined the KRH BG in Estonia for 9 months and B Coy are currently deployed to Oman again on Exercise KHANJAR OMAN for 6 weeks. Getting those sub-units ready post-Christmas leave was something of a fast- paced turnaround but that’s the life in a GCC Unit.
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1 Mercian PDT