Page 51 - Bugle Autumn 2014

Motorcycle road racing
When time and his duties as Ops Offr allow Capt Watson continues to represent the Army in the Combined Services motorcycle road race championships against the
best that the Navy and RAF have to
offer. Run as part of a televised national championship, military riders compete against their civilian counterparts scoring points towards the Combined Services Championship for every rider that they beat. With 4 rounds remaining the Army have built an almost unassailable lead and look set to retain the Combined Services Championship for a second year.
Having spent the winter preparing his 190 horse power 1000 cc Honda Fireblade for competition against 40 of the best amateur racers in the UK; whilst boring any subaltern
who dared to enter Battalion HQ with talk of electronic strategies and engine tuning the scene was set for success. The season started promisingly with top 10 finishes
amongst a field of 29 riders.
With focus now switched back to short
circuit competition a top-ten championship position in the Thundersport Superbike
Sport within 38 Brigade NI
Sport still remains one of the unit’s strongest attributes within 2 RIFLES.
We are lucky to have many talented personnel who can turn their hand to many a challenge. The facilities available to conduct brigade sporting competitions within province is
200m, river run, assault course, sand dunes run, 100m tyre flip and finishing with a hill run. Each competitor had to carry 10kgs in belt kit and the course was undulating and designed to be gruelling in order to push each individual to the limit
at Brands Hatch and Donnington Park. This was followed by a small crash at Snetterton before a win at Cadwell Park in May and two further podiums at Oulton Park in June.
July saw a change of focus towards racing on closed public roads in the Isle of Man
class and the retention of the Combined Services Championship seem realistic aspirations. Spectators are always welcome
at events as well as anyone interested in taking up the sport,
July saw a change
of focus towards racing on closed public roads in the Isle of Man. Against a field containing several Isle of Man TT winners Capt Watson qualified for the main event, with a very respectable 18th place finish
a structure exists to offer support to a young Rifleman showing promise. More information can be obtained by following the team @ArmyRace on twitter.
Capt N Watson, Speed Demon
get a team together last minute. We had roughly an hour’s worth of training in the pool to decide out of the six “selected” Riflemen who was going to swim what discipline. The attitude and drive from the Riflemen paid off by being flexible and blowing the other units scores out of the water by a clear 5 points and winning the overall competition.
A good start to the sporting calendar in Northern Ireland with many more competitions on the cards to keep the Rear Operations Group in a “Fit to Fight” shape in order to represent the Battalion in a befitting manner with a look forward to the inter unit Triathlon and the “forces throw down” in Lisburn late 2014.
Sgt (SI) Hughes, RAPTC
Offr) covering a 12 month period as SO2 recruiting and engagement in HQ 143 (West Midlands) Brigade. Initiatives ranged from a project to support people out of unemployment with the Army Reserve
to the provision of a helium-filled ‘ARMY RESERVES’ advertising
blimp, to highlight
the location of Army Reserve Centres within the West Midlands.
With Op FORTIFY set to endure until the reservist recruitment targets are met, 2 RIFLES looks forward
to our continued support to both 7 RIFLES and the wider Army Reserve for the foreseeable future.
Capt Watson
exceptional, the unit has participated
in Cross Country, Steeplechase and Swimming and won two of the three competitions entered.
The attitude and drive from the Riflemen paid off
but stay within the safe systems of training. The competition was won by RIFLES with Maj Shercliff being the overall winner of the event.
The Steeplechase started with a wet and cold start to the morning in Ballykinler. The competition consisted of a 6 mile circuit encompassing sandbag carry for
Op FORTIFY
Having returned from our adventures as COEFOR in BATUS, the launch of OP FORTIFY (Regular Army support to the Army Reserve’s recruiting efforts) provided a welcome opportunity for some members of the Battalion to support the pillars of the Regiment serving in their home counties with 7 RIFLES for a period of 6 months, before returning to deploy as part of the Kabul Support Unit in 2014.
Prior to assuming their new roles some of the Riflemen chosen to support 7 RIFLES deployed as part of a 2 RIFLES multiple
on Exercise VIKING STAR, giving them the opportunity to get to know their partners from 7 RIFLES whilst working alongside the Danish Home Guard.
Under the direction of Cpl Fearon, and with the 2/7 RIFLES pairing intent fresh in their minds the Riflemen deployed from Ballykinler and soon settled into their new
Then one morning I received an email
at 0900hrs stating that there was an inter- unit swimming competition being held on our doorstep that day, and as the motto goes, “swift and bold,” I began emailing to
roles. Some supported the Company locations, guiding potential reserve Riflemen through the sometimes-confusing online application and subsequent selection process, whilst others worked tirelessly to recruit at events such as the Lord Mayor’s Show in London.
The Battalion also
provided support to the
West Midlands Regional
Outreach Team, with
LCpls Francis and
Hollyoake required to
demonstrate a great
deal of dexterity from
running command
tasks with potential recruits to supporting the recruiting activities and initiatives generated by the Brigade HQ. Battalion HQ provided a staff officer with both Capt Kendall (RSO) and Capt Watson (Ops
2 RIFLES looks forward to our continued support to both 7 RIFLES and the wider Army Reserve
THE RIFLES
SECOND BATTALION 49