Page 12 - Bugle Issue 16 Autumn 2020

1 RIFLES Nordic Skiing
In 2020, The Rifles achieved their highest ever finish at the National, Tri-Service and Army Biathlon and Cross-Country Championships in Ruhpolding, Germany. Over the season, 1 RIFLES (drawing on talent from across the Regiment) won 77 trophies and medals.
Training began in the UK prior to on-snow training Sweden in preparation for racing in France and Germany. The experienced team members nurtured the four novices passing on the ethos and attitude needed to perform at the highest level. Rfn Myles O’Reilly stood out and gained the Best Novice shot award at the Army Championships. LCpl Bailey Robinson is now the Infantry and Divisional Junior Champion as well as a quadruple National Junior Silver medallist. Cpl Callum Young led from the front and showing himself to be a true thinking Rifleman won the Best Shot at the Infantry Championships. Cpl Oscar Wiseman, taking on his fifth Nordic season, ended up third in the British Biathlon Union rankings and an Army top ten Biathlete.
The Military Patrol race was the unexpected highlight of the season. Over several command tasks across 30km LCpl Adam Hillier stood out as the driver behind the team. The result was
a 3rd Place in the Army, making it the first national-level team medal since formation. The team also took the Best Shot award, showing that our shooting with the SA80 is just as good as with biathlon rifles.
Four from 1 RIFLES (and one from 3 RIFLES) have been awarded places at GB trials. Nordic Skiing is quickly becoming
a high-profile sport within the Regiment and the Army. 1 RIFLES curates the regimental team and aims to improve in the season next year: a high bar but one very much within reach and central to our identity as swift, sharp-shooting, thinking soldiers.
Thinking Riflemen during the Military Patrol race
removing their skis to cover ground at speed
COVID-19 & Op RESCRIPT
As COVID-19 took hold in the UK, 1 RIFLES shifted its focus to supporting Operation RESCRIPT, the military’s contribution to the COVID-19 response nationwide. Initially, most Riflemen were at home enjoying some leave and so were healthily ‘distanced’. Great work by HQ Coy and the chain of command brought the Battalion up to readiness whilst minimising the number of Riflemen needing to return. Initially the Battalion remained largely dispersed, but ready to support the civil authorities in South East Wales when they came, and they did.
Over four months our Riflemen supported the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust (WAST) driving and conducting non-clinical duties alongside paramedics on the frontline. The largest commitment was taken up by B Coy as multiple Mobile Testing Units (MTUs) providing standing or rapid-response COVID-19 testing capabilities. MTUs supported Health Boards across Wales, responding to outbreaks in all corners of the principality. Other tasks took Riflemen to the Principality Stadium, Cardiff,
to build hospital beds and across Wales
to decontaminate ambulances. Over 300 Riflemen have deployed in support of various civilian agencies.
In support there was significant effort from the enablers in Beachley. The MT Platoon kept our Riflemen mobile; the Catering Pl provided meals around the clock; the Med Centre ensured that we could react, track and treat
any suspected COVID cases. And everyone was supported by the QM and RAO teams. When our Riflemen were at home waiting for tasks, we embraced technology to continue training: the catering Pl ran online cooking classes; Cpl Bradley Cropp ran fitness classes.
As normality slipped into the shadows,
Op RESCRIPT provided our Riflemen the opportunity to support our local community and contribute to UK resilience in ways few could have predicted. Each and every one rose to the challenge admirably, many receiving 1* Commendations for their skill and commit- ment.
12 RIFLES The Bugle
B Coy MTU (LCpl Louis Woodman
and Rfn Jack Lewis, Ewan Cairns-Price and Ben White) receiving morale packs from the Muslim community in Cardiff in thanks for there MTU work in the area
Each and every one rose to the challenge admirably, many receiving 1* Commendations for their skill and commitment.
LCpl Thompson receiving his Comd 160X commendation from Brig Andrew Dawes