Page 36 - Bugle Issue 16 Autumn 2020

With the excitement of Ex RATTLESNAKE only just behind us, the Dogs once more found themselves abroad. This time on Ex Dynamic Victory in Bavaria, Germany; the final exercise for the officer cadets of Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. This is a culmi- nation of everything they had learnt over the previous 42 weeks; tested over a ten-day period of ranges and a field exercise. Our role in the exercise was to play the civilian population in a small town named Kittensee located out in the freezing Bavarian training area. With the temperature at a cool 4 degrees by day and a crisp -2 degrees at night we settled into the town. Splitting down into the various family groups
that inhabited the town, the Riflemen of D Company began refining the various characters they had been given. From sheep smugglers and pregnant woman to a Russian mayor and his bodyguard; Kittensee town soon became a bustling, and bizarrely multicultural hub. With an extensive market, functioning cafe that kept everyone stocked 24/7 with brews and, as noted by the Officer Cadets who came through the town during the exercise, a lot of Riflemen dressed as women!
The training serials we were
conducting left a lot of scope for the
riflemen to be inventive, giving them the opportunity to really make it their own
and test how the Sandhurst cadets would react. The serials ranged from disputes with the ‘NATO Forces’ regarding the occupation
of a compound in the village, IED explosions that injured the locals, insurgent activities
in the local hotel, kidnappings in the market and demands of payment for damages. The more bizarre episodes include persuading the officer cadets to look for sheep, attempting
to BUY one of the cadets, performing the cha-cha slide for them and having Rfn Mansell as a sheep farmer with an M16 trying to join onto patrols and ‘assist’ during attacks to show off his ‘skills’ to them.
The exercise proved to be a great opportu- nity not only for all of D Company to bond and get to know each other in a more informal setting, but also to gain an insight into the training that goes on at The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and meet the instructors who are currently posted there.
2Lt T Cox
got his inspiration for the particular role he was playing
The more bizarre episodes include persuading the officer cadets to look for sheep
LCpl Grant got himself into the role
of a police officer a little too much
36 RIFLES The Bugle
No one could ever guess where Rfn Hodgins
Oscar winning performances from Rfn Saedi throughout the exercise
Ex DYNAMIC VICTORY