Page 33 - The Rifles Bugle Autumn 2019

Ex FORISH 18
August saw B Coy conduct an STTT for two weeks in Uzbekistan to prepare them for Ex CAMBRIAN PATROL. The Uzbeks had entered in 2017, gaining a silver award. In 2018 the Uzbeks wanted gold and had clearly selected their best people. The STTT deployed with six personnel including a CMT and from Forish training area delivered training using the MATTs as a handrail. It was noticed quickly the Uzbeks were capable soldiers and therefore a higher than anticipated
level of training was delivered. The team bonded well and were impeccably hosted throughout. A visit to Samarkand led by Major Muhammad informed us about the Silk Road, the Mosques and the Mausoleums and we visited Amor Timor’s tomb. The STTT were also asked to celebrate Eid, which was thoroughly enjoyed.
Lt Andy Burnett OC 5 Pl, B Coy
THE TEAM BONDED WELL
Ex STEPPE EAGLE 18
In August 2018 C Coy deployed to South Carolina in the USA to conduct Ex STEPPE EAGLE. It was hosted in the UK in 2016, Kazakhstan in 2017, and this time it was the American turn to host. The C Coy cohort consisted of 10 Officers and NCOs who delivered training, and a rifle section in a composite Tajik/US company working alongside the Kazakhs. The Kazakh airborne battalion was soon to be deploying to Lebanon with the UN. The pre- deployment focus split the exercise into a teaching and assessment phase. The first ten days taught key peace-keeping skills such as first aid, public order and search. The Texan National Guard supported the training, including practising MEDEVAC with Black- hawks. The training area at Fort Jackson produced its own difficulties with rattlesnakes, hot tempera- tures and deep sand dunes that could even stop our huge Chevrolet 4x4s. Evening sport competitions were held and the southern hospitality was sampled at restaurants in Columbia, the closest town.
As the training phase finished, the ‘Lebanon scenario’ put the Kazakhs in three FOB locations to stabilise a diverse region populated by locals, refugees and an insurgent network (portrayed by the Texan National Guard). Serials tested the troops’ ability to react and make decisions, while mentored by 1 RIFLES personnel. Everything from a pregnant woman trying to be expedited through VCPs to reach a hospital to multiple IED strikes were thrown in, and culminated in arresting a corrupt local mayor in an urban area, testing the Kazakh’s ability to control public disorder, while conducting a complex operation in congested terrain. The culmination was watched by senior officers from all countries involved as well as several US media agencies. A cultural day at Myrtle Beach and Charlottesville was a great finale.
Lt Dan Unwin OC 7 Pl, C Coy
THE FIRST TEN DAYS TAUGHT
KEY PEACE- KEEPING SKILLS SUCH AS FIRST AID, PUBLIC ORDER AND SEARCH
Riot Control practice on Ex STEPPE EAGLE
THE RIFLES
FIRST BATTALION 31