Page 89 - The Rifles Bugle Autumn 2019

Team 3 charming the locals for Capt Kemp’s Instagram page
extracting at speed. Identifying volunteers for the four-day OPs was not an issue thereafter! Once the company area was understood, engagement with the local population became the priority and a series of key leader engagements were conducted with Rifles charm resolving most situations. The exercise required the company to find the enemy, while understanding the terrain and the human population. They then had to respond quickly to take advantage of fleeting opportunities to attack. This was both realistic and testing and it provided opportunities to learn lessons. The final five days saw bergans and boots replaced by Land Rovers and we welcomed a Kenyan Defence Force section, which proved a force multiplier.
The attachment of an Information Operations team from the Army’s secretive 77th Brigade also enabled the company to get creative. The use of AC/DC, Johnny Cash and Phil Collins, played over loud speakers to distract the enemy force, while riflemen sneaked into the village to secure it before the enemy realised they had lost it, was an extremely satisfying way to culminate a demanding ten days.
The exercise was designed to emphasise the diffi- culties of operating in austere conditions at reach, which it certainly did. CO 2 PWRR claimed A Coy were a tribe operating with one consciousness – perhaps the greatest accolade we could receive. Capt Luke Kemp
THE RIFLES
A Coy – Partnering in Uganda
Exercise Askari Spear culminated with A Company being detached from the PWRR Battle Group and deploying on their partnering phase to Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda. The focus of the task was to advise and assist the Ugandan Wildlife Association (UWA). The Company delivered three strands of training to the UWA: a JNCO leadership development course, a new rapid reaction unit course, and a development course for the park HQ staff, who would soon take ownership of a purpose-built operations centre.
The UWA Rangers are an incredible group of people, who immedi- ately gained the respect of all members of the company. Under-re- sourced and under-manned, they work tirelessly to promote conser- vation and protect the park wildlife, which sees them regularly capture close to 350 poachers a year. Their enthusiasm and appreciation for receiving British Army training was extremely humbling. It was an absolute pleasure to help them.
Training for the leadership course focussed on the aptitude and patrol skills of the rangers, starting with a series of command tasks to build rapport amongst the teams. They then progressed on to patrol planning and execution, vehicle checkpoints and instructional techniques. Rangers that had some training from the British Army before and had been specially selected to undergo this pilot training package for the rapid reaction unit. Training focussed on the require- ments of a Quick Reaction Force (QRF), the planning and conduct of operations, as well as improving their basic fieldcraft.
HQ personnel received training in operations room management, incident management and co-ordination, culminating in a joint exercise with the rangers’ course.
While in Murchison Falls, the rifleman took full advantage of the exceptional scenery and abundant wildlife, with safaris on land and water. A truly memorable experience that all are keen to repeat.
Capt Mark Bennett
A Company finally find a pride of lions with the help of their Park Ranger students
The RRU course detain and search Rfn from A Company acting as poachers during the final test exercise
FOURTH BATTALION 87