Page 99 - The Rifles Bugle Autumn 2019

Battalion Headquarters Training
The start of 2019 saw the 5 RIFLES Battlegroup tougher beast. Touted as the best-resourced
Headquarters put through their paces in two challenging international exercises, stepping up to act as a Brigade Headquarters – a significant step-up from previous staff planning exercises.
Exercise UNIFIED RESOLVE was a Canadian Divisional Exercise in the minus 30-degree cold in Edmonton Alberta, so cold that the propane in the field kitchen froze. 5 RIFLES represented 12 Armoured Infantry Brigade, working under 3rd Canadian Division to defeat a fictional enemy defending the Canadian Prairie; something that as BATUS veterans we were born to do! After a challenging 5-day exercise we emerged victo- rious whilst simultaneously building strong ties with our Canadian allies. Special mention goes to Captain Rich Bateman, who was recognized by the Commander for his input into the divisional sustainment plan.
staff exercise in the world, it saw 3 (UK) Division attach itself to a US Corps to fight a free thinking, realistic enemy in a complex and demanding scenario. 5 RIFLES once again put our Brigade ‘hats’ on and acted as 20 Armoured Infantry Brigade. Riflemen were employed as Battlegroup Commanders, fighting valiantly on the ‘WARSIM’ system to deliver devastating effect on the enemy. This time we braved the heat of Fort Hood Texas, with the entire team working in a space the size of a small stationary cupboard and no air condi- tioning! Despite the tough working conditions, the headquarters worked incredibly hard to enable the Division to succeed, demonstrating to our US allies that we stood ready to fight with them in a future conventional conflict. The United Kingdom are the only country that the US invites on this Ex WARFIGHTER; this is a testament to the special
THE ENTIRE TEAM WORKING IN A SPACE THE SIZE OF A SMALL STATIONARY CUPBOARD
Exercise WARFIGHTER was a considerably relationship that exists between our two nations.
Countess of Wessex Cup
On the 17 Oct, B Company 5 RIFLES were asked to attend the Countess of Wessex Cup held at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. The CoW Cup is an annual competition hosted by the Countess of Wessex and allows all her Regiments to compete in a friendly competitive atmosphere. B Company went down early on the 17th not knowing anything about what was in store for us. The competition kicked off with a Dragon Boat Race – which turned out not to be our forte, with Sjt Friend and me almost taking a tumble into the ice-cold water. We finished the race soaking wet which thankfully led into the next event which was an underwater obstacle course. Rfn Penfold was able to use his hidden talent of diving to the bottom of the pool to retrieve various keys and after swimming for what felt like a mile under- water the team exited the pool expecting another similarly strenuous task. To our surprise the next event was a CBRN cake-decorating stand. It saw
the team dressed in 4Romeo trying to mix green, red and black icing and design the Rifles TRF on a Victoria sponge.
The day continued with more conventional command tasks, with LCpl Terry and Rfn Broome stepping up and showing some good and clear command and control. The day ended with a log race around Barossa training area and RMAS itself. The team were first out of the starting blocks and able to maintain a consistent lead over the much larger (in both size and stature) Canadian team and finish first. After some dubious and diplomatic scoring 5 RIFLES scraped a close silver podium position but overall the whole day proved a massive success with the opportunity to meet other regiments from around the UK and across the Atlantic. All in all, a good day out!
Lt Marcus Wood
THE COMPETITION KICKED
OFF WITH
A DRAGON BOAT RACE
– WHICH TURNED OUT NOT TO BE OUR FORTE, WITH SJT FRIEND AND ME ALMOST TAKING A TUMBLE INTO THE ICE- COLD WATER
THE RIFLES
FIFTH BATTALION 97