Page 90 - The Bugle 2018

The 5 RIFLES Training Team
5 RIFLES Kenyan Defence Force STTT
Since 2012, the Kenyan Defence Force (KDF) has been committed to the African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). This UN mandated organisation is made up of several east African nations designed to defeat the Al-Shabab terrorist group that continues to de-stabilise Somalia, a border country of Kenya. The group has managed to stage attacks on Kenyan soil so the mission is crucial to the nation’s internal and regional security.
As a commonwealth nation, the UK has an inherent responsibility to the security of Kenya. To this end our government has deemed it necessary to support Kenya’s AMISOM commitment through Short Term Training Teams (STTTs) that will improve the combat effectiveness of the KDF. The British Peace Support Team (Africa) (BPST(A)) is the organ-
isation responsible for organising these STTTs.
The 5 RIFLES STTT deployed to the School of Infantry, Isiolo to conduct a train the trainer (T3) Night Operations course to 31 instructors from across the KDF with the intent that these instructors would then pass on some of the skills learnt to soldiers at their relevant schools and sub-units. The course lasted for 2 weeks and covered: patrolling, urban operations, Counter-IED, battle casualty drills, contact drills, operating from a patrol base, and platoon offensive actions (day and night). The course was split into 3 phases: phase 1 – conventional operations, phase 2 – COIN skills and operations and phase 3 – teach-back-lessons. This enabled us to teach and the confirm the learning and understanding of the students through teach-back-lessons where the
students teach the instructors the lessons.
The deployment did not go without extra-cur- ricular activities both during and outside of the course; this is a perk of STTT deployments. A highlight was a game drive in the Sweetwater Nature Reserve which included a visit to see Sudan, the last living male White Rhino who unfortunately passed away 2 weeks later. The team also visited the Isiolo orphanage which cares for 140 children, a very humbling experience and huge credit goes to the under resourced volunteers who
work there.
An STTT is a deployment
which offers value to both the training audience and to the team themselves. It forces instructors to revise basic soldiering skills before teaching an audience like the KDF valuable lessons that could save lives on operations. I would also like to thank those who hosted us at BPST(A) and the KDF who enabled us to do our job and our best wishes go to all KDF soldiers who will shortly deploy to Somalia as a part of AMISOM.
Lieutenant R Smart
THE TEAM ALSO VISITED ISIOLO ORPHANAGE WHICH CARES FOR 140 CHILDREN
Cpl Medforth, Cpl Meiring, Cpl Hill and Sjt Abraham at Isiolo Orphanage
A Battle Lesson
96 FIFTH BATTALION
THE RIFLES