Page 92 - The Bugle 2018

Fire Support Company Cadres 2018
OC’s Foreword
Fire Support Company were pleased to invite Riflemen from across the Battalion to take part in capability cadres this year. Platoons deployed across the UK from the Assault Pioneers in Weymouth to the Anti-Tanks in Spadeadam, Northumberland. By the end of the cadres 30 Riflemen were welcomed into Fire Support Company after a period of varied, interesting and challenging training. Riflemen were selected for demonstrating the traits required of them to earn their place in the Company; mainly confidence and competence. As senior Riflemen, more is expected of them with greater responsibility on their shoulders. Consequently, members of the Company must be competent in everything they do and have the confidence to deliver, with Riflemen often speaking directly to the Commanding Officer. These cadres provided the quality training to allow quality people to shine, demon- strating these traits by their actions. I commend all that passed and all those involved in the organisation.
Major S Sharpe, Officer Commanding Fire Support Company
Javelin Gunners Cadre
Upon arriving in Otterburn, the Riflemen had two weeks of Skill at Arms (SAA), fitness and theory lessons before the Final Exercise took them to RAF SPADEADAM. The learning curve was steep (and heavy) as they progressed through Armed Fighting Vehicle recognition, 2-6-mile tabs with unwieldy Javelin kit and a new range of tactical actions to digest. A highlight was the excellent reproduction of Exercise RACING SNAKE; a heavy carry with multiple tactical and theoretical stands designed to test those participating whilst mentally and physically drained.
Following a successful SAA phase, the platoon prepared to move to RAF SPADEADAM for the final test phase. A harsh and unforgiving training area, RAF SPADEADAM absolutely deserves its reputation; an arduous environment to test the students mentally, physically and tacti- cally. In addition to the excellent terrain the RAF had a plethora of old Russian ZSUs, surface to air missile systems & mobile SA6s and SA8s. Thermal blow up tanks added to the ‘real’ armour and enabled a wide range of mission scenarios. The students, new and old alike, performed to an exceptional standard. Many thanks to Serjeant Estcourt, Serjeant Hudson & Corporal Clayton for all their hard work in planning and executing an excellent Cadre as well as Rifleman Lawrence who was awarded the top student.
Captain N Flye
Officer Commanding Anti-Tank Platoon
5 RIFLES Javelin Cadre
Assault Pioneer Cadre
The 5 RIFLES Assault Pioneer Platoon took part in a combined AP cadre joining both 3 and 4 RIFLES across 3 separate locations most notably Weymouth in the Wyke Regis Training Area. Here the Riflemen conducted water purification, constructed the Infantry Assault Bridge by day and night and finished off with a raft build followed by a race in the sea, both rafts consequently recused by the safety boat! For the second part of the cadre we moved to Swynnerton Training Camp where the platoons conducted section attack lanes and dry explosive entry training. The finale that all the Riflemen looked forward to was the demolitions week where the Riflemen conducted several demolition tasks. This included battle noise simulators, improvised claymores and cratering charges; all great fun! Overall the Riflemen worked very hard and enjoyed the cadre. We all look forward to what comes next for the Assault Pioneer Platoon!
THE END TO A GOOD CADRE AND THE BEGINNING OF A NEW CAREER PATH WITHIN THE BATTALION, THESE ARE YOUR ‘CHOSEN MEN’
Sniper Cadre
5 Riflemen appeared in Fire Support Company lines at the beginning of April. The start of the cadre set the tone with a joint recce/sniper 8-mile tab to gauge the new Riflemen’s fitness levels. Once all had completed we could then move into the SAA phase followed by a week on the range were Riflemen got there first feel of the .338 with data collection out to 900m. With shooting being a core responsibility of the platoon a lot of focus was put into this first 3 weeks with late nights conducting tactical navigation training and early mornings in the classroom. This is where for most new Riflemen the course began to become exciting putting all that had been learnt into practice. Week 4 became the basic sniper tactical patrol week were 2 sniper sections were deployed into Salisbury Plain for 5 days to conduct all that had been learnt during the cadre and where they were finally put to the test. Eyes on was gained, live feeds sent back to Battlegroup maintained and a coordi- nated shoot conducted, followed by a re-tasking into a sniper ambush 5 Km away. The end to a good cadre and the beginning of a new career path within the battalion, these are your ‘CHOSEN MEN’. Corporal Fell and Corporal Riley
Sniper Platoon
98 FIFTH BATTALION
THE RIFLES