NAVY NEWS, DECEMBER 2010
(JMSTC) in Lagos. The boat experts from the Royal Marines first visited the Armed Forces of Nigeria in 2009, and headed back earlier this year to hone skills as part of a ongoing training package. Working in support of the British Military
in-country
IN SEPTEMBER, Maj Matt Churchward and Sgt Andy Middleton, both from 1 Assault Group Royal Marines (1AGRM), returned to Nigeria to cast an eye over develop- ments at the Joint Maritime Security Training Centre
19 School’s out
Advisory Training Team (BMATT), 1AGRM’s overriding mission was to train the first group of Nigerian instructors at the JMSTC. This is part of a project within the African Conflict Prevention Pool that also included the provision of infrastructure and rigid inflatable boats as training craft.
were pleased to see that the JMSTC building itself had been completed and was starting to
training base. Previous advice and guidance had been well received and the Nigerians made it clear that they were capable of running their first training courses for Nigerian Army, Navy and Air Force students. As the centre becomes established, it should start to improve skills in the areas of littoral manoeuvre and riverine operations, and sharpen operational capability within the Nigerian Armed Forces. The facility was officially handed over from the UK to the Armed Forces of Nigeria on September 30 2010, by the Duke of Gloucester.
The Duke stated the importance of UK’s commitment to Nigeria in a speech, before unveiling a plaque to open the centre.
helicopter assault ship HMS Ocean visited Lagos as part of Nigeria’s 50th anniversary of independence celebrations, which provided an excellent opportunity for some cross training with embarked forces that had sailed with the ship. The JMSTC craft escorted HMS Ocean as she entered Lagos Harbour, before accompanying a boat group from 539 Assault Squadron Royal Marines (ASRM) to a forward operating base at the JMSTC.
the same period, develop into a credible On return the Royal Marines
Over the next few days, the Royal Marines from 539 ASRM worked with the JMSTC instructors, providing craft acquaint packages and demonstrating riverine tactics such as the use of the Offshore Raiding Craft in its fire support role.
He then took to the water to view demonstrations of an amphibious assault and boarding operations. Over
C/Sgt John Hiscock from 539 ASRM were impressed by the enthusiasm displayed by the Nigerians and were keen to pass on their specialist skills. The cross training package concluded with a well-played football match that ran to penalties after a 4-all draw at full-time.
Capt Olly Gray RM and
539 ASRM came up trumps and won the match, following a save by PO Greig Gunning who was one of the Royal Navy mechanical engineers within the boat group.
two Lynx helicopters for aviation training at the JMSTC.
HMS Ocean also provided
The boat group consisted of a Landing Craft Air Cushion (Hovercaft) and a number of Inflatable and Offshore Raiding Craft, along with Landing Craftsmen and Armoured Support Group gunners, who seemed very keen to put the craft through their paces following a long transit on Ocean from Brazil.
from 847 Naval Air Squadron conducted instruction in troop aviation drills, before completing a number of flying serials with the Nigerian instructors. As well as delivering an
interesting introduction to one of the UK’s military helicopters, the training also highlighted areas of air-land integration that the Nigerians will hopefully start to develop during subsequent advanced training courses.
Maj Jon Parry and his team Unusually for an English side,
Before HMS Ocean departed for Sierra Leone, a final piece of cross training was achieved using the embarked Royal Marines from Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines (FPGRM). These specialist troops used facilities at the JMSTC to conduct rehearsals of search and detention procedures, before moving on to practise boardings on a large dredger
craft within the busy Lagos Harbour. Throughout this training, the Nigerians worked alongside the team from FPGRM, benefitting from the experience and developing possibilities for future training at the JMSTC. The Nigerians are now fully to
prepared
courses and have gained valuable experience following
run their first
HMS Ocean’s visit to Lagos. Future development of capability at the JMSTC will require a degree of continuing mentoring by 1AGRM and the BMATT, but the Nigerians have taken some considerable steps towards improving maritime security training in this strategically important West- African country. ■ Credit: Maj Matt Churchward
Pictures: Maj Matt Churchward RM. Background image: Niger Delta; Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center. “The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth.” <
http://earth.jsc.nasa.gov/sseop/EFS/images.pl?photo=STS61C-42-72>
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48