provided them all with a first rate opposition. Depending on the make up of our opposition (and, more pertinently, it seems, how hard it has been raining the previous few weeks) the Company will either deploy in the light rôle or mounted in Warrior. The flexibility the Company has now developed has meant that we have been consistently successful, and currently proudly able to boast to not having lost a single mission! A new spin was added to Ex Wessex Warrior in September when a visit from the Indian Army provided a whole new number of Warrior dismounts to work alongside, another unique experience courtesy of the LWC role.
If the OPFOR exercises are the tactical, fast-paced and demanding exercises at the right hand end of the scale, then sat firmly at the left hand end have been a number of theatre specific Mission Rehearsal Exercises, undertaken by exercising Units whose operational deployment is imminent. The requirements for the lads are far less glamorous: they become a “rent-a-mob” for the duration of the exercise and mimic the rôle of the civilian population. The experiences of living like homeless people through the February blizzards will make a few think twice about signing off from the Army and making the leap of faith into the wider world of credit crunch Britain. The other myriad commitments that everyone has undertaken
are too numerous to mention but one element has remained solid throughout; the commitment, professionalism and levels of hard work that all ranks of A Company have provided have ensured that they have been a credit to the Battalion in the most public of forums.
To keep the Company suitably trained and up to date within the “free time” has been a constant challenge as training time and resources become increasingly precious however, by focusing our efforts on the three key areas of Fieldcraft, Firing and Fitness, we have remained at the top of our game. Fieldcraft has been tackled through a number of Platoon level training days followed by a Company deployment to Sennybridge Training Area in Brecon. The added elements of an early Welsh winter brought an extra dimension to our training which culminated in a day’s worth of Company advances to contact, with everyone reaping the sense of reward which comes from a Company working together towards a common aim. In addition to this, CSgt Pemberton took a section away to participate in Ex Red Stripe over the summer, a joint exercise with the Jamaican Defence Force and Pte Birks was part of a Section from the Battalion which took part in Ex Grand Prix in Kenya.
Firing, both small arms and vehicle-mounted weapons, has been a key area of training and
development over the past twelve months. The Company initially fired a number of qualifying small arms ranges before a Company-level LFTT package to Brecon in the autumn with plenty of range time; some of the newer additions to the Company becoming well acquainted with the rule of thumb, “where there’s water, there’s cover”! This left the Company ideally prepared for a Battalion- lead LFTT package in January 2009 during which everyone had the ability to expand their skills and bring all the three Platoons of the Company together, this time with the added challenges and complexities of Battlegroup assets firing in support. To keep on top of our Warrior Gunnery, the Company deployed to the south coast for two separate firing packages being run out of Lulworth Camp. The Company climaxed with its Annual Crew Tests qualifying ten crews in all to the highest possible standard, ensuring that the A Company “Top Gun” trophy was again a hotly contested affair. Pte Jones 66 performed outstandingly as the rookie on the circuit although Pte Smith 21 proved to be the unbeatable old sweat and hung on to his trophy for the second year running.
Fitness remains a daily priority within the Company as we fight the constant battle of the bulge; regular and varied Company and Platoon fitness blended with inter Platoon and Battalion sport seem to be serving up the
Warrior on guard over Salisbury Plain The Mercian Eagle October 2009 59
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