Pte Tabanivesi - rehabilitated! CALFEX by Lt Marriot
By the time 4 Brigade began their Combined Arms Live Firing Exercise (CALFEX) in January of this year, Christmas had come and gone but the snow and the cold weather remained. The Otterburn CALFEX was run by 2 SCOTS and, much to their credit and despite snow drifts of up to 8 feet on the training area and an initial postponement to the CALFEX of a week, they still managed to run an almost entirely full programme for all of the units that came through. 2 MERCIAN’s allocation to the permanent range teams varied significantly in their roles reflecting the Battalion’s scope of knowledge after participating in similar exercises and all the experiences gained on the recent Op Herrick tour. On the mortar team, Cpl Sheridan helped to provide the exercising troops with live indirect fire support, whilst 2Lts Marriott and Vosper ran a combination of zeroing and familiarisation ranges for troops prior to the main CALFEX. All this was administered first by Sgt Fitzgerald and subsequently by Cpl Cunningham who both deserve the highest praise for their never-ending patience in dealing with the constant and often complex demands of all these different ranges! In all, the Battalion demonstrated its varied skill set and ability to deliver a high level of training even in challenging conditions in front of various 19 Brigade partners and an appreciative 2 SCOTS.
Homecoming Marches 6th – 20th March 2010 by Lt Herron
On returning from Afghanistan, the Battalion marched through the streets of Worcester, Derby and Nottingham so the two weeks we spent on the mainland in March gave us the chance to parade through some of the smaller towns in our recruitment area. It was also an opportunity to show our thanks to the public for the support which we received whilst on tour. The reception we received was outstanding and each town came to a standstill the moment we stepped off. The soldiers made the most of the hospitality shown by the councils in each location which usually included free beer and food after the march had finished. This allowed plenty of time for the Platoon and Company to have a little bonding time. When we weren’t parading through the streets, the soldiers had the choice of going home for the evening, a luxury they don’t usually have being based in Northern Ireland. We also had a few good evenings out hosted by Derby Rugby Club and Clipston Social Club where they went out of their way to put on a good show and give everyone a chance to let their hair down. The Homecoming Marches have reminded the soldiers of the huge level of support they receive from the recruiting areas.
event including canoeing and an 18km coastal walk. He is due to return to Headley Court for three weeks of rehabilitation and then again for hopefully one final five week period for intensive rehabilitation and physiotherapy. Pte Cooper, who was injured during Op Herrick 6, is doing well and has just completed a 1 mile walk for Sport Relief and hopefully will soon find himself fulltime at Portland College.
The First Day in the Battalion – A Platoon Commander’s View by Lt Marriot
Before you join your Company, it seems like everyone wants to give you equal measures of career- defining good advice designed to ease you into the job and also abject horror stories of mistakes they made as young officers that make the whole experience seem like a nightmare waiting to unfold. But, after the whirlwind that was Sandhurst, the cold exercises of Brecon and a snowy stint at 4 Brigade’s CALFEX in Otterburn, I felt that I had a decent chance of turning up at the Battalion ready to command my Platoon. How wrong I was. Things didn’t start well with my well-rehearsed introductory talk to the Platoon which faltered slightly when, due to a combination of leave, courses and cadres, only about 12 individuals stood in front of me. I then tried to take on the universally accepted knowledge that it was a good idea to get around the Battalion and meet all the senior personalities. But this quickly descended into a blur of ranks, names and different offices that I seemed to forget almost instantly before the RSM delivered the final shattering coup de grace by informing me that perhaps a haircut was in order.
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The Battalion formed up on College Green, Worcester
32 October 2010 The Mercian Eagle
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