and friends and the cost of travelling home were the main gripes but the pace of life and the delights of Hamburg at the weekends soon left little time to grumble. In the margins, the Company has built its own bar in the cellar of one of the accommodation blocks. Formally opened in April, The Watchman provides a focus for Company social activities and gives the soldiers their own space to relax when off-duty.
Pte Bacon getting to grips with Warrior maintenance
and the Company has proved itself to be competent shots on foot and in the Warriors. This year’s Wyscozan Bowl for best shot was awarded to LCpl King.
“Not sure that this temperate cam net is going to get the job done!”
moving to Germany, the Company has deployed on exercise in Warriors for only two days – a marked contrast to the days of LWC when we were deployed most weeks. With 75% of the vehicle crews new to the rôle, those two days on Bergen-Hohne impact area in March were a chance to shake out, learn how to move the Warriors tactically, how to live in and operate from the vehicle and to learn the fundamentals of Section, Platoon and Company attacks. Given the boggy terrain, it was also an occasion to practise vehicle recovery drills – and many of us did.
Other collective field training has also been limited and has focused almost entirely on reaching the start state for BATUS. Sgt Werrett organised a successful Infantry field-firing camp, up to Fire-Team level, in February at Sennelager – the sub-zero temperatures making the training more testing than normal. In March, a second field-firing camp conducted by Sgt Elliot and 2Lt Cook on Bergen-Hohne Ranges took the Company up to Platoon-level live firing. Concurrent to both firing periods, Capt Pass ran Warrior live-firing ranges, firstly for Initial Gunnery tests and then for Annual Crew Tests. Indeed, live-firing has exceeded blank-exercises by some way this year
The Mercian Eagle
Layered on to steady-state training has been the gradual introduction of operational skills and courses mainly focused on Counter-IED, mine awareness and team medic courses. All of these, hopefully, will reduce the burden as we enter pre-deployment training in September. As part of this front-loading of operational skills, the Company conducted a Compound Clearance course, advancing our FIBUA skills to tactics akin to those now used in-theatre. This course, run in a disused Army barracks in Hohne, was probably the highlight of the year for many and demonstrated the high level of training that can be achieved when the Company can get together without the distractions of camp life.
Free time for sport and adventurous training has been rare although, in the initial halcyon weeks of our time in Germany, many of the Company spent a week climbing and walking in the Hartz Mountains. Sports afternoons have all but disappeared but B Company still maintains a strong football team and contributes the bulk of the players to the Battalion team. Fitness has remained a high priority though, with an emphasis on tabbing with weight. Maj Green, Lt Beardsworth, LCpl Walker and Pte James all entered the 300 Club, achieving maximum scores on the Personal Fitness Test. Manning levels have improved with full manning of B Company by Autumn 2010 a realistic possibility. New recruits have joined at a steady rate whilst voluntary discharges are very low. Lumsden Barracks, and Germany itself, have been a significant change to those soldiers who had previously served only in UK. Separation from family
2009/10 has not been an easy year with a significant turnover of personnel, much disturbance, a lack of Section and Platoon coherency and long working days. Short- notice additional commitments and the uncharacteristically harsh German winter have also severely impeded our ability to train. But, throughout, morale has been maintained and we have settled into life in Germany even if time to discover life outside the camp gates has been minimal. Individual courses have dominated the agenda but we are now set to start to bring this training together on Ex Prairie Thunder in BATUS during Summer 2010. Repaired from the demands of LWC, the Company has held itself together well. Renewed and ready, we are looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead – roll on Op Herrick 14!
A Platoon Commander’s Perspective
by Lt J Beardsworth It has been a busy year for 5 Platoon. In July, we finally saw the end of our hectic rôle in Tidworth with the Land Warfare Centre. The Platoon greatly anticipated the move to the promised land of milk and honey in Germany and fingers were crossed for a more relaxed pace of life.
August brought a blaze of sunshine and the gradual acclimatisation to life overseas. It was a time of change in B Company; Lt Cartwright moved up for a brief stint as Coy 2ic before being posted to ITC Catterick and Lt Beardsworth stepped into the breech giving the Platoon a far better looking command team. Elsewhere, the completion of an internal and external JNCO Cadre meant that there was re-organising to be done. 5 Platoon gained LCpls Powell and Rickwood as well as Ptes Richards, Tabberer and Foster. Under the careful guidance of Sgt “Chinny” Elliot, the Platoon has flourished.
The dust had barely settled from the flight over and bags were hardly unpacked when the pace of life was dramatically ramped-up with the start of Battalion courses. There were plenty of fresh faces and Warrior qualifications were the name of the game. With rarely over ten men on parade, the Platoon was split to the winds. However, by Christmas, there was a hint of cohesion and,
October 2010 63
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