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20 NAVY NEWS, NOVEMBER 2010 Ordnance survey


THIS can’t be the place, surely?


Blue skies, bright sunshine


and a sea gently lapping the emerald green coast – this is


the notorious Cape Wrath? Where is the sound, the fury, the wind-driven spume? The very name Cape Wrath engenders a sense of violence and desolation, a sense reinforced by its long-standing military role. The name is misleading – Wrath


is derived from the Norse word for ‘turning point’, as it was the headland where Viking navigators changed course. But the fact that it is often


stormy and inhospitable adds to the image. And


where better for the


military, British or allied, to really test their people and equipment? Cape Wrath Training Centre has existed under various names since 1933, when the naval gunnery and aerial bombardment range was established on the most north- westerly tip of mainland Britain. The site can be easily isolated – roads are closed and guarded and red flags flutter during exercises – and it provides virtually everything an attacking force could need to go through its paces. The centre is particularly busy


during Joint Warrior exercises, and a typical day in October saw warships from three nations on the gun line as well as simulated attacks by aircraft. At the heart of the Cape Wrath


operation is the range control building, which sits atop the Faraid Head peninsula north of Durness village. And on this particular sunny


day two huddles of troops set up their operations on the westerly edge of the headland, making the most of the spectacular view to the range just three miles away. One group was British – 148 (Meiktila) Cdo Forward Observation Battery Royal Artillery, to give them their full name – although ‘fire support team’ gives a slightly broader hint as to their business.


These are the men who draw


down accurate attacks, be it from warships (Naval Gunfire Support or NGS), from jet bombers (Close Air Support or CAS), from Attack Helicopters


(AH, specifically


the Apache) or from land-based artillery and mortars. A few yards away were their


American counterparts, the 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO), in San Diego,


normally based California, but


apparently equally happy to ply their trade in Durness, Scotland. The life of a ‘spotter’ is definitely


at the ‘Action Man’ end of the scale.


Commando and parachute- trained, personnel


can expect


to be delivered to wherever they are needed through a variety of


Mike Gray takes a look at Cape Wrath, a key part of Joint Warrior and an invaluable training ground for all three Services as well as the UK’s allies


means,


straight into the water. It’s a lifestyle that so seduced


including parachuting


Steve Hoyland that he left the Navy to pursue it. Sgt Hoyland is one of two


men helping range control officer Lt Col Tim Wood, the Royal Artillery Joint Fires staff officer who is based at Navy Command HQ at Whale Island, Sgt Hoyland’s colleague being Bdr Matt Corson. “I was in the Navy for ten years and left as a Leading Seaman Radio Operator,” said Steve. “I changed over because for five


circle, and as Navy News went to press he was due to rejoin the Senior Service, along with Matt – mention of which brings a sad shake of the head from the bombardier. But it’s not a problem for the soon-to-be CPO Hoyland, whose son Daniel is a killick at Northwood but who bumped into his dad a couple of times (in Bahrain and Gibraltar) while he was serving in HMS Monmouth. And it is easy to see why the NCO is attracted to the life, and why swapping back to extend his career as part of the NGS Training and Advisory Team was a no-brainer. For one thing, it is not simply about long stints watching ships lob shells on to a Scottish headland. They have a role


planes, but I would have stayed at sea with the Navy, with no guarantee of getting back with 148, so I joined the Army instead.” Steve was in the thick of the action in the Falklands, including spotting for the raid on Fox Bay by HMS Plymouth and ending up in an observation post on Beagle Ridge overlooking Stanley as British troops moved in for the kill. But now his career is going full


the Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) serials,


Warfare Officer (PWO) courses and in teaching specialist NGS communicators.


on Principal


They also back-fill posts at 148 Bty when the unit deploys on exercise or in theatre. And, as it happens, both 148 Bty


to play in


years I was with 148 – I went to the Falklands as a spotter ashore. “I liked throwing myself out of


and the ANGLICO are earmarked for a return to Afghanistan in the next few months, reinforcing the value they get from working on the range in such close proximity, despite the fact that Cape Wrath does not in the slightest resemble Helmand.


● This page (from top left), the view from the range control building as a shower passes; Apaches lift off from HMS Ark Royal; Sgt Steve Hoyland at Faraid Head; the control buildings on the Head, an Apache holds while spotters deconfl ict the range; American marines of the ANGLICO watch as shells from USS Bainbridge strike Na Glas Leacan island; a Swedish Gripen at RAF Lossiemouth


Pictures: PO(Phot) Ray Jones, LA(Phot) Abbie Gadd, SAC Phil Cooke RAF and Mike Gray


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