The British Army Training Unit Suffield in Canada is one of the best military training areas in the world. Several members of the Royal Yeomanry, including half a dozen Westminster Dragoons, were lucky enough to be selected to join the Joint CBRN Regiment for two weeks in summer 2006 for a variety of adventurous activities, live fire, TESEX and other training packages.
The journey out
Members of the various Squadrons met up at Regimental HQ in Croydon, where luggage and travel documents were checked. Mosquito head nets were produced and sold out quickly!
A few logistical difficulties meant a delayed journey from Croydon. After a few drinks in C Squadron’s bar, and a bit more of a wait, we eventually boarded a coach which took us all directly to RAF Brize Norton.
The flight was smooth but long, and we landed on time at Calgary Airport. The luggage and weapons party spent the next hour or so tracking down all our kit. As we waited for kit to arrive, we all noticed one thing – the dry heat. We had been warned about the heat, and the need to stay hydrated.
We were picked up by another coach and taken to BATUS – another long journey across some long flat roads. Arriving at Camp Crowfoot, BATUS, we had our first view of what was going to be our home base for the next 20 days.
Our first night gave a chance to explore the camp, and realise that the nearest town – Ralston – was about 3km away, down a very mosquito-infested path! Medicine Hat was the nearest city, and this we were told – and later confirmed ourselves – was a 30 minute taxi ride away.
Awesome dudes skydiving
As part of our adventure training package some of us from the RY were fortunate enough to go parachuting at Beiseker Skydiving Centre for six days. We were attached to H Squadron Joint CBRN Regiment, which provided us with the opportunity to get to know them before going out on exercise with them the following week.
Training started with familiarisation with the canopy or “rig” and how it gets packed for the next jump.
The next morning we started our jump training. This involved practising how to climb out of a mock-up plane. The idea was that one stepped out of the door onto the wheel strut whilst inching along the diagonal bar that supports the wing. Then one had to step into thin air and let go when ready, shouting “1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 check canopy".
We practised “arching” legs locked, hips forward and chins raised. We were to fly, not fall, looking up at the angels not down at the ground. Before we could jump we also needed to practise emergency procedures and learn how to recognise a malfunction and what to do about it. This seemed fairly straightforward but we wondered if it would be the same tumbling out of the sky at 80mph.
Our first jump was from a height of roughly 35,000 feet from either a five- or seven-man plane. The planes were worryingly toy-looking and could have been cousins of Budgie the Helicopter. The drop zone was very close to the training area and we were able to watch the first syndicate come down. This was very exciting until one of the guys from H Sqn had a bad landing and broke his leg.
More waiting – and then it was our turn. We were issued with jumpsuits, helmets, goggles, radios, altimeters and not forgetting the most important part: the rigs. Unfortunately the toilets were bolted down and couldn’t be taken too.
As we waited on the tarmac for the plane to come and get us the world became slightly more surreal. Undaunted, we climbed in and were soon speeding down the runway. Take-off was exhilarating and it was fascinating observing the meandering rivers and other features from above. It took no time at all to get up to 35,000 feet and then it was time for the first man out. The door opened with a great gust of wind and the plane banked the other way.
We were having trouble breathing but that was nerves rather than altitude. The scariest thing was watching the first guy especially when he let go. However we could only assume all was well as none of us could bear to look to see if his canopy opened all right. Then the plane turned for the next victims’ turn ...
Fighting the force of the wind was a battle in itself. It was hard to position oneself correctly. On letting go for a split second one seemed to fly with the plane and then it was gone and the air whistled past me for what seemed like ages. Then the chute opened amidst line twists. To stop oneself feeling like the hunchback of Notre Dame one kicked out, enjoying the feeling of slow time that the chute created. After that, there was time to have some fun spinning around pendulum style with plenty of screeching to scare the birds. It was great having the radio as the calming drawl of Martin the DZ man was both reassuring and helpful for the landing process.
Unfortunately the weather on the next day was unsuitable for jumps which was very frustrating, There was no TV so some of us became experts at “Risk”, poker (under the dubious influence of the mad Greek chef), or just reading dodgy 70’s sci-fi books. However, Wednesday made up for this as we managed three jumps each. None of us had ever experienced so much adrenaline as on that day. All in all most of us managed seven jumps and Tpr Rahman did a tandem jump from 10,000 feet which looked fun.
This was a fantastic experience and one all of us would definitely repeat. A toast to (hopefully, one day) the WD skydiving team!
Live firing
To start proceedings we conducted a 20-round check zero grouping to verify the state of our weapons. Then we had a fire-team and section attack practice: target fall when hit, then pop up again so you can have another go. This gave us an introduction on how to play the game, our arcs of fire and weapon handling skills.
The first activity of day two was trench clearance. This required one person to throw a HE grenade at a target in the trench system, then once it had gone off the other person had to jump round the corner and let rip at the target, now hidden by a massive cloud of dust. When the grenade goes off, the shockwave sends a surge of adrenaline around your body, and you are taken to another planet. Once the end of the trench system was reached, battle simulations indicated the need to withdraw.
Next came battle inoculation. This consisted of a 500m section attack with a number of obstacles to negotiate, bat sims going off round about, GPMGs firing overhead, and targets popping up to the front that fell when hit. Lots of barbed wire, lots of running, lots of mud, lots of leopard crawling, lots of shouting, lots of rounds down range, lots of fun.
At the end, after posting a couple of grenades at targets to the front, and firing any remaining rounds, Harry was most definitely hanging out of the hoop. To cap it all off came the section hasty attack, a long, long, long attack uphill, then holding the position against counter attack, then withdrawing with a casualty.
After a quick field wash and a bit of scran came the night phase, a platoon in defence serial lasting 25 minutes to practise fire control orders, shmuleys screaming into the starry sky and wooden stakes spontaneously combusting into massive balls of fire. Then a two-and-a-half-hour night move to our next location and a well deserved rest.
The final day of the live firing package consisted of convoy firing, standing in the cupola of a truck or the back of the Fuchs double tapping at targets that fall when hit whilst being driven at speed through “Shanty Town”, then on to a small range to fire the weapon on automatic from various positions in the advance and withdrawal, including shotgun.
TESEX
TESEX is more than just a laser-tag system – it is fully integrated into the L98-A2 with infra-red (IR) attachments that fire a pulse toward the target whenever a blank round is spent. H Squadron moved from live fire to blank fire with a resupply and all the necessary safety checks. The first hour or so in the field with the kit was spent calibrating to ensure that what we aimed at and where the IR pulse went bore some relation to each other. Another aspect to check was the TESEX harness, which looked like a hi-tech assault rig. It had IR sensors all over, and some attached to the helmet. These 'spoke' to the L98's attachments, and ensured that if anyone fired at us, and if we fired at anyone, then all gizmos, gadgets, attachments, IR pulses and vehicle equivalents linked up. This was demonstrated by a computer pretending there was a mine field in front of us – walking forward caused a chorus of beeps as TESEX kits detected the theoretical location of the mines, and informed the wearer of various injuries.
The injury aspect was rather clever – one screen of info told us what the injury was and how to act. Another told a medic what our symptoms were and how we would respond to their treatment. For major injuries lack of response in the correct time would result in TESEX death. Correct triage and order of treatment was essential for any major injuries. Vehicles were all also fitted with TESEX attachments, and therefore could also be taken out.
Sleep was missed out on the first night of the field exercise, with the move to our exercise base. The base was a walled-off area surrounded by barbed wire within a village. We set-up base equipment and SHQ tents, and by dawn the base was ready for whatever the enemy might throw at us. Four members of the RY were tasked to provide force protection to two Land Rovers that quietly left base to set up Cyclones (biological agent detectors) at a vantage point. We arrived just before the enemy was due to go live, and ended up surprising some of them who had come over to have a sneaky early look. One of them let off a few rounds at the Cyclone team, and were rewarded with four RY L98's sending back a volley of responses. It seems we had opened fire on the enemy leader, which apparently gave us an advantage or two for the rest of the exercise according to the rules of the exercise.
Over the next few days various attacks took place on our patrols or on vehicles out performing missions, which were dealt with in the appropriate manner. The RY team mostly had to deal mostly with the locals, who repeatedly came to our gates demanding water, supplies, weapons, or to share intelligence. Base routine allowed the newer RY troopers to practise their admin skills and to observe a regular RAC squadron at work – both useful lessons.
There was an attack one lunchtime that involved a chemical mortar shell going off in the middle of our base and a sniper in the hills hampering our response to this. On realising a sniper was at work, SHQ put some of the RY to man trenches nearest the enemy. Exercise or not, there was a danger here as rattle snakes, deadly spiders and scorpions were known to be endemic to the area. We were not allowed to enter any long grass or trench until we had adequately used a long stick to check for prior habitants!
During the sniper phase, some of us took TESEX injuries. This affected our unmasking drills, but effective command and control was in evidence as patrols were sent out to deal with the sniper, and casualties treated. Stretcher bearers came under fire as well and one RY trooper with a simulated broken leg was dragged to cover from his trench for treatment. Casualty treatment even required a helicopter flying in to the camp MO and specialist equipment for some theoretical injuries to be treated. After all casualties and dead were dealt with, the TESEX computer kindly announced we were all alive again and ready to carry on with the exercise.
By the final night we had received sufficient intelligence from the locals and from our own patrols so as to be able to confirm the location of the enemy base – only reachable by fighting through an underground set of tunnels the size of a football pitch.
Everyone bar two members of SHQ - regulars, not RY - was tasked to assault the enemy base. A briefing was given, and equipment prepared for tunnel fighting. Torches were taped to rifles, and webbing removed. The basic plan was simple – a dummy attack would cause lots of noise with vehicles leading the way. Most troops would assault the entry house to the tunnel system in three waves, and two Fuchs would move in to provide GPMG covering fire. The three waves would fight through until the entrance to the main base was reached, then a final party would enter from there. Even without webbing this was hard work. The tunnels were pitch black and barely five feet high. Everyone wore Kevlar helmets and S10 respirators – part of the role-play was that the enemy had chemical weapons – in temperatures that may have reached 40°C.
The assault by the three waves of troops on foot started with a charge down a hill to the first house, with the Pipe Major playing his bagpipes. The three waves quickly merged into two parts – those attacking, and those injured/looking after them. The defenders inflicted much damage to the attackers, but we eventually prevailed, with at least one member of the RY in the party led by H Squadron's SSM that finished of the last defender and reached the entry port to the main house.
H Squadron then went back to the base to clean up and finish packing away, and drove to the debrief. BATUS has a cinema screen seemingly in the middle of nowhere, where footage and feedback from the whole exercise can be passed on. GPS tracking of every piece of TESEX kit meant that vehicles and people could be marked on maps, and their reaction/response to scenarios whether based on enemy attack, civilian interaction or dealing with CBRN hazards could be seen clearly. Video footage of the CBRN attack on our base and of the tunnel assault was also used to share wisdom and identify the good and bad aspects. The major lessons learned had been that the entire area should have been secured and encircled before being assaulted, and that command and control had disintegrated at times with too many waves trying to enter the same tunnel entry point at once.
After the debrief we had a long drive back to Camp Crowfoot where TESEX kit was checked and handed back, and the usual weapon safety checks made on leaving the range we had lived and worked in for the past week. The H Squadron troops were due to go back to the field for their next week of exercise and training, and after a few goodbyes to our friends and hosts, the RY party cleaned up, caught up on some sleep and changed ready for the next aspect of the Canadian adventure – going to Medicine Hat for a meal and some well-earned drinks at a place we had been told about called the Sin Bin!