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News Post Leader
www.newspostleader.co.uk Thursday, September 26, 2013
Joining the reserves on feature
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oldiers from Army Reserve Centres across south east Northumberland have been pushed to the limits in an intensive training exercise in Cyprus. Reporter Tegan Chapman joined the Fifth Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers on Exercise Lion Star to find out more.
As dawn breaks, the peace and tranquillity stretching out across the Cypriot horizon is shattered by the sound of sustained gunfire. Hundreds of rounds of shots ring out across an occupied village, as the lead platoon of soldiers pushes forward in an epic battle to take power.
training exercise Fusiliers Geoff Day and Robert Clark in Cyprus
Hours later the company seizes control of the land and move on to claim victory. This may sound like a scene
from Saving Private Ryan, but it’s actually an imaginary scenario played out by reserve soldiers from across the north
east, designed to put all their skills into practice. Based on real life situations, this final battle is the culmination of two weeks’ intensive training on the Mediterranean island that will equip soldiers with the necessary skills for deployment to any future conflicts; skills that could potentially save their lives. But the soldiers from the Fifth Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, are no ordinary soldiers. Each of them hold down day
jobs as teachers, plumbers, lawyers and labourers, and make up the reserve army – where training exercise like this are vital to bring the troops in line with their regular counterparts. Fusilier Geoff Day, 43, from Bedlington, has been in the Army Reserve for a year. He joined around 100 servicemen and women from the regiment at the training camp near the RAF Akrotiri base in southern Cyprus, where temperatures were close to 40C.
“This is my first training exercise and it has been a really good experience, being able to put all the training into practice,” he said. “It has been my first chance to work in a group this big, and it has been excellent.” Now operations in Afghanistan are drawing to a close, the withdrawal of troops has marked a return to contingency. Training is now geared towards preparing to fight a generic country, as opposed to
Band are helping to keep up troops’ morale Historically used to lead troops into battle, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers’ army band has cemented its place in the future of the Army Reserve as a morale boosting unit. Members of the band joined the battalion in Cyprus for their annual training camp, where they performed a series of concerts throughout the region. The band’s director of music, Captain Kevin Crook, from Druridge
Bay, said: “It’s all about keeping the morale up for the boys. “Sometimes they are out in war zones and they have nothing, and I think the morale element is still very much there.” Trumpeter Colin Brannen, 58, from Cramlington, has been in the band since 1971. “I thouroughly enjoy being part of the Fusiliers’ band. “Coming to Cyprus is different
because we get to see another country, and perform in different places. It is such a change from your normal job.” Clarinet player Stephen Kerr, 44, from South Beach, Blyth, works as a learning support assistant at Bede Academy. “Being in the band is a great opportunity to travel and play in different places. It’s all about entertaining people musically, and I couldn’t
think of a better band to be a part of to do that.” The band can still be mobilised and given tasks such as driving or decontamination, as they are all military trained. Captain Crook added: “The band is making music and they’re getting paid to do their hobby. “We have members that have been doing this for 30 years, which shows how much they love it.”
cyprus gig Colin Brannen on the post horn
News Post Leader
Thursday, September 26, 2013 www.newspostleader.co.uk
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a Cyprus training drill insurgencies. Fusilier Day added: “We got stuck in an Afghan cycle and we need to train now for any future war and this is what we are doing now. “We are now working towards being able to send a formed unit, which is a positive thing as we work well as a team, we learn how everyone works and we have a bond and a rapport, we know each others strengths and weakness which we put our lives in each others hands and that trust is already there.” The troops’ mission was to clear a village and make it secure, but they came under enemy fire during the final exercise. For the soldiers the training may be arduous, but it also gives them the chance to learn new skill sets and offers great camaraderie. Fusilier Robert Clark, 43, from Ashington, has been in the Army Reserves for two years and works as a maintenance manager. “I prefer this to my day job because that is nearly 80 per cent
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An army officer has said that changes to the way the Army Reserve operates mean there has never been a better time to sign up. The government is heavily investing in the Army Reserve; previously know as the Territorial Army, to provide improved kit, better weapon systems and added benefits. Future Reserves 2020 (FR2020) will see the number of reserve recruits rise to 30,000 by 2018, and will also see an increase in benefits for soldiers including improved kit, pension, health care and holiday entitlement. Plans will also see whole platoons mobilised, whereas previously individuals were sent to join regular units. Reserve units are now paired with a regular unit as Government plans for ‘One army – regular and reserve’ forge ahead.
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good experience Soldiers from Fifth Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers on Exercise Lion Star in Cyprus
paperwork but this is physical and outdoors. It builds character and it builds you up. “Joining the reserves was something that I wanted to do for years and I have never
looked back.” Lieutenant colonel Karl Mace, who is the regiment’s commanding officer, added: “This training exercise has been a pilot for the way in which we
will work in the future and it has proven to be immensely successful and has shown that at soldier level the regulars and reserves can work seamlessly together.”
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And the training exercise in Cyprus was the first time the one Army ideal had been put to the test. Lieutenant colonel Karl Mace, commanding officer of the Fifth Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, said: “Until now it has been a theory but now we have tried it and it has been successful, it shows we have at the start of a journey that I am confident will deliver integrated operational capability. In the field you could not identify who was regular and who was reserve, which proves for me that there is a chance of this initiative being successful and it will work. We are always recruiting and will welcome anyone who wants to find out more. There really has never been a better time to join the Army Reserve.” For more information about joining the reserves, visit www. army.mod.uk call 0845 600 8080 or visit an Army Reserve Centre.
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