Feature

US Army Puts 3 PARA Soldiers To The Test On Paintball Range

With smoke grenades exploding and under heavy fire from paintball guns, paratroopers from 3 PARA have been put to the test during training with the US Army.

Soldiers from Colchester-based A Company, 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment (A Coy, 3 PARA) practised crossing obstacles and treating casualties under fire as part of the Combined Joint Operational Access Exercise (CJOAX).

American medics taught the British troops the medical drills and reporting procedures they use on operations, before these skills were tested on a battle run through the pine woods of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

After leading his section through, 3 PARA’s Corporal Gavin Lovett said:

"The paintball range gives a real sense of working under fire and adds extra realism. Once we started taking casualties you feel the pressure rising, but everyone stepped up and performed very well."

"Our work with the White Falcons is going really well and we've done joint urban training and medical skills with them so far. As paratroopers, we’ve got the same role and ethos and we’re pulling together well."

Specialist Jared Ortner, a medic with 2-325th AIR, said: "I've been very impressed with the 3 PARA soldiers' medical training and their willingness to learn. They really paid attention when I was teaching and thought about how to adapt their skills to the kit and techniques that we use in the US Army."

Some 1,000 troops from the 3 PARA Battlegroup are on the eight-week-long CJOAX, which aims to develop the ability of the British and US Army’s airborne rapid reaction forces to deploy together in response to international crises.

It will culminate in a simulated mission in which 1,900 British and American troops and their equipment will be parachuted into a troubled region to work side-by-side to restore stability.