Exercise Spartan Fight Preps New 1 YORKS Soldiers To Play The 'Enemy'

Soldiers have got their hands on a Warrior armoured vehicle for the first time after COVID restrictions interrupted training.

Like many other military units, Alma Company of 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment found itself confined to camp due to coronavirus restrictions.

With an influx of new recruits in the summer, 25% of the regiment had never got near a Warrior – their primary vehicle. 

Exercise Spartan Fight, taking place on Salisbury Plain, ensures the soldiers get used to the armoury while practising the mechanics of a simple attack and learning to play the enemy.

Corporal Lewis Dunbar, Alma Company 1 YORKS, told Forces News: “It’s a big beast [the Warrior] – it’s good – you see a lot from my point of view in the commander’s turret.

“It’s very fast and aggressive – it’s what being in the Army is all about.”

The company will head out to Germany in the New Year to play the role of the enemy for the Mercians.

Lieutenant Russ Hughes, on his first time commanding his soldiers since coming out of training due to COVID-19 delays, says the exercise will teach the soldiers how to “get used to working in smaller teams, be independent, use their initiative”.

“One of the core things you need to do differently, is that we need to make our limited numbers punch above their weight,” said Lt Hughes, Platoon Commander Alma Company.

“We’ll likely be playing enemy for a whole company or a company and its attachment of the 1 MERCIAN battlegroup.

“I need to think of ways, as a commander, in which I can make my resources cover the maximum amount of ground possible and have the maximum number of effects on a much larger enemy.

“Although we may not be looking to achieve a much more aggressive action like a defeat or a destroy, I need to be able to delay them, or at least deter them, from being able to achieve what they should be able to, as a larger force, and essentially make their life as difficult as possible, even if they will ultimately complete their mission as a larger force.”

Cpl Dunbar explained to Forces News how the exercise could play out in Germany.

He said: “We still use some of our tactics – but we try and alter the tactics of our enemies that we’ve picked up over the years as an Army to use against our colleagues, so when they go to theatre they know what they’re up against and possibly what they’ve been doing.

“The Mercians could be leaguered up and we could just be watching them for a while, in small man groups, just keep picking at them, picking at them, trying to degrade their morale and just keep eyes on them.

“Eventually, we’ll try and provoke them to come and attack.

“If they take the bait, we could try ambushes and stuff like that, but they’re very good at not taking the bait, the Mercians – they’ll wait, bide their time, they’ll know where we’re at and they’ll attack us where it hurts.”

Major Ian Atkins, Alma Company, said the “visible excitement” was evident in the soldiers from his unit.

“We all joined the Army for a reason, and this is it.”

As Exercise Spartan Fight continues, Alma Company will progress to more advanced stages, eventually ready to take on the Mercians in January.