Soldiers Develop Trade Skills In Cyprus

Airborne Sappers from 23 Parachute Engineer Regiment have been on Exercise Pinestick, training their trade skills in Cyprus.

The exercise is a regular deployment by a Royal Engineer squadron, tasking them with building and renovating infrastructure used by British military personnel based on the island and the wider Cypriot community.

Having been in Cyprus for six weeks from late January, troops have planned and carried out upgrades to RAF Akrotiri's force protection, built a new hut and repaired a track at the Dhekelia Scout Wood, and also worked on the renovation of the Episkopi Families Centre.

The Sappers also built a new shed at Kingsfield Parachute Club and conducted freefall parachute jumps to mark the completion of their work.

The 72 soldiers are due to soon return to the UK.

9 Para Sqn Royal Engineer's Lieutenant Jake Fountaine praised the work done by the British Army's soldiers.

"This exercise has been an extremely important experience for our troops," he said.

"It allows us to exercise the trade skill our soldiers pride themselves with and they've done quality work that they can be proud of.

"It is an opportunity for the squadron to experience a deployment to a foreign country and all the challenges that come with doing so.

"The troops have relished the chance to deploy overseas and of course enjoy the fantastic weather and wider experiences Cyprus has to offer," he added.

Sapper Richard Wrigley, from Oldham, a plant operator who has been working on block paving, drainage installation and concreting at Kingsfield Parachute Centre, stressed the importance of the exercise.

"It's been a valuable experience to really test my skills, working to exact specifications and designs.

"I worked on construction sites doing block paving before joining the Army, so this task has been a great opportunity for me to pass on these skills to my colleagues. 

"And with my experience, I've been a task leader, which has really helped my leadership and management skills because I've been selected for promotion to Lance Corporal."

Throughout the deployment, personnel followed coronavirus safety guidelines which included a quarantine period on arrival on the island.

Cover image: The Airborne Sappers developing their trade skills on the island of Cyprus (Picture: British Army).