From Alpha Bravo to Foxtrot: 2 Royal Irish get ready for huge Army reserves deployment
Soldiers from 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Regiment have taken part in Exercise First Strike under sunny skies on the plains of the Magilligan Training Centre in Northern Ireland.
Their training aimed to enhance team cohesion and experiment with new tactics in preparation for Exercise Rhino Heart.
Rhino Heart, spanning two weeks in Germany, will mark the largest deployment of Army reservists in nearly three decades.
To get in shape for Rhino Heart, 2 Royal Irish spent Saturday morning setting up tents, thermal covers and camouflage nets.
"This is us firstly getting together on the ground. So we're testing things, we're experimenting with things and we're just gelling as a team to bring on cohesion between the platoons," explained Captain Ryan McCready.
The exercise also experimented with advanced connectivity methods for secure communication between platoons and headquarters.
This is when Elon Musk's Starlink technology was put into practice and, according to operations officer Capt McCready, the tech did not let them down.
"We can formulate a plan, put in a nice overlay on a map and send it directly to a company commander or platoon commander directly on a phone device securely so they can just look down, and that would have taken maybe 40-50 minutes previously to come into the headquarters," he said.
It also makes the operation more secure because previously, during the 50 minutes that it took for the message to reach HQ, the enemy could detect the electronic frequencies, exposing the location.
"Now we've kind of removed that electronic footprints to a lesser degree," he added.
The infanteers of 2 Royal Irish are off next to Scotland for Exercise Rhino Ranger.
Rhino Ranger will involve less teaching and more assessment of what was covered during the weekend on the northern coast of Northern Ireland.
First Strike and Rhino Ranger are both gearing up for the main exercise, Rhino Heart, which is scheduled to take place in Germany in June.
The exercise will see reserves come together as a battlegroup for the first time in more than 30 years.
"So it's significant that we demonstrate internationally that we as a reserve element within the British Army can project force en masse and deliver and execute what you would expect of a regular unit," Capt McCready said.
The big exercise will see around 600 reservists deploying from across the UK.
The aim is to bring them from training level Alpha Bravo, which is the lowest level, right up to level Foxtrot, which is the test phase of Rhino Heart.
"So that as a task in itself is absolutely huge," said Lieutenant Colonel Wayne Nickels, who took on the challenge of the exercise a week into becoming its commanding officer.
"I'm really keen that we use this opportunity as a reset in our Rangers' minds on the main thing – changing from being individual replacements for the regular Army to one of of looking en masse and bringing the unit together.
"Because in the future we may be required at unit level to deploy rather than to replace individually with our regular counterparts."
The results of Exercise Rhino Heart will shape future policies and perspectives regarding the role of reserve battalions in the British Army.
Join Our Newsletter
