Bermudian soldiers put through their paces by Royal Lancers during key overseas exercise
More than 100 soldiers from the Royal Bermuda Regiment have spent the past fortnight in the UK, training under the watchful eyes of The Royal Lancers – one of the British Army's armoured cavalry units.
The deployment formed part of the regiment's annual overseas exercise, which this year focused on riot training and crowd control.
The unit, which was formed in 1965, sits outside the formal organisation of the British Army, yet is listed on its official Order of Battle.
From the North Atlantic to North Yorkshire
BFBS Forces News joined the Bermudian troops for the final day of their training in the UK at Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire.
There, personnel were learning how to handle and fire non-lethal baton guns, typically used by police in riot scenarios.
Back in Bermuda, assisting policing operations is one of the tasks the regiment can be requested to do. Alongside this, and of course anything defence-related, the unit also helps with safety in its home waters and hurricane relief.
The unit is officially classed as a reservist force, with almost all its personnel serving as paid volunteer reserves.
Better access to training facilities
Lance Corporal Fiona McWhirter, originally from Scotland, is a journalist back on the island. She said training in the UK allowed the Royal Bermuda Regiment to use facilities it otherwise would not have access to.
"It's really important to us because we're limited in Bermuda in terms of where we can train and the extent of the facilities we can use," she explained.
Lieutenant Daniel Wideman, originally from Canada, said the visiting troops were using the exercise to get a better understanding of their roles in a wider army context.
"It's our time during these two weeks to really feel military life and to have a little bit more military discipline," he said.
"As a reserve unit, sometimes the time you get to actually do barrack life is quite limited, people are able to fill in their roles more properly. The corporals do their work, the sergeants do their work. So it becomes more obvious on a two-week deployment what their job is."
Mutual benefit
On the ranges in the hills overlooking Catterick, we met more Bermudian troops, this time learning more about marksmanship principles while firing SA80 rifles.
While the MOD does not fund the Royal Bermuda Regiment, it does help with equipment, such as uniforms and small arms weaponry, and like the British Army, its people are trained to use the SA80.
Talking to BFBS Forces News on the firing point, Captain Sam Kingsley Fried, a troop leader in The Royal Lancers, explained that the training opportunity was of mutual benefit to his personnel.
"It's going really well," he said. "It's been a great opportunity for the guys to do something a bit out of their swim lane.
"The core role of The Royal Lancers is as an armoured reconnaissance regiment in a deep recce strike brigade, whereas today we're out here on the ground training people from the Royal Bermuda Regiment.
"So it's going really well and the guys are enjoying it."
The unit's exercise in the UK comes just a month on from a visit to Bermuda by the King.
While deployed here, the Bermudian troops were also visited by the Duchess of Gloucester, who is the regiment's Colonel-in-Chief.
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