Army
British And Spanish Soldiers Take To The Woods
The British Army's Infantry Battle School has been hosting soldiers from their Spanish counterparts, sharing tactics and drills for fighting in woods and forests.
Members of the 7th Light Infantry Brigade joined the Platoon Sergeants’ Battle Course at Sennybridge in Wales for training.
They’re setting up a new course in North-West Spain and came to learn how it's taught in the British Army.
Fighting In Woods and Forests (FIWAF) is just one of the terrains students face at the battle school.
Many of the soldiers on the seven-week course have served in Afghanistan and come to the course with all kinds of operational experience, but leading a section through these woods presents a range of leadership challenges.
Capt Tim Glover says:
“It’s quite a complex environment. In the woodblock, it gets very noisy as the noise bounces around everywhere, you can’t really see much. Your situational awareness is significantly reduced. It’s difficult to see and talk to the people around you”.
The Spanish soldiers will be delivering the first course for their Brigade next month.
Capt Alvaro Palacios says “We are learning British procedures and tactics and we realise they have very good procedures for us”.
Their visit is running all week and in return, the Infantry Battle School plans to send one of its instructors over to Spain later this year.
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