UK soldiers put to the test and learning hard as Polish phase of Nato exercise draws to close

British soldiers taking part in the Polish phase of Nato's Exercise Steadfast Defender, which has now drawn to a close, fully embraced the tough training missions, their commander has reported.

UK troops, along with personnel from the US and Poland were put through their paces on the Drawsko Pomorskie training area near the city of Szczecin.

Around 2,500 UK personnel and more than 800 vehicles deployed to Poland from the 12th Armoured Brigade Combat Team, which is based in Bulford on Salisbury Plain.

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'Testing ourselves and learning hard'

"From the moment our first Challenger 2 tank rolled onto a train at Folkestone en route to Poland, we have been testing ourselves and learning hard," Brigadier Henry Searby said.

The commander added: "Projecting a force of thousands of people and hundreds of vehicles across Europe into Nato's eastern flank is a substantial challenge.

"The process has run smoothly, we've integrated with our allies and are running highly effective training missions day and night.

"Our soldiers have fully embraced this exercise and I am both proud and impressed with what our soldiers have achieved."

The first week of the exercise was spent in the field conducting lower-level training and learning to work with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and military working dogs, then attacking positions with a combination of tanks and armoured infantry.

Troops then prepared to move armour and infantry across a body of water, known as a 'wide wet gap' to military engineers, using British and American amphibious vehicles and bridges.

Brig Searby commended the "beautiful training area", adding that it provided the troops with "challenging terrain, firing ranges and river crossing sites set to rehearse and test the brigade's capabilities".

Major General Joseph DiNonno, the commanding general of the US 29th Infantry Division, was full of praise for the British unit.

He said: "Our training with the 12th Armoured Brigade Combat Team for Exercise Steadfast Defender 2024 builds on a long history of co-operation and partnership between the United States and the United Kingdom.  

"They've demonstrated themselves as incredibly robust, capable and combat credible force able to swiftly integrate with our Nato partners to overcome any obstacle."