The following article is taken from the latest issue of the Globe & Laurel magazine.
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By Mne Hampson, C Coy
After a rewarding training package led by Training Wing, C Coy deployed to Brunei for Ex Pacific Dagger in early April. Training began in earnest with two weeks of progressive acclimatisation to ensure we were able to safely build up the intensity of our activity. On a day-to-day basis, this included early morning steady-state phys, to allow all participating members of the exercise to adjust to the rigours of a tropical environment. It started with clean fatigue marches every morning before sunrise and increased each day in distance and weight carried. This continued until everyone was able to maintain the appropriate speed, all to mitigate the risk of heat casualties.
After each morning’s physical exercise, we then received lectures on jungle operations. These started with safety and environmental briefs. Two that stood out were the lectures given to us by the JWIs on all the different flora and fauna that could make operating in this environment difficult. We then spent a day with an animal specialist who showed us all the different spiders, scorpions and snakes that could kill us and how to identify them. During the first two weeks, we also had lectures on the different types of Close Country Tropical Environment (CCTE) as well as tactics, hand signals and their importance in this environment.
Once these initial lessons were taught, we spent time practising within the confines of camp via discussions and Rehearsal of Concept (ROC) drills. We made kit adjustments and conducted equipment care to prepare for this arduous environment; we were now ready to put all the theory into practice in the jungle.
Due to the jungle environment, there were several more considerations for conducting this seemingly routine part of Commando duties. We had to get so much closer to the enemy to be able to see them, within 20 metres, and it was hard to approach the target quietly and not move trees causing a telegraphing effect in the canopy.
The first few days staying under the canopy included a survival day, during which everyone consumed a variety of fruits and animals found locally. We were taught to dispatch and prepare jungle wildlife, then cooked and ate it. We also received lessons on trap and fire making as well as collecting and purifying water. After this, we had a day of practical radio lessons, crucial to achieve communications wherever our small teams found themselves whilst disaggregated from HQ on patrols or direct actions. On top of this, we conducted a medical stance to organically upskill each member of the patrol in the basics of medical care within this environment, with a particular focus on preventing and treating heat casualties, infections, and insect bites. On the final day of this exercise, we conducted blank fire break contact lanes as individuals, then pairs and finally in fireteams as a look forward to Live Fire Tactical Training (LFTT). We had a few days on camp to replenish and repack our kit for redeploying to the CCTE the following week. During this time, we also learnt about the loop line and carabiner system used for river crossing for the following exercise.
The next exercise was on a new, wilder area, further away from civilisation; this consisted of being split into our own teams and operating out of disaggregated Lie Up Points (LUPs). We
practised patrolling, carrying everything we would need to sustain ourselves and operate tactically within this environment, as 40 Cdo have done since the 1960s. There was a rigorous focus on discipline and tactical movement to iron out any bad habits. During this time, we conducted a recce as well as a blank fire camp attack, putting our skills to the test in this most challenging of environments.
We then went onto LFTT, which started with a single man break contact lane and progressed up to a multiple team camp attack. Further training included After Action Reviews and helicopter abseil training to facilitate inserting via these means during the future exercises and future operations in this environment. The final exercise tested the whole Company on everything learned during this package and culminated in a company-sized attack on an enemy encampment, which was the perfect way to round off the trip.After a rewarding training package led by Training Wing, C Coy deployed to Brunei for Ex Pacific Dagger in early April. Training began in earnest with two weeks of progressive acclimatisation to ensure we were able to safely build up the intensity of our activity. On a day-to-day basis, this included early morning steady-state phys, to allow all participating members of the exercise to adjust to the rigours of a tropical environment. It started with clean fatigue marches every morning before sunrise and increased each day in distance and weight carried. This continued until everyone was able to maintain the appropriate speed, all to mitigate the risk of heat casualties.
After each morning’s physical exercise, we then received lectures on jungle operations. These started with safety and environmental briefs. Two that stood out were the lectures given to us by the JWIs on all the different flora and fauna that could make operating in this environment difficult. We then spent a day with an animal specialist who showed us all the different spiders, scorpions and snakes that could kill us and how to identify them. During the first two weeks, we also had lectures on the different types of Close Country Tropical Environment (CCTE) as well as tactics, hand signals and their importance in this environment.
Once these initial lessons were taught, we spent time practising within the confines of camp via discussions and Rehearsal of Concept (ROC) drills. We made kit adjustments and conducted equipment care to prepare for this arduous environment; we were now ready to put all the theory into practice in the jungle.
Due to the jungle environment, there were several more considerations for conducting this seemingly routine part of Commando duties. We had to get so much closer to the enemy to be able to see them, within 20 metres, and it was hard to approach the target quietly and not move trees causing a telegraphing effect in the canopy.
The first few days staying under the canopy included a survival day, during which everyone consumed a variety of fruits and animals found locally. We were taught to dispatch and prepare jungle wildlife, then cooked and ate it. We also received lessons on trap and fire making as well as collecting and purifying water. After this, we had a day of practical radio lessons, crucial to achieve communications wherever our small teams found themselves whilst disaggregated from HQ on patrols or direct actions. On top of this, we conducted a medical stance to organically upskill each member of the patrol in the basics of medical care within this environment, with a particular focus on preventing and treating heat casualties, infections, and insect bites. On the final day of this exercise, we conducted blank fire break contact lanes as individuals, then pairs and finally in fireteams as a look forward to Live Fire Tactical Training (LFTT). We had a few days on camp to replenish and repack our kit for redeploying to the CCTE the following week. During this time, we also learnt about the loop line and carabiner system used for river crossing for the following exercise.
The next exercise was on a new, wilder area, further away from civilisation; this consisted of being split into our own teams and operating out of disaggregated Lie Up Points (LUPs). We practised patrolling, carrying everything we would need to sustain ourselves and operate tactically within this environment, as 40 Cdo have done since the 1960s. There was a rigorous focus on discipline and tactical movement to iron out any bad habits. During this time, we conducted a recce as well as a blank fire camp attack, putting our skills to the test in this most challenging of environments.
We then went onto LFTT, which started with a single man break contact lane and progressed up to a multiple team camp attack. Further training included After Action Reviews and helicopter abseil training to facilitate inserting via these means during the future exercises and future operations in this environment. The final exercise tested the whole Company on everything learned during this package and culminated in a company-sized attack on an enemy encampment, which was the perfect way to round off the trip.
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