September’s Regimental 5 weekend proved to be a busy one. A wide array of activities showed the opportunities available to the men & women of The Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia).
We pride ourselves on being soldiers first and our Cambrian Patrol team spent the weekend refreshing these skills. The Cambrian Patrol is an annual international military patrolling competition. Teams from around the world cover over 50-miles (80 km) in less than 48 hrs while carrying an average of over 30kg. They also carry out a number of military exercises on the way. To help prepare them for this arduous task they practiced some of the skills required. Navigation and fieldcraft were the main thrust along with ambush drills. While our team is being run by our 225 Field Squadron sub-unit (Birmingham, Cannock & Stoke-on-Trent) it contains soldiers from across the Regiment who are up for the challenge.
Combat Engineering skills were put to use in the Field Fortifications training. A wide subject, it involves the many ways of helping defend and protect. This weekend we concentrated on battle trenches. First digging them and then reinforcing them. Finally, fencing was added to make approach more difficult.
Delivery of heavy equipment is key to many of our tasks so being able to load heavy items safely is important. When using cranes to load bridging or construction equipment the use of slingers is vital. Our driver team delivered a slinger’s course to qualify more soldiers to carry out this role.
Our Plant Operators were as busy as ever on a live task. Live tasks are not ‘made-up’ for training but deliver real benefit to something. They still provide an opportunity to practice skills or learn new ones. This task is ongoing work to improve Caerwent Training Area- a site used by visiting Regular and Reserve units carrying out all manner of training.
In the field all these tasks are controlled by a communications plan. In the field this role is carried out by our C3S (Command, Control & Communications) Operators. This weekend they learnt to fix their equipment-from field telephones to some of the radio accessories. As always the other vital components of The Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia)-the chefs and the HR department-ensured that we were fed, administered and paid!
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Want to find out more about becoming a Reserve Royal Engineer? Please call 01600 711455 or 07880 053196, email rmonrem.recruiting@hotmail.co.uk or use the contact form on this website.
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