Echo Reporter Catherine Bolado reports from Cyprus where a major Territorial Army (TA) exercise is taking place.

It involves soldiers from Dorchester-based 6 Rifles, C-Company, as well as regular army soldiers.

It comes as the government plans to boost the Territorial Army’s role.

Catherine’s first report sees 6 Rifles put all their training into practice as they take part in a three-day beach assault.

They then move inland tracking the ‘enemy’, observing them and disrupting their supply lines, before planning their final strike.

The soldiers have been out in Cyprus for a week doing live firing in the build up to this exercise.

Video of the beach assault

 

SOLDIERS from 6 Rifles burst from the landing craft, stormed the Cypriot beach and closed in on their ‘enemy’ on day one of their operation.

Boots clattered on the hard ground and orders rang out as troops scrambled to secure the beach as the temperatures soared.

Battle sounds rang out across the valley as the riflemen were attacked by enemy insurgents, which for this exercise are being played by the 2nd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment.

Exercise Lion Star is being run by C Company 6 Rifles, a TA unit based in Dorchester but including riflemen from across the South West.

The aim is to increase integration with the regular army, work at company level and for the riflemen to enjoy themselves.

They have spent the last week training with the regular soldiers from 1 Rifles, doing live firing exercises and acclimatising to the heat before embarking on an intense three-day exercise that will run until Wednesday.

In that time they will be seeking out the enemy and disrupting their supply chains before engaging in a final battle, while carrying 55lbs on their backs in up to 35 degree heat.

Corporal David Perham from Sherborne said his platoon had been moving up behind the main attack. He said: “As we are the final platoon we have been at work supplying ammo and dealing with casualties.”

Rifleman Oliver Campbell-Hill, 23, has been with C Company in Dorchester for a year-and-a-half.

He said: “I eventually plan to go down the officer route with 6 Rifles but want to do the rifleman route first to see what the guys do and get out on the ground.

“I really want to see it from their perspective.

“This is my first annual training exercise abroad and I have really enjoyed it and learnt a lot from it.

“It is a great experience.”

Colour Serjeant Ben Stiley is an army regular and works with C Company in Dorchester training the riflemen. He said the exercise had been good and the riflemen had had the rare experience of being able to use a landing craft.

He said: “What we are trying to do is integrate the TA and regulars more and more.”

He added: “As we move towards the way we will operate in the future this is the way forward.”

The 80 riflemen were supported by 10 regular soldiers who had been helping with the training and a further 40 riflemen were involved in enabling the exercise to take place. The TA is facing huge changes in the coming years, with greater integration with the regular army and its numbers increasing to 30,000 as part of new government plans.

The role of the TA will be enhanced and will become fully integrated into the regular army.

Also, the regular army’s strength will be cut by 20,000 to 82,000. Major Ollie Braithwaite is the training major for 6 Rifles and said that the riflemen had completed the beach landing and engaging the enemy quicker than they would have expected.

He said: “Overall we are pretty happy with the exercise.”