THE Dorset countryside rang to the sound of tank fire as Territorial Army soldiers from the Royal Wessex Yeomanry undertook their first live firing exercise in four years.

TA soldiers from the Royal Wessex Yeomanry (RWY), the South West’s TA cavalry regiment, which includes the Royal Dorset Yeomanry, spent the weekend on the firing ranges at Lulworth putting a month’s worth of practice to the test.

They manned Challenger 2 battle tanks – the main tank of the British Army which weighs in at just under 63 tonnes and can fire on the move while travelling 40mph.

Part of the TA unit’s role is to support the regular army and if they are needed TA soldiers will go out to replace regulars.

TA soldiers are also sent on training deployments around the world to the theatre of war – the soldiers have served in both Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years.

Soldiers can choose to undertake specialisms like the regulars and there is a TA section for disciplines including the SAS and SBS.

Six crews fired both the tanks’ main gun and machine gun from static positions before moving on to firing at targets while moving.

The weekend represented the culmination of months of training on simulators at Lulworth Ranges.

While the tank looks large, the inside is a tiny area in which a crew can survive for 72 hours on ‘lock-down,’ which means they have to eat, sleep and wash in the tiny cabin, making the Challenger 2 not for the claustrophobic.

Major Stuart Keegan said: “It’s a high-pressure environment, it’s very cramped and very small. There’s a lot happenning and the guys are really busy – there’s a lot to do.”

He said the crews had to contend with the high winds during the firing and make adjustments accordingly.

Major Keegan added: “It was a huge weekend for the TA, they trained for a very long time to do this. The last time we fired was 2008.”

The government has said it would like to see an increased role for the TA in the modern army, which could mean more TA personnel taking up front-line positions in the next few years.

Trooper Marcus Seaton, from Swanage, was in the regular army for just under 10 years before leaving. He tried to rejoin but was told they were not recruiting so he joined the RWY. In his day job he is a mechanic on the Challenger 2.

He said the best bit about the TA was the camaraderie.

He said: “You get on with everybody, there are so many people here with different backgrounds, you learn things off each other. It’s definitely about the comradeship.”

Captain Tony Rickard, from Wool, served for 22 years before joining the TA. He said it was an ‘amazing’ feeling to be riding in a Challenger 2.

He said: “It’s awesome, you can’t describe it. For a tank soldier it’s just a buzz, it’s absolutely awesome.

“Sixty-three tonnes of metal at 40mph it’s just awesome.”