TA HELP MARINES' MANOEUVRING SKILLS

Territorial Army soldiers from A (The Dorset Yeomanry) Armour Replacement Squadron of The Royal Wessex Yeomanry have been assisting the Royal Marines to learn how to safely load armoured vehicles on and off landing craft.

The Bovington based Squadron has the unique role of being an Armour Replacement Squadron, and its soldiers are able to drive and crew every type of armoured tracked vehicle in service with the British Army.

As such they are used for transporting tanks and armoured personnel vehicles for military units across the country as well as driving them on to aircraft and ships.

When the unit found themselves at Hamworthy Camp in Poole, Dorset in early December 2008, at the same time as a group of Royal Marines were undertaking their Landing Craft Specialist Course, the reservists were able to help out.

This was the first time they had taken part in training with the Marines and they provided six armoured vehicles including a WARRIOR, a CHALLENGER 2, a STORMER with its anti-aircraft missile launcher, and some smaller reconnaissance tanks for the Marines to practice their guiding skills.

The 16-week Royal Marines Landing Craft Specialist Course includes learning the duties of a beachmaster and guiding the vehicles on and off landing craft using universally-acknowledged NATO hand signals.

Normally they have to do this with just Landrovers and four-tonne trucks, but thanks to The Royal Wessex Yeomanry they were able to get experience manoeuvring tracked armoured vehicles weighing up to and over 60 tonnes.

As the Marines, following the signals, guided the heavy and very expensive vehicles being driven by the TA soldiers off the beach, through the sea shallows and up a ramp on to the landing craft, they had one of the most experienced soldiers from The Dorset Yeomanry standing beside them who was impressed with what he saw.

Staff Sergeant Neil 'Boot' Young, who was in The Royal Tank Regiment for 22 years and has been in the TA for eight, said:

"You could hardly get a fag paper between a couple of the parked vehicles on board. You can't make mistakes - if you hit the throttle too hard you'll go through the back of the boat. The Marines are also guiding very well, they all listen which is the most important thing."

One of the drivers of the SCIMITAR Reconnaissance vehicles was Trooper Debbie Webster, a solicitor from Bovington and a mother of two, who has been in the TA for two years. She has licences to drive SCIMITARs and SPARTANs and has driven the much larger CHALLENGERs and WARRIORs. She said:

"I have never driven on to a landing craft before, but we drive these vehicles all the time so I was not worried. You have to trust whoever is guiding you and follow their signals. I couldn't let any water go up over the front of the vehicle in to the engine so I had to come down very carefully.

I sit behind a desk all day - there is certainly more variety in my life now. I absolutely love it. It's the best feeling in the world and driving these vehicles is not something you could ever do in civilian life - a lot different than driving around in my little Renault Clio!".

Both The Royal Wessex Yeomanry and the Royal Marines are hoping that this will be the first of many such collaborations. The Squadron's Officer Commanding, Major Martin Dinan, said:

"This is our core role, and loading on and off in environments that are unfamiliar to us builds up a lot of confidence in the drivers particularly. It has been very good working with the Royal Marines and I am hoping it is something we will be able to do again."