British troops and armoured vehicles have started training in Poland as part of NATO’s largest exercise in a generation.
Challenger 2 tanks of the Royal Tank Regiment and Warrior infantry fighting vehicles of the Mercian Regiment, form one of the three Battle Groups making up 12th Armoured Brigade Combat Team.
One of the main objectives is interoperability with our NATO allies and we will be working closely with American and Polish troops as the exercise continues." LIEUTENANT COLONEL GRANT BROWN, 1ST BATTALION, THE MERCIAN REGIMENT
They have been put through their first paces on Exercise Immediate Response which is taking place on the Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area near Szczecin, as one component of Exercise Steadfast Defender 2024.
12th Armoured Brigade Combat Team has deployed approximately 2,500 troops and 800 vehicles as part of the largest such exercise in four decades, which is designed to strengthen NATO’s unwavering commitment to defend the Alliance’s shared values.
Speaking in Poland as the exercise got underway, Lieutenant Colonel Grant Brown, Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, The Mercian Regiment said:
“One of the main objectives is interoperability with our NATO allies and we will be working closely with American and Polish troops as the exercise continues.
“We really don’t get much opportunity to exercise with other nations on this scale very often, so to do this delivers an awful lot of combat power. The benefits are learning how other nations operate, what their capabilities are.
“The main takeaway for me is that we have proved to our ourselves, our allies and our adversaries that we can put a significant amount of firepower into the field at short notice.”
The main takeaway for me is that we have proved to our ourselves, our allies and our adversaries that we can put a significant amount of firepower into the field at short notice.” LIEUTENANT COLONEL GRANT BROWN, 1ST BATTALION, THE MERCIAN REGIMENT
Exercise Steadfast Defender 2024 sees NATO troops take part in a series of 11 exercises over six months, from the Mediterranean to the Arctic. In Poland, the British input is led by 12th Armoured Brigade Combat Team, with Challenger 2 tanks provided by the Royal Tank Regiment and infantry from the Mercian and Royal Welsh Regiments.
Among the first scenarios to be tested by 1 Mercian Battle Group, was the recovery under enemy fire of a Warrior infantry fighting vehicle. An FV512 mechanised combat repair vehicle of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers went forward under the protection of the rest of the Company, to attach tow bars to recover the vehicle.
“What we are doing here in Poland is one part of a broader exercise across Europe,” said Lieutenant Colonel Brown. “We need to be able to display that we are ready because this is a dangerous world and when things happen, they happen very quickly. What we are doing here will have a lasting and reverberating impact.”