The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards have recently practised the urban combat skills needed as part of NATO’s Allied Reaction Force (ARF).
As members of the ARF, we must be ready to engage in the full range of operations from peacekeeping to conventional high-tempo warfare.
The land component of the ARF is made up of eight brigades including the 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team, part of which is the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.
The two-week urban combat training at Royal Marine Condor, Arbroath came ahead of the regiment’s deployment on Exercise Steadfast Dart, a major NATO exercise in Romania and Bulgaria which will practise the deployment of the new ARF.
Leading from the front, the UK is providing the largest contribution of forces with over 2,600 personnel and 730 vehicles deploying to NATO’s eastern flank.
The skills the soldiers have enhanced can be used on small-scale targets identified in our role as formation recce.
B Squadron Troop Leader, Lieutenant Robert Boylin said:
“As members of the ARF, we must be ready to engage in the full range of operations from peacekeeping to conventional high-tempo warfare.
“The aim of this exercise was to develop and test our soldiers on the complexities of close-quarter fighting, room clearances and searches.
“The skills the soldiers have enhanced can be used on small-scale targets identified in our role as formation recce.”
The training started with developing the competences and drills required to fight in an urban environment and tested their ability to enter and move decisively through rooms of buildings. In an enclosed environment, soldiers must be able to consider multiple scenarios that can change at any given time, such as what might be the other side of the door or who could be shooting from a top floor window.
The urban environment is the most complex terrain in which a soldier can be deployed. Contact at close range, challenging conditions and split-second decisions require a calm approach.
Urban Operations instructor, Corporal Neil McCubbin said:
“The urban environment is the most complex terrain in which a soldier can be deployed. Contact at close range, challenging conditions and split-second decisions require a calm approach. The situation needs them to think quickly and act decisively.”
The training progressed from basic drills to moving into a building using ‘simunition’ – mock rounds used for training. It ended with an assault on a building populated by an “enemy” force.
A drone team conducted an aerial reconnaissance before the mock raid to provide the soldiers with situational awareness.
On the ground, snipers also collected information on their adversaries. Observation posts were established to conduct reconnaissance on access points around the location and gain a wider understanding of their adversaries including their routines and morale, before a synchronised shoot signalled the start of the attack.
When you see the final exercise going well, it is brilliant. It’s great to see how they have learnt and developed their skills. They now have the knowledge and all that is left is to practise, practise, practise.
Arriving on Jackals and by foot, the soldiers were confronted by boarded windows, booby traps and overgrown terrain. A battle quickly unfolded as they entered the building and took on the armed enemy forces. Each side fought to dominate and hold the building, but the masters of reconnaissance were no match for the enemy.
Corporal McCubbin added: “When you see the final exercise going well, it is brilliant. It’s great to see how they have learnt and developed their skills. They now have the knowledge and all that is left is to practise, practise, practise.”