Fighting in the Trees

The TALLINN DAWN series of exercises is designed to get units ‘Mission Ready’. The mission at hand is Op CABRIT in Estonia. The exercise sees Battlegroups conduct a live fire package culminating in a Combined Arms Live Fire Exercise (CALFEX), followed by a TES Field Training Exercise (FTX) against a free-thinking enemy. The exercise is enabled by the former BATUS Ops Group, now part of the Combat Ready Training Centre (CRTC), based out of Westdown Camp, Wilts. 1 MERCIAN were the Guinea Pig Battlegroup in January/February 21, with the Armoured Squadron provided by BADGER. The second rotation in May/June 21 saw the RTR BG take centre stage, with DREADNAUGHT providing the Armoured ‘punch’. The exercise takes place at the Sennelager Training Area in Germany. Whilst Sennelager may be the ‘world’s worst lager’, the training area offers many unique opportunities and challenges and the area offers ample fighting in woods and forests (FIWAF) and urban training opportunities. This is a challenge for manoeuvre minded commanders, used to the endless rolling prairie of BATUS. The most obvious challenge

OUT OF THE PRAIRIE AND INTO THE WOODS – DELIVERING TALLINN DAWN

Captain Tom Chapman

The global pandemic has spurred a major change in the delivery of Battlegroup training. Armoured and Armoured Infantry Battlegroups will no longer deploy to BATUS, Canada to conduct major exercises. Instead they will take place in Germany (Ex TALLINN DAWN), the UK (Ex IRON STORM).

Exercising Troops on the Line of Departure

for range planners has been the reduction in physical space when compared with BATUS. However, the close terrain is more akin to that which Battlegroups can expect in Estonia. As ever, the challenge of training in a ‘COVID environment’ has not been without its difficulties but by the RTR BG rotation these challenges were having little impact on training.

Units scheduled to deploy to Estonia can expect a busy period in the run-up to Ex TALLINN DAWN. Preparation includes Weapon Handling Tests, Annual Crew Tests, mounted live fire up to Annual Troop Assessment, CATT (simulators) and CSTTX (command and staff training). By the time Battlegroups leave Germany they will be validated up to level FOXTROT and ready to tackle Op CABRIT (after some well-deserved leave!). However, validation in Germany is only the beginning of the Combat Ready pathway. Op CABRIT offers a superb opportunity to train with allies, whilst being less encumbered by the rigours of Regimental Duties. By the time Battlegroups leave Estonia they will be welltrained and cohesive, ready for the next step. The next step is Combat Ready Training. This is the most challenging combined arms training Armoured Battlegroups undertake. Success here deems a Battlegroup ‘Combat Ready’, after which they are held at high readiness. This series of exercises is called IRON STORM; a nod to the PRAIRIE STORM series of exercises in BATUS. Ex IRON STORM is split between two locations, with the live fire and the combined arms life firing element taking place on Castlemartin Ranges, and the final tactical exercise taking place on Salisbury Plain (no introductions needed to either of those locations!). However, do not expect similar experiences to previous exercises you may have conducted at these locations. The live fire will be more ambitious than anything previously attempted in Castlemartin. The exercise will dominate use of the Plain and include a ‘beefed up’ Task Force Hannibal who will play the free-thinking enemy or OPFOR. All in all, the combat ready pathway - starting with preparation for Ex TALLINN DAWN - is a challenging and progressive training pipeline that will see Battlegroups ready for whatever may be thrown at them.