16 Air Assault Brigade was put through a no-notice practice mobilisation to check that troops are ready to respond to global crises. Exercise TOTEMIC saw the Brigade’s very high readiness battlegroup, currently built around The Second Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles (2 RGR), alerted for a simulated mission to evacuate British citizens in danger overseas.
At their barracks at Shorncliffe in Kent, the Gurkhas conducted a check of their documents and personal kit – as did gunners, engineers, signallers, logisticians, medics and military police based at Colchester, Woodbridge and Catterick – before getting on the road. 13 Air Assault Support Regiment Royal Logistic Corps loaded up supplies that are kept ready at the brigade’s base at Merville Barracks in Colchester for short notice operations.
All the soldiers, vehicles and stores came together at the Joint Air Mounting Centre at South Cerney in Gloucestershire for final airworthiness checks, with planning for the mission happening simultaneously.
To complete the exercise, C (Tamandu) Company, 2 RGR’s lead company, moved to RAF Brize Norton and took off in an RAF A400M transport aircraft. The troops and vehicles landed at Wattisham Flying Station in Suffolk, representing an overseas airport held by friendly forces that would be the starting point for their mission.
