Exercise INTRO 2 for Gurkha Intake 23

By Trainee Rifleman Sandesh Ale, 1 (Tigris) Platoon

In early April we deployed to Catterick Training Area for Exercise INTRO 2. The day before I had the opportunity to inform my family back home that I was going on exercise and being able to keep them informed of my activities and progress always feels good. Prior to deployment, our platoon commander covered all the safety aspect of exercise as well as briefing us about the activities that were going to take place over the next 2 days. We all felt comfortable, and we were mentally prepared what was coming.

On the first day, we patrolled to the platoon harbour area and occupied the woodblock silently. After establishing the harbour, No.1 Half Company had our navigation tasks. We were organised into pairs and four pairs left at once to locate our checkpoints and gather information. A total of 7 checkpoints were generated and each group was given one hour to complete the course. Those who were good at navigation finished in approximately 50 mins however my numberi and myself took a little more than an hour. During this time, I found out that theoretical and practical knowledge are very different, and you need to practice more and more to get better.

The second day of the exercise started with lessons on hand signals, judging distance, target indication and types of fire control orders. Soldiers must be capable of identifying enemy positions and judging the distance so that they can use their weapon systems effectively. We were taught how to react and fight during a battle situation. It is important to always have one foot on the ground and communication is vital. All those lessons were crucial for us to become more effective soldiers. At night we patrolled using head mounted night vision systems which gave us the opportunity to practice movement during the night, giving hand signals and passing messages. I found night navigation the most challenging as it was difficult to find our way to check points in the dark and we had to rely heavily on our pacing.

The next morning, we were ‘stood-to’ at first light collapsed the harbour and loaded our bergens onto the cargo truck. The exercise concluded with more practice on fire and manoeuvre drills. I particularly enjoyed this because it allowed me to feel what if would be like to be in a situation with enemy contact. The exercise was much more challenging than Exercise INTRO 1 and I learnt a lot and I feel I am getting closer to becoming a true soldier.