Week forty is the first week of Exercise Dynamic Victory. This activity includes a firing package, RSOI and deployment into the final exercise of the commissioning course, all of which is held in Germany. The exercise is meant to somewhat relate to an operational deployment, as we fly with the Royal Air Force and then conduct RSOI (Reception, Staging and Onward Integration). Which is essentially a warm-up for what is to come.
The live fire package is really good, starting on a simple CQB range we gradually move up to a platoon attack. I found myself becoming more comfortable with the weapon systems that we use, really snuggling up to enemy positions before placing my grenade with a GPMG firing tracer over head. It is that odd moment when you realise that the rounds going past are live and if you were not crawling you may have actually been hit, I actually found it somewhat hysterical. Without a doubt the best part of the live firing was the amount of opportunities I had at being the section grenadier. Frequently crawling forwards with a bayonet fixed and grenade primed ready to storm the position.
The RSOI package featured a short patrol exercise with which we came across different events such as, IED, suicide bomber, murder, vehicle check, civil dispute and much more. It was useful to hone our skills once more, after all, for some we hadn’t partaken in conventional operations since Ex Allenby’s Advance or Slim’s Stand in February.
Later in the week the whole intake was centralised at a US Army base and battle prep for the deployment onto the actual exercise phase begun. We were to get a Chinook lift into the exercise area. Our first mission was to establish a foothold on the edge of a civilian populated area, we will save that for next time…
Army Jobs 