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Friday 3rd July 2009
(Training in Thietnam,
Barbarians V's Coldstreamers, Cross Country Superstars &
Coldstream Guards Band £1 Record Deal)
THE AFGHAN VILLAGE
(50+ images):
Coldstreamers recently visited a replica Afghanistan
Village and most realistic training facility the British
Army has ever put together, in preparation for their
forthcoming Herrick tour just a few months away.
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The village has been developed in STANTA (Stanford
Training Area) and is brand new, giving soldiers and
Coldstreamers the opportunity to face rigorous and
extensive pre-deployment training.
The cost for the new training facility is said to have
cost £14m, with an aim to provide an environment to
allow troops to develop the skills required for
operational action in a realistic (including the smells)
Afghan Village setting.
The facility allows soldiers to practice patrol skills
in a network of high walls and very claustrophobic
alleyways. Then the streets become a hustle and bustle
of Afghan life with the Afghan Bazzar.
The Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion
Coldstream Guards, Lieutenant Colonel Toby Gray,
said:
"The facilities at Sindh
Kalay are superb. Not only is the physical
infrastructure strikingly realistic, but the attention
to detail is second-to-none. The bazaar, which is
peopled by Dari-speaking, retired Gurkhas is as close as
we can get to the real thing outside Afghanistan.
"OPTAG are providing a carefully tailored package that
not only allows us to experience bombs and fire-fight
but also to see some of the nuances of daily life. This
will really orientate the battle group to what we may
face in the future."
MEDIA LINKS:
 For info on the Battalions Visit to the Training Area
·
Helman Blog
·
Press Info
·
Daily Mirror
MORE IMAGES:
Images taken of when the Battalion recently visited this
excellent training facility are below
Gallery 1 (50 images) -
Gallery 2 (2 images)
Note: Military DII Users may not be able
to view these images
PHOTO CREDIT:
Many Thanks to Major CMJ Foinette (Coy Comd HQ Coy) for
the outstanding photography skills.
THE COLDSTREAM GUARDS RUGBY CLUB:
The Coldstream Guards Rugby Club recently paid a visit
to Yeovil for a ‘friendly’ match with the Ivel
Barbarians.
The match was organised by Steve Berryman (pictured
right), who
served 22 years in the Coldstream Guards and is now a
Physical Education Lecturer at Yeovil College and Senior
Coach for the Club.
Steve said: “I loved my time in
the Army and I do miss it, especially going out on
operations. But I did miss my wife and children a lot
and am glad to be home. The game was hard fought by both
teams and we wanted to raise the awareness of the armed
forces and the job they are having to do at the moment.
The game was played in a tremendous spirit and a real
credit to produce this standard of rugby out of season”.
"All the players, committee members, families and
supporters of Ivel Barbarians would like to wish all the
members of the Coldstream Guards a safe and successful
tour and look forward to playing a return fixture on
their safe return."
Both teams observed a minutes silence before the game in
tribute to the service men and women who had lost their
lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Ivel Barbarians won the game 17-10.
THANKS:
Press cuttings from the Somerset media are shown above,
many thanks to CSgt ‘Mac’ McHugh for collecting the
cuttings.
EXTERNAL LINKS:
·
Ivel Rugby
THE BRIGADE COMMANDERS SPORTS DAY
(100+ images):
The Battalion recently attended the Brigade Commanders
Sports Day.
All members of the Battalion were split into teams for
the event, where individuals competed in many events,
including the Tug of War challenge, Volleyball, Cross
Country and a Superstars Challenge, where 10
Regiments/Units took part.
The Battalion did exceptionally well, WINNING the Tug
of war and giving the Royal Artillery Tug of War
World Champions a run for their money (must have been
Mitch who was in fine form as the Coldstream Coach
again!).
Over 960 soldiers took part in the Brigade Cross Country
(all Coldstreamers who were not in another team event
too part), and there were TWO COLDSTREAMERS in the
top 10 who finished the Cross Country (the Bn
finished 9th overall in this event).
Coldstreamers also did well in the Team Superstars
challenge where members had to complete over 10
audacious tasks such as rowing, clap press-ups, sandbag
carrying, bench presses etc. Unfortunately, the
Coldstream Team were disqualified from this event, the
reasons for this are still a mystery!
MORE IMAGES:
Images from the day are below.
Gallery 1 (50 images) -
Gallery 2 (50 images) -
Gallery 3 (17 images)
Note: Military DII Users may not be able
to view these images
PHOTO CREDIT:
Many thanks to LCpl ‘Mitch’ Mitchell for taking images
of the event.
COLDSTREAM GUARDS BAND
RECORD DEAL:
We couldn’t update the site without mentioning a
‘congratulations’ and ‘well done’ to the Coldstream
Guards Band who could now be sitting next to the likes
of Lady Gaga, Eminem and Amy Winehouse after signing a
£1m recording contract with Universal Music (the largest
record company in the world).
 The
Coldstream Guards Band (who should not be confused by
the 1st Bn Corps of Drums) are based at Wellington
Barracks, London, along with all of the other Guards
Bands. They are best known for recording and performing
the theme tune to Dad's Army and will release an album
this autumn called Heroes, which will include music from
Where Eagles Dare and The Dam Busters.
The Band of the Coldstream Guards is one of the oldest
and best known bands in the British Army, having been
officially formed on 16 May 1785 under the command of
Major C F Eley, reflecting the fact that the Coldstream
Guards regiment is the oldest of the guards regiments.
Although the band is not technically the oldest in the
Army, it has the longest standing tradition of music, as
from its earliest days the officers of the Coldstream
Guards hired eight musicians to provide music for the
regiment during the changing of the guard. This is an
event which still occurs today, every day at eleven
thirty in the summer outside Buckingham Palace. The Band
of the Coldstream Guards is often used to provide the
music in present day at many occasions and in many
countries, the band has also recently returned from
touring the USA.
It's a major step for the country's oldest serving
military band, who have toured the world in a musical
capacity as well as serving in Iraq, Bosnia and
Afghanistan.
"I think the division prides itself in Excellency in
what we do" said Lieutenant Colonel Jeremy
Bagshaw (Brigade Major and fellow Coldstreamer)
"None more so than the musicians. It's fantastic to see
that recognised by the contract, we're delighted”.
“There’s something about a sound of a Regimental Band
that makes you puff out your chest and makes you feel
like a hero,"
Hats off fellas and well done, any signed CD’s will be
greatly received and will be immediately auctioned off
for charity.
MEDIA LINKS:
·
MOD Defence Site
·
Sky News
·
BBC News
·
Times Online
SKY NEWS VIDEO LINK:
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/video/Coldstream-Guards-Signed-1million-Recording-Contract-With-Universal-Music/Video/200906415315310?lpos=video_Article_Related_Content_Region_4&lid=VIDEO_15315310_Coldstream_Guards_Signed_%3F1million_Recording_Contract_With_Universal_Music
INTERNAL (RELATED) LINK:
· Foot Guards, Do you know the difference
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