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THE INFORMATION Section
1st Battalion Coldstream Guards
Battalion News
08 Nov 04 - 17 Feb 05
The following information has been submitted by
Number 2 Coy, 3 Coy & SP Coy. The information below has
just been submitted to the latest Guards Magazine and has been
used on ShinyCapstar by kind permission of the Commanding
Officer
No.
2 Coy Regimental Intelligence
25 Nov 04-18 Feb 05
Information Submitted by
Capt JDW BRADFORD
2 i/c No. 2 Coy
• Bde OFT 2
No. 2 Coy formed the Battalion’s composite Company (platoons
from 1 and 3 Coy) to test further the abilities of Bowman. This
coincided with one of the winter’s few cold snaps as the Company
pushed out yet more time on the now rather familiar Salisbury
Plain.
• Hanging the Brick
All Officers and Sgts Mess members attended although the lack of
Officers across the Battalion meant that Platoon Commanders
spent a lot of time suspended in mid air on route to the brick.
• No. 2 Coy Regimental Day
In a genius moment of planning, the Company held its Regimental
Day the day following the Brick. Despite some sore heads the day
was a great success with PT before breakfast followed by drill,
visits to the Corporals and Sergeants Messes, a chat with
Chelsea Pensioners, an Inter Platoon tug of War, a Regimental
History Quiz and finally “No. 2 Coy Laydeez Night” in the Toucan
Club. Highlights included No. 7 Platoon dressed in Thongs for
the Tug of War, the incredibly potent 2 Coy “Old Speckled
Guardsman” home brew beer and Gdsm Thorncroft winning the use of
a Ferrari for a day in the prize draw.
• Christmas Leave
Well deserved after an extremely busy year.
• Pre Telic Training
Straight back into it after leave. Pre Iraq briefings, the T3
package and then cascade training. Many days on the range and in
urban environments preparing ourselves primarily for Exercises
and latterly for Iraq itself. Hectic weeks in Sennybridge and
Caerwent and then Lydd– most of all for 2Lt Gerald Johnstone who
arrived, deployed on exercise the next day had one day off and
then went to Lydd for the Range package. Some “ali” field firing
exercises, especially with the introduction of HMNVMs and
“Lasers”! Finished with an intense night of amushes, attacks and
IEDs in Rype Village
• Soldiers Away
Gdsm Thorncroft and Zawiasa went to the Infantry and Army Cross
Country Skiing Championships. Gdsm Green, Mead and Deakin went
to the Army Downhill Ski Championships. CSgt Jones has departed
the Coy to go to OPTAG.
• New Arrivals
Coy welcomes 2Lt Gerald Johnston from No. 7 Coy as Pl Comd 6
Platoon, CSgt Haimes as the new CQMS and CSgt Rowley from the
Parachute Regiment as the Coy Intelligence Officer for Op Telic.
6 soldiers from No. 7 Coy and 6 from ITC Catterick also join the
company.
JDW BRADFORD
Capt
No.
3 Coy Regimental Intelligence
25 Nov 04-18 Feb 05
Information Submitted by
Captain DRH Clive
2 i/c No. 3 Coy
• Company Christmas Party (wed 08 Dec 04)
The Coy Xmas party was held in the toucan bar on camp. The CQMS
did an excellent job of ordering a girl band which certainly
held the attention of the gdsm. The catering detachment provided
an excellent buffet. The CQMS also organised an excellent raffle
with up to £500 worth of prizes. Girlfriends and wives were
invited and a good time was had by all.
• OFT 2
The company deployed on to oft 2 with a sense of foreboding at
another BOWMAN exercise. All ranks were pleasantly surprised to
see both voice and data working at the same time across all
nets. As our last conventional exercise before Iraq training
some training value was gained, the greatest benefit was the
improvement of the company’s confidence in the radio system
prior to deployment.
• Exercise Devil Dogs
The Company cascade training exercise conducted in Montgomery
Lines (24 – 28 Jan). A good opportunity to get the low level
skills up to scratch as most of the Gdsm had not served in NI or
any COIN theatre before. Amusing to see 4 drummers all taking up
fire positions on the same secondary device.
• OPTAG Ranges/Confirmatory Package
The Company deployed first to Caerwent and then Sennybridge for
the OPTAG Confirmatory package. The feeling from all ranks was
that OPTAG had delivered some excellent training and the Company
came on leaps and bounds over the week. OPTAG telling us that we
were the fastest and by far the best company through the Public
Order phase was a welcome accolade at the end of our package.
The range package was equally as beneficial and a good test of
the new weapon systems in a tactical firing environment. The
Company came away from this training well bonded and feeling
confident about deployment.
DRH Clive
Captain
SP Coy Regimental Intelligence
25 Nov 04-18 Feb 05
• General:
Support Company has now completed their move from Browning
Barracks, to Lille Barracks to join the remainder of the
Battalion. On arrival they were lucky enough to be accommodated
in the new ‘Z’ type accommodation, providing each individual
soldier with his own bedroom and en-suit facilities consisting
of personal shower and toilet facilities, TV aerial point and
the option to have Sky TV installed. Included in the blocks are
separate flat Common rooms, kitchens, drying rooms and storage
facilities. click here for images of the new
accom
Since our arrival, once again the company has been extremely
busy deploying on numerous Battalion level exercises, and the
TESSEX exercise, which were held on Salisbury Plain, Brecon,
Caerwent and Thetford.
The Sniper Platoon ran a very successful Sharpshooters course
with a 100% pass rate, this resulted in a final exercise at
Caerwent where the platoon’s low level drills were revised and
some good patrols were led by LCpl Bellman and Hollwell. A small
element of the Platoon were tasked to become the Enemy for the
Stafford’s TESSEX, they ended up becoming CORPS RECCE! This was
very successful and a small team of men which included LCpl
Lindon and Gdsm Holsgrove caused the Stafford’s a lot of Pain.
Finally a junior team (all the other teams had NCO’S or
Officer’s) comprising of Gdsm French and Shaw, managed by Sgt
Pote, was entered into the British Army Sniper Symposium and
came 7th which was outstanding .The Snipers are now getting
ready for Iraq and although now distributed to the Rifle
Companies are ready and waiting for ‘one shot one kill’
As part of the new orbat for Iraq, Support Company has been
broken up to support the Rifle Companies, as a result the
company has becoming slightly thinner on the ground. The largest
platoon in the Battalion, the Mortars, has been cut from 54 at
full strength earlier this year to 13 for Iraq. As a result the
Mortars will be a very busy Multiple during our deployment to
Iraq, providing indirect fire support in the form of Illum
throughout the dark hours in Basra. They have undergone an
intense period of training alongside the Battalion, both as a
conventional multiple and within their more traditional role of
a Mortar section. The Mortars took part in a two day live firing
package, in order to finish off the firing of our annual
allocation of ammunition and ensure the individual Numbers were
up to speed before the TELIC training began.
During this period the Company has said farewell to a number of
Support Company members namely, Maj Payne who has left us for
civilian life, CSgt Weatherall who was posted on promotion to
the Mortar Division to take up post as the Division Sergeant
Major, Sgt Norman who was posted on promotion to OPTAG, CSM
Hunter who has taken up post as the DSgt. We have welcomed back
Maj RJ de Ferry Foster as Company Commander, and CSgt (CQMS)
Dart who has stepped up on promotion as the CSM.
Having now completed all the necessary OPTAG lead training for
our forthcoming deployment to Iraq on Op Telic 6, the company
will shortly be departing on a period of well earned leave prior
to deploying on operations.
Photograph Captions
Sharpshooter personnel fire their qualifying shoot.
LCpl Bull and LCpl Lindon of the Sniper Platoon put the silenced
.338 through its paces.
LCpl Coltman fires his sharpshooter qualifying shoot.
Sgt Walker Sniper Platoon Sergeant tests the .338
Sgt Pote Sniper Platoon 2IC fires the parker hale.
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1st Battalion Coldstream Guards
