Around 1,000 personnel and 270 vehicles from the British and Canadian armed forces have completed a six-week-long training package, called Exercise Wessex Storm.
The exercise was conducted in the Salisbury Plain Training Area in Wiltshire, south-west England.
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Wessex Storm is a routine validation exercise, which continues throughout a year to prepare the participating units for undertaking future deployments under a larger battlegroup.
The latest iteration of this exercise saw the participation of the British Army’s two battalions, including the Balaklava Company, the 5th Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Scotland (BKA Coy, 5 SCOTS) and 4th Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Scotland (4 SCOTS).
Meanwhile, the Canadian Army deployed an element of its reservist platoon led by The Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa.
The exercise was also supported by various land platforms from the two nations, such as Jackal tactical vehicles, quad bikes, Foxhound protected patrol platforms and Landrover vehicles.
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By GlobalDataAccording to a Forces.net report, this is the first time in the last three decades that Canadian Army soldiers have been deployed in the UK.
Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa corporal Alexander Brundige told Forces.net: “This is an excellent experience, understanding how different militaries operate and sharing that… it’s enriching for both parts.”
During the training event, the troops of the two nations were required to hunt an enemy across the training area in complex scenarios and terrain to secure their bridges.
The latest Wessex Storm rotation allowed the assessment and validation of the capabilities of both Scottish battalions to join Nato’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF).
This is also the first time 4 SCOTS has participated in the battlegroup integration stage along with all its attachments, including intelligence officers, artillery, infantry and Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.
5 SCOTS major Robert Weir said: “5 SCOTS have been doing a bridgehead crossing which involves infiltrating the company across the bridge under the cover of mortars and artillery, then seizing the far riverbank where the enemy would be. This then allows the battlegroup to move across the obstacle, in this case, an enemy-held bridge.”
