An Cosantóir

www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE | 15 in this and in their career as infantry soldiers appears to mean everything to them and was emphasised to me by all ranks and at every available opportunity. It was clearly a source of motiva- tion for the soldiers of A Coy, and may have been the critical factor in achieving the attitude outlined above. Almost every soldier I met exhibited very strong professional pride in the infantry and a desire to master all infantry TTPs. (The infantry ethos's soldiering principles of 'strive for professional excel- lence' and 'encourage pride' directly encourage such attributes amongst our own troops.) One thing that was very apparent in A Coy was strong leadership, particularly at corporal and sergeant rank. Having discussed NCO career courses at length with many members of the company, I am convinced that their selection process for such courses and their physically challenging nature are decisive factors in the quality of the British infantry NCO. Potential NCOs are identified at company and battalion level first, and assessed via a battery of examinations before com- pleting a Junior NCO Cadre, which results in promotion to lance corporal (section 2iC). In order to progress to corporal, a further selection process at battalion and regiment level occurs before those selected undergo the Section Commanders Battle Course (SCBC) at the Infantry Battle School in Brecon, Wales. This 16- week course comprises a tactical-training phase and a skill-at- arms phase; the latter focussing on range management and weapons instructor qualifications. Upon completion of the SCBC a lance corporal is eligible for promotion to occupy a section commander appointment as substantive corporal. The Platoon Sergeants Battle Course (PSBC) is also conducted in Brecon. This ten-week course qualifies infantry corporals to progress to sergeant rank and is split between six weeks of tac- tics and four weeks of LFTT. Upon completion, the students are fully qualified LFTT instructors, and can plan and conduct LFTT ranges as range conducting officer. The physicality of both the SCBC and PSBC was emphasised to me by every NCO I spoke to, and students who do not meet the minimum physical standards are returned to unit. This results in a huge emphasis on physical training at all ranks within the British infantry. The British infantry company currently has one 'sharpshooter' per section, meaning A Coy had nine. I observed a demonstra- tion of their capability in which the sharpshooters had come together to form a section and work at company level. Although doctrinally the sharpshooters only engage targets out to 600m, this demonstration saw them successfully engage targets be- yond this, out to 1,000m. The weapon system employed in this role is the L129A1 7.62mm semi-auto- matic rifle produced by Lewis Machine and Tool Company in the United States, and is compara- ble in terms of perfor- mance and appearance to the HK 417. Adding a desig- nated marksman to the infantry section gives considerable flexibility and versatility, not just in the conventional bat- tlespace but on peace- support operations too. The weapon provides very precise, long-range shooting, which in a peace-support or crisis-management environment might be preferred to the alternative option of the GPMG's beaten zone. In terms of conventional operations, the sharpshooter dem- onstration emphasised their capability in destroying enemy sentries, leadership, and support weapons crews prior to an infantry deliberate attack, thus reducing the risk to friendly as- saulting forces. Exercise Olive Grove was comprehensive yet ruthlessly simple. The initial emphasis on low-level infantry TTPs meant that as the exercise progressed and became more complicated, basic skills and drills were not compromised or neglected. Similarly, the incremental approach to LFTT meant that newly passed out soldiers' confidence was enhanced when they conducted night attacks with no white light, using only infrared illumination. Overall, the lasting impression left on me by A Coy, 2 Royal Infantry Rifles, was one of consummate professionalism and good humour. Attending exercises like this provides an interest- ing opportunity for the Defence Forces to compare and contrast our own infantry training, and allows us to confirm or adjust our approach, benefiting from the lessons hard learned by the Brit- ish Army in recent conflicts. Comdt Gavin Egerton with OC A Coy, 2 Rifles, Major Aaron West.

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