The end of the beginning

THE mobilisation period is over. On Thursday morning we crossed our final hurdle before beginning our pre-deployment training, the Combat Fitness Test. Two hours, eight miles and 25 kilos of kit, including our body armour, helmets and weapons. It sounds gruelling, but it’s the basic standard every infantryman must pass to prove that they can go on to more arduous training and are fit to go on operations.
I always thought that the Midlands were a series of gently rolling slopes and pleasant valleys, but the Physical Training Instructors have sought out the steepest slopes they can find, and guess what? Up we went! It was good fun though, even if that sounds slightly masochistic!
With all our training tests out of the way and “all the boxes ticked”, we have now moved to Salisbury Plain for the start of training proper. Over the next week, we’ve got a pretty exciting live firing package lined up on the ranges around the Plain, which is the largest military training area in the country. We’re going to fire all sorts of weapons, from machine guns to grenade launchers, and first thing tomorrow a very large truck with lots and lots of ammunition on board will arrive for us to use. Admittedly, we’re going to have to unload it all, but everyone in Corunna Company is looking forward to the week’s activities.
Our Officer Commanding and Company Serjeant Major have just returned from a “recce” of Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, which will give us an even better picture of the task facing us.
The company has also had to deal with the sad news of the deaths of several Army personnel in the last week. It’s never easy hearing about the deaths of some of our colleagues, and naturally our thoughts go out to the families of every serviceman and woman who is injured or killed in the line of duty. It’s one of the tough realities of what we do, but it has made every man and woman in Corunna Company even more determined to do a thoroughly professional job and contribute in some small way to bringing peace and stability to a part of the world which desperately needs it.
Looking on the bright side, next weekend we get to home for a couple of days – and it’s the 6th Battalion Officers’ Mess summer ball, so it will be a great chance to catch up with some friends and let my hair down!
I think I’ve earned a pint (or two) after a couple of pretty intensive weeks, so I’m off to the bar for a couple of “scoops” – and I’ll write again soon!