Earlier this week, at a commercial railhead in Kent, Royal Logistic Corps movers supporting NATO’s UK-led 4 Multi-National Brigade (4MNB) loaded 1 R IRISH armour onto flatcars, writes Bob Morrison.
In a few days time troops from the 1 R IRISH (1st Battalion, the Royal Irish Regiment) Battle Group, part of 4 [UK] Infantry Brigade from 1st [UK] Division, operating in the Light Role as part of the British Army’s Adaptable Force, will commence a 2,500km road convoy march from their bases in England to Norway to participate in Exercise TRIDENT JUNCTURE 2018 or TRJE18. To validate rail transportation and logistics procedures the opportunity has been seized to transport a package of 30 of their vehicles, including FOXHOUND and R-WMIK+, by rail through the Channel Tunnel and then northwards across Europe to the 1 GNC (1st German/Netherlands Corps) logistic base established in eastern southern Norway.
We intend covering TRIDENT JUNCTURE 18, a triennial NATO high visibility defensive exercise, in some depth over the next month or so and therefore in this very brief article we will look solely at the railhead operation on Tuesday rather than concentrating on the ‘big picture’ for the moment. The accompanying images were taken over the course of four hours and the entire loading operation was controlled at the railhead by a single RLC (Royal Logistic Corps) Sergeant, supported by a couple of NCOs, with the vehicles being driven onto the flatcars by their own crews.
We will take a closer look at both FOXHOUND and R-WMIK+, including those used by 1 R IRISH in Spain on Ex. TRIDENT JUNCTURE ’15, in follow-on articles and, assuming all goes to plan, we will take an in-depth look at the LIVEX phase of TRIDENT JUNCTURE ’18 in about a month’s time.
{ images © Bob Morrison }
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