by Captain J W B Webster
Regimental Signals Officer 1st Battalion Welsh Guards
On 8 May six members of the Battalion deployed to Parga in Spain to take part in Ex AZOR LINEAGE, a multinational joint force brigade command post exercise. Their role was to represent 1st Battalion Welsh Guards and provide realistic injects during brigade planning and execution. This was as part of our commitment to the NATO Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (Land) (Initial Forces Follow on Group) (VJTF(L) (IFFG)), led by the 7th Spanish Brigade.
The first day was especially long as the group left early morning to catch a flight to Madrid, then another to Porto, only to then drive back across the border towards Parga. The rest of the day was full of briefs and introductions in preparation for a busy three days ahead.
Major Figgures-Wilson briefing the brigade commander on the UK force scheme of manoeuvre.
We were split into two groups, with there always being a liaison officer, battle captain and watchkeeper on duty from 0800 to 2000 daily. This allowed those not on duty to explore the local area. Unfortunately the weather was less than ideal and it rained to such an extent that there was a permanent team on standby in the headquarters with a mop and bucket ready to deploy as necessary.
Gdsm Grimshaw, Capt Young, Major Figgures-Wilson, Capt Webster and Gdsm Mason
Orders had already been delivered electronically, so Maj Figgures-Wilson, representing the Commanding Officer, delivered his back brief to the brigade commander. As we were the reserve Battalion we had a quiet start to the battle. However the brigade was incredibly busy co-ordinating a number of specialised battalions all speaking English. As a liaison officer, it was fascinating to see how the layout and situational awareness worked within the tent. The three day operation was a brigade advance to contact with the Belgian battalion being heli-lifted onto an important airfield to our north whilst the rest of the brigade cleared up to them to ensure they were not surrounded and cut off for too long. A Bridge Too Far comes to mind!
The weather was more like Salisbury Plain in January than Spain in May.
The exercise ended in success and was highly informative in testing the naturals frictions and demonstrating the benefits arising from working in the multinational environment, especially under pressure. I feel that all parties learnt a lot from each other over the week and the foundations are set and stable for an effective partnership in the future. All that remained was the long drive back to Porto and then two flights back to the UK. Now back in camp and with time to reflect, it is clear that this is how war fighting will be conducted in the future. Coalitions will be important and we should seize every opportunity to conduct this type of training. We look forward to hosting members of the 7th Spanish Brigade in the UK in the near future.
The Spanish Brigade HQ in the field.