Army descends on Stafford for training exercise
Hundreds of British soldiers have taken part in an Army exercise as they tested their skills alongside their French counterparts.
Around 500 members of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) took part in a special exercise at the Army's training area in Swynnerton, near Stafford, in Staffordshire.
Exercise Griffin Spanner 2017 saw REME soldiers from across the UK pitting their wits against a team from France to solve tactical problems and obstacles including fixing a range of broken down military vehicles - simulating the challenges they could face on operations all over the world.
Major general Tyrone Urch, general officer commanding Force Troops Command, said: “This exercise has been a great opportunity to extend an invitation to the French equivalent of our REME.
"“The sent a team over and joined in with one of our regiments and their general was singing the praises of the exercise.”
During the exercise soldiers had to think quickly on their feet. In one scenario they had to administer battlefield first aid to a colleague affected by a chemical hazard while at the same time repair an armoured and tracked vehicle – all against the clock.
Major Will Johnson, training major at Force Troops Command, said: “The REME are a peculiar beast, they are geographically dispersed throughout the Army. This exercise was massively important to us because it enables us to bring together and concentrate REME training in one place to provide quality assured and Corps specific REME training.
“The REME puts the punch in the army’s fist ensuring that vehicles, weapons and equipment are in perfect working order before being deployed and fixed as soon as possible when damaged on operations. We maintain all the Army’s equipment including helicopters, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVS) and even dental hygiene kit and cooking utensils. Without this equipment the Army would not function.”
Captain Joseph-Teyssier, who headed up the French Army’s team at Exercise Griffin Spanner, added: “This is the first time all of us in the team have worked in the UK alongside our British counterparts and I will be recommending it as an excellent experience to my colleagues when I return to France.”
