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BRITCOM 4
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00:00So you can hear the enemy coming.
00:02Aye.
00:03What's it like when you first see them?
00:04You do get a buzz, like, I do, personally.
00:06I'm like, here we go. Partly time.
00:21We're living in an unstable world,
00:23and tensions are high.
00:26There's huge consequences, right?
00:28So if I get that wrong, it would live with me forever.
00:32The threat of conflict feels very real right now,
00:35and it could affect us all.
00:39Let's go.
00:40I pride myself on having a good mental resilient attitude
00:43where nothing's too hard.
00:47These are the Scots.
00:50The Royal Regiment of Scotland and Britain's most deployed infantry.
00:54And they're getting ready to fight whatever battles might lie ahead.
00:58As one battalion trains in Eastern Europe to defend our NATO allies.
01:03Another one is moving to the Med.
01:06Ready to react to conflict if needed.
01:10It can get very violent, and things can escalate pretty quickly.
01:14Is that another mess?
01:15Is that another mess?
01:16Back home.
01:17Ceremonial troops prepare to guard the King.
01:20But behind the pageantry, they need to be battle-ready too.
01:23It's frantic.
01:24It's frenzy.
01:26It's ferocious.
01:27Let's go!
01:28But for the troops, it's just another day at the office.
01:32Right!
01:33Right!
01:34Right!
01:35Right!
01:36Right!
01:37Right!
01:38Right!
01:39Right!
01:40Right!
01:41Our training every day is training for war.
01:45If you can see what Russia's done in Ukraine, Estonia is right on that front line.
01:49They're a NATO ally.
01:50We're there to protect them.
01:52And HL is effectively to get the green light to go to our positions and wait for the Russians.
01:57This is a large-scale war game.
02:02It's more than just training.
02:03It's a life or death scenario.
02:06The deployment phase has taken place.
02:07Now we're in the shaping phase.
02:09I mean, everyone's ready, everyone's set, but all plans are good until you get punched in the face.
02:18For the troops in Estonia, Exercise Hedgehog is underway.
02:21Around 17,000 NATO soldiers from a range of different nations are spread across a stretch of land around 30 square kilometers
02:32and less than 20 miles from the Russian border.
02:35The war game is about to begin.
02:40The Scots are braced for a simulated attack from the Swedish Army, who are acting as the enemy in this test.
02:47Every soldier has a role to play.
02:50And the reconnaissance team are ahead of the front line, gathering intelligence to feed back to the HQ.
02:56The information that Sergeant Crawford and the Wrecky platoon send back to their commanders is absolutely critical.
03:03Right, Gerry, I'm off.
03:04That will inform our commanders where the enemy are.
03:13Where they'd be likely to attack from, what weapons systems and vehicles they may have, and an expected time of arrival.
03:21When D-Day comes and it's like, right, now it's live, you think, as soon as this happens, I'm going to go into fighting.
03:29However, you're at the expense of the enemy force, and you don't get the say in when the enemy's going to attack.
03:35I am Sergeant Kyle Crawford from the 2nd Battalion, Royal Gemini of Scotland.
03:42You said it in your head, right, maybe five hours from now, five hours comes, still not came when you're like,
03:49right, I'm just at the liberty of whoever's against me here.
03:52Roger. Right, well, I'll see you soon.
04:07See you on the other side. Remember me.
04:10Exercise Hedgehog is a combined exercise.
04:23There's all sorts of different units coming together and practising, so if anything did happen,
04:29we know that we can work as a whole organisation.
04:31I'll speak about the military for the rest of my life. I'll be one of these old guys in the pub that everybody's like,
04:42oh no, here's MacGregor coming again, he's going to tell us that story, he's told me 50 odd times.
04:47I'll be that guy.
04:53I'm Stuart MacGregor, and I work at the 2nd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland.
04:57I've been in the army for 22 years, three years, that's me done.
05:04I'm trying to slowly time down, if you know anybody that can slowly time down, then let me know.
05:08For me, being in the Royal Regiment of Scotland is huge, one, because I'm Scottish, and two,
05:14so I wasn't always in infantry.
05:16I started at the RLC, which is the Royal Logistic Corps,
05:19who essentially bring water, ammunition, rations, any equipment that you need.
05:22I transferred from there after doing six years.
05:24The reason why I transferred, it was an operational tour in Afghanistan,
05:30where I worked with Scots, and it was a great experience.
05:34Just operating with individuals that spoke and had the same slang as you was great.
05:41And just the individuals that are in the Scots is what's made me want to transfer.
05:45When we deployed, we had to establish, essentially, the Battle Group Headquarters.
05:54What's happening, mate?
05:55Yeah, what's happening?
05:56Just a quick check, everyone alright?
05:57Yeah, everything so far is quiet so far, yeah.
06:00BHQ is where the Chief of Staff sit, and all the planning officers.
06:04When the Battle Group Headquarters gets established, that then allows the fighting troops, essentially,
06:10to do their job a little bit better.
06:13The Battle Group Headquarters staff, they can kind of coordinate that.
06:17This HQ building will serve as the nerve centre for the main commanders of the Scots Regiment.
06:22Wreck-A Platoon's primary job is to identify what's going on at the front line,
06:30and then feed that back into BHQ.
06:32So really good intelligence, because they've got eyes on the ground.
06:35There's going to be a drama with this window.
06:38This window's going to be a fucking nightmare.
06:42Right, mate, just get us on the comms if any drama's alright.
06:45Right.
06:47In warfare, there's a real risk that drones could spot the location of the HQ.
06:52So the Scots need to be ready should they come under attack from aircraft.
06:57And an escape route is essential.
07:00What's going to happen, clearly, we've just moved into here.
07:02I've noticed at the far end, there's a tunnel that goes into that other building.
07:06I think what we'll use that for is the key players within BHQ.
07:10Once we're content that we're getting contacted, we'll get them out the back, out of that tunnel.
07:15Clearly, we need to go and check it first before we send the Chief of Staff and they see how our stuff through.
07:20So, yeah, let's do that now, mate.
07:24Colorsampt's normally like a logistical type job.
07:27There's a lot involved.
07:29Sometimes you'll see staff officers in there for six, seven hours, like non-stop, just grafting.
07:35They get so fixated in the whole planning process that sometimes they forget to eat, which is the basics.
07:41I just need to remind them.
07:44So that daddy figure, if you like, that father figure.
07:49Trying to get them to bed is actually quite a tough job.
07:52Not only is it them grafting in there, but my job, grafting, trying to get them to sleep is a nightmare.
07:57There is a lot of pressure, but we don't just go into the unknown, essentially.
08:04We've gathered intelligence from a lot of different resources.
08:12Making sure that we've done the planning to the best of our ability will put us in the best position to then receive the enemy when they start flowing through us.
08:19And in his isolated position, Sergeant Crawford is still looking for that enemy, ready to radio a warning back to base once he spots them.
08:36If I'm lucky and I'm doing my job right, I'll see the enemy before they see me.
08:41You think that that oncoming attack is going to be the might of armoured warfare, of these massive heavy armoured vehicles rumbling down the road.
08:50The initial contact that you get with the enemy is just a two-man skirmish team trying to find something within the woods.
09:09And we call that a meeting engagement.
09:11And a meeting engagement is you coming face to face with them.
09:14And the funny thing is, they're just in shock the same way you're just in shock.
09:17You come across something in the woods and it looks just like you and it talks just like you, but you're very much on different sides.
09:24So whoever can get their weapon system up and give them a lick, they win.
09:31When you know it's actually going to be happening, it's like a switch is switched and actually putting into practice what you have trained for.
09:37After hours of mounting tension, suddenly for Crawford, it's on.
09:50In the war game, the troops are fighting with blank ammunition.
09:56It's how they react that's important.
09:58And Crawford needs to get away and radio details of the enemy's movements over to HQ.
10:02The information that comes from the reconnaissance platoon gets passed to their headquarters and it's received in the headquarters tent.
10:12It's a 1-0, so your A company, with their machine guns attached.
10:17A 2-5 Alpha, I can confirm a 6-9 contact, IV-0, 2-5 Alpha's hide location. How copy?
10:23The troops in Katerik are prepping for their two-year stint in Cyprus, where they'll become a regional support battalion.
10:39Their kit's already on its way, but the armoured vehicles need to be in full working order before they go.
10:45Let's go.
10:51One light out.
10:54How are we looking?
10:56All singing, all dancing so far.
10:59Coolant, top up, okay.
11:01Let's do the lights.
11:03Looking good.
11:05I am Lieutenant Laura Donovan, and I'm a platoon commander in Delta Company, Four Scots.
11:13I'll quickly check the filter.
11:16So far, so good.
11:19I have a platoon of 24 soldiers under my command.
11:23Indicators.
11:24Everything from organising their training, and day-to-day jobs on camp.
11:31Ma'am, vehicle, good to go.
11:33Happy Corporal West.
11:34All singing, all dancing.
11:36With vehicle-wise, I'm kind of happy where we are.
11:39Ready to go to Cyprus.
11:41Colgate.
11:42Give me another flight.
11:44Let's go.
11:45To Cyprus, the Scots will take over the UK's military presence in the Eastern Mediterranean.
11:51But there's still specific training they need to pass before they head off.
11:58Being ready to deal with civil unrest is crucial when deploying to the Rapid Reaction Base in Cyprus.
12:04The region it covers can be highly volatile, but most of the jocks have never been faced with a violent riot before,
12:10and don't know how to bring one under control.
12:14So, it's time for that to change.
12:17Hardcore rioters have got head guns on.
12:19They'll come up that way.
12:21Yeah.
12:24Only a few of them have actually got any experience with it.
12:27So, the guys that are safety in the high-vis, they've been down to do the course,
12:30which allows them to be safety for this.
12:32So, they've got a little bit of experience, and they'll have been on both sides of it.
12:35But for pretty much everyone here, they've done none of this before, so...
12:39They're excited.
12:43Oh, you can.
12:47So, all the battalions that will spend their two-year stint out in Cyprus
12:52will have to be validated for public order training,
12:55so that we would be prepared to deal with a civilian unrest, should that be the case when we're there.
12:59Public order training, I would say, as much as the warfighting side of the army and infantry is important as well,
13:09because of the varying situations that can arise around the world,
13:14there'll be a lot of times where it could be rioters or members of the public venting in frustration through violence.
13:21My name's Joshua Rankin, and I'm a lance corporal.
13:25I'm in charge of a shield team of three, and I'm receiving orders from the platoon commander,
13:31who sits behind shield team two.
13:33His messages are then passed, and it's essentially the shield team commander's responsibility to enact his plan.
13:40The training takes place in specially constructed streets,
13:44with other troops playing the role of civilians to make it as challenging as possible.
13:49You're going to get put into a training environment where it's your friends playing the civilian population
13:56when you're going through your cereals, and the public order instructors will basically set up situations that you've got to react to.
14:04The threat to the soldiers is immense.
14:09It's imperative that Scots pass this validation ahead of deploying to Cyprus.
14:21These exercises, known as cereals, prepare the soldiers to handle real-world unrest.
14:26OK, so if you are that front team, and you see a little bit of an air gap opening up,
14:32fucking exploit that.
14:34Each serial or exercise focuses on specific challenges.
14:39A few different cereals that we'll train involve
14:42Man Away, what to do if a fellow soldier is taken by the crowd.
14:49Barricade, techniques for dismantling roadblocks set up by rioters.
14:54Barricade, prepare to split!
14:56Oh, yeah, I've mashed that one!
15:03Dogs.
15:05Dogs prepare, bitch!
15:07Dogs!
15:09Deploying specially trained dogs to deter violent civilians.
15:13Come on, come on, come on!
15:15Separation.
15:17Tactics for safely breaking up fights between opposing civilian groups.
15:20Petro Bomb.
15:21How to react if you're hit by a firebomb.
15:26When a petrobomber appears, this is the drill that you're going to carry out, OK?
15:32The cereals are designed to be pretty aggressive.
15:33It may look intense, but these practice scenarios give the jocks the tools they'll need to pass the test, and be prepared to deal with public disorder in the real world.
15:55In Estonia, the enemy have been spotted ahead of the front line, and they're advancing fast.
16:14As they defend, the Scots need to hold their ground and repel the oncoming invasion.
16:21During the fighting, A Company will get information from Battle Group Headquarters on their next mission, depending on where they are, what stage of the battle that they are at.
16:32Major Shepard is essentially planning, so he's the key planner.
16:38The scheme manoeuvre we've broken down into four phases.
16:42Major Shepard will come up with a plan, pass it by the CO, and the CO will be like, yeah, let's maybe just adjust that or adjust this.
16:49And then he'll hand it off to execute that plan.
16:52Our aim is to push the enemy off into the killing areas to the front.
16:56And then he'll start the planning for the next.
16:57So we're always one step ahead of the enemy, essentially.
16:59We'll exit building one and then we're going to go on that patrol and make sure we can get an alternate area, just in case we need to move from here.
17:06I'll get you on the comms when I leave.
17:08If there's any dramas, I'll get you on attack.
17:10Roger.
17:11Yeah, happy. Cheers, sir.
17:13My role within that is not the planning.
17:16It's just to make sure the officers, the staff officers, the brains of the operation, essentially, are protected.
17:22First and foremost, making sure that the protection's out from the ground and from the air.
17:29The jocks in Edinburgh are in the process of the annual spring drills assessment, but their first run through has not gone well.
17:44I actually can't get over that parade.
17:49That was fucking dreadful, man.
17:51The length of the jacket.
17:53So that looks like it's too small.
17:55Buddy-buddy system. Basics.
17:57To continue the regiment's tradition of guarding the king when he's in Scotland, they'll have to pass a second inspection from the army's ceremonial headquarters, known as the London District.
18:08But first, they have some downtime.
18:11What's the weather, sir?
18:13Wind.
18:14To be fair, when we were there, last time the wind couldn't make up in St. Ryan, remember? It blew from every direction.
18:19We go fly fishing once a week together.
18:21How many do you think you're going to catch today?
18:24I won, yeah.
18:26And we started like, let's get a scoreboard going and like a prize for the winner of like 50 pound, you know, for them to go buy fishing stuff.
18:33And we started keeping score, the person who catches the most fish for the day wins.
18:42Shoes bumped.
18:47Oh, is that a rainbow?
18:48Nah, brownie, mate.
18:49Is it?
18:50Told you, today's my day.
18:53It's early days, mate.
18:54Just because you caught the smallest fish in the lake, bro, doesn't mean you're hard.
19:00Being a jock doesn't have to mean you're Scottish.
19:03Scots is home to soldiers from all over the Commonwealth.
19:07I've got a voice note for my bird I need to listen to quickly.
19:10A voice note for your bub?
19:11Yeah, before the wedding's off, you know what I mean?
19:14I was born in Cape Town, South Africa.
19:16Spent most of my life there until I was probably about 19 or 20.
19:21And then came over here, joined the army.
19:25My grandmother first suggested it when I left school.
19:28I kind of wanted to go a different path, but ended up back here anyway.
19:3123 Rand to the pound.
19:34So the money goes a hell of a lot further when you're taking it back to South Africa.
19:38So yeah, that was one of the main reasons.
19:40As well as, the British Armed Forces is one of the best in the world, I would say.
19:44And that's kind of why I wanted to join that over anything else.
19:47What do you think about going back to South Africa?
19:50Oh man, I can't wait.
19:51It's been what?
19:52Five months?
19:53Five months?
19:54Five months since I got to see my fiancée.
19:56It's hard man.
19:57A bit of a struggle man.
19:58I get to see my fiancée twice a year.
20:00The July summer holidays and then the December Christmas holidays.
20:03It's incredibly hard to be away for that long.
20:05You must have a good fiancée if she's staying with you without seeing you for five months.
20:08Aye, she's an amazing woman.
20:10Not many women would have put up with that, would there?
20:13Hard to find mate.
20:14Aye.
20:17What's this going on?
20:21It's early days mate, it's early days.
20:23Over in Estonia, an exercise hedgehog, Sergeant Crawford has spotted the enemy approaching.
20:35But while the officers plan their next moves, for the jocks living in the trenches a few miles
20:40from the front line, the wait continues.
20:46Live in a trench, fight in a trench.
20:48Sleep.
20:49Sleep in a trench.
20:51Cuddle.
20:52Too much cuddown.
20:53Too much cuddown somehow.
20:57I've left the building sites digging to come back to the army and dig.
21:01You're getting sand in every crevice, in every orifice.
21:05Aye.
21:06Is that the right word?
21:07Yeah.
21:08We've become friends over the last year or so.
21:10I was so reserved when I first came in.
21:16And he was very not reserved.
21:18Me?
21:19Oh yeah.
21:20Fuck, I'll speak to anybody.
21:21You know what I mean?
21:22It's clearly the most outgoing person you've ever met in your life.
21:24One in a million dollars.
21:25You know what I mean?
21:26Yeah.
21:27We're all there to do the same job.
21:29Like, that's hard to say.
21:30If you're sound, you're sound.
21:32But if you're a dick, you're a dick.
21:34Do you know what I mean?
21:35It doesn't matter your background.
21:36It doesn't matter what sex, race, nationality, fucking political beliefs.
21:40Like, if you're a dick, you're a dick.
21:42But if you're sound, you're sound.
21:43Do you know what I mean?
21:44You're going to work with that person.
21:45And that's how it is.
21:46We're all there to do the job and get on with it.
21:49See, when it was like Oman or Iraq, it was a lot drier.
21:54Yeah.
21:55So it was like, you'd get covered in sand and then it would just brush off.
21:58Yeah.
21:59You know, it sticks to you.
22:00Running around, getting sweaty.
22:01Aye, when I wiped my arse earlier on, it felt like sandpaper, mate.
22:0480 grit sandpaper right to the bum.
22:06Nice.
22:07Nice, mate.
22:08If you fucking dig in a forest, what do you expect to be under trees?
22:11Fucking mud.
22:12Sand, mate.
22:13But that fucking, that baffles me.
22:15I've never seen sand under a tree before in my life.
22:17Brutal.
22:18If you're going through the shit.
22:19But somebody else, everyone else is fucking going through it.
22:23Somebody else could be struggling a lot more.
22:25You can wash older, they fucking pet them up a bit.
22:27Like, you don't mind each other to do something.
22:28Like, he'll make me a bruise.
22:29Like, here's me hot chocolate, here's a coffee.
22:31Like, you just look out for each other, do you know what I mean?
22:33I love my munchie man.
22:34Right, so I'd cook him a scoff and he'd cook me a scoff.
22:39Fucking starving.
22:40I'm fucking hungry every day.
22:41I'm getting a carbonara when we get home.
22:43Carbonara?
22:44Some wine?
22:45Mate, do you know what I miss, mate?
22:47See, when I go home, my mum makes it.
22:48Remember I told you about the stories?
22:49Yeah, yeah, yeah.
22:50I love it mate, right?
22:54But it's sort of thick mate.
22:56But my mum gets, mate, see these totties mate.
22:59Like, they fucking melt in your mouth like a steak mate.
23:02My dad built like a barbecue pit in the back garden.
23:04So he comes home and he's got this big Weber grill
23:06and he makes like big tomahawk steaks, chicken wings.
23:09And he marionates it overnight.
23:11See when he makes brisket and that.
23:12But obviously, see when he makes his cider as well.
23:14See when he pours his cider.
23:16Oh, unreal man.
23:17Cut the bottles and I can't even walk.
23:19Oh, it was good, mate.
23:21From the troops in the trenches, to the officers in each queue.
23:37Zero yet, understood.
23:39All of the Scots are waiting for the enemy to show.
23:51But for the jocks in Catterick, the day of the civil unrest assessment is coming up fast.
23:56If they're to become the regional support battalion in Cyprus, it's something they have to pass.
24:02That's us all in.
24:04So, quickly tasks.
24:06You're to clear route blue.
24:08Our mission is to hold in order to disperse.
24:10And be prepared to act as reserve.
24:12Major Jamie Graham is my OC.
24:16So he is officer commanding.
24:17As commander of Delta Company, Jamie is in charge of over 100 jocks.
24:22So what we'll go for, push out that road hard.
24:24We want to be super aggressive on this one.
24:26Because they're being pretty aggressive.
24:28We can then tone it down and we can deescalate from there.
24:30Okay, happy?
24:31Good to go.
24:32Happy days.
24:46When the aggravation starts to ramp up, it'll feel very real.
24:54It got quite heated at times.
24:56I think that does prepare you effectively for actually, if it is to transpire in real life,
25:00where you've got that experience to deal with.
25:02Big, angry rioters.
25:04Right, right back in, double in, let's fucking go boys.
25:06Help!
25:08It's not exactly an enemy in that situation, but the civilian population
25:12that are going to be causing you the aggravation.
25:16Help!
25:17It can get very violent, and things can escalate pretty quickly.
25:25As soon as the action kicks in, in my role as platoon commander, it becomes very real.
25:30Faced with rioters, Laura and the jocks have to protect themselves as well as bystanders
25:35while calming the situation down and bringing the unrest to an end.
25:39To prepare yourself mentally for this type of training, I think you just have to treat it like any other
25:45that you're doing in the army.
25:47We've all got like a serious, kind of headstrong mentality when it comes to these things
25:52where, you know, we could be having a laugh and a joke, you know, one minute before we go out there.
25:58But as soon as you have stepped out onto that trail and you're advancing towards a party of angry rioters
26:05and an angry mob, like, it is, like, it switches, like, right away.
26:10Triple Tate support by Robert Evans!
26:13Come on in, you fucking shotgun!
26:15Come on!
26:17I will always be behind the second Shield team.
26:21And that allows me to kind of have enough tactical awareness and assess the situation.
26:27So from that angle, I can see what's going on, I can make those decisions
26:30and I'm not at risk of being taken.
26:33Just when all seems to be going well, the Jocks have made a critical mistake.
26:53My main point, I think, is at the lowest level is head strikes.
26:58They need to chill out.
26:59If there's any more of that, we won't pass this validation.
27:02So no more head strikes.
27:03Anybody who does commit a head strike will have received a direct order not to do it.
27:07OK?
27:08I think the most challenging aspect of it was just, I think, like, just maintaining the discipline
27:13and keeping boys in line.
27:15They need to fucking switch their mindset.
27:17Because we are getting validated here.
27:19It's not about just a validation piece.
27:21It's about showing up and fucking be here.
27:23Right?
27:24On this fucking exercise.
27:25Where do we strike them?
27:26Legs.
27:27Legs and where else?
27:28Arcs.
27:29Right?
27:30Chest, arse, whatever.
27:31Don't be fucking hitting them in the head.
27:32They're our own blokes.
27:33Yeah?
27:34And you're fucking hurting them.
27:36So stop doing it.
27:37All right?
27:38It's fucking ridiculous.
27:39Throughout the day, we were getting numerous different bits of feedback from the, like,
27:44directing staff who were watching over us.
27:46And it just varied through things like, you know, showing too much aggression here or remembering
27:54where to strike with the civilian population.
27:57Let's eliminate this right now.
27:58Any strikes with this button?
27:59Yeah?
28:00Waist down.
28:01Happy?
28:02He was doing the shield.
28:03So moving the shield away to strike him with that.
28:04So he would never strike him in the head.
28:05So if you're going to use this button, hit him from waist down.
28:06Make sense, yeah?
28:07Yep.
28:08So that means we wouldn't get any more head strikes.
28:09We all be good.
28:10Good.
28:11Happy with that?
28:12Happy now?
28:13Cheers.
28:15We've now got, like, an hour's break.
28:16Yes, I will tell you.
28:17But just let the boys chill out and calm down for a bit before they go into the next one.
28:31Having already filled the spring drills once, nerves are high for the London District inspection.
28:44They will decide whether the Scots are up to standard to be this year's Royal Guard
28:49when the King comes to Balmoral near Balater for the summer.
28:53The GSM kind of sets the tone for what the final inspection's going to be.
28:58You won't let anything slide.
28:59What do you put on his hoofs to make him shiny?
29:00The standards and discipline that we display whilst on ceremonial duties and on parade are
29:07the standards and discipline we expect when we're in the battlefield.
29:16The pressure is on to get it right for your superiors and for your peers.
29:21Standard 8!
29:28Good morning, sir.
29:29Balaclava Company, the 5th Battalion, the Royal Redwood of Scotland, is formed up and awaiting your inspection, sir.
29:33May I have your leave to carry on, sir, please.
29:35Start of honour!
29:41Long!
29:42Out!
29:43Out!
29:44Out!
29:49When you're the one who drops the ball, and it happens to everyone, there's always a time
29:53where you'll be the one who's dropped the ball for the company.
29:56I mean, it's quite gutting.
29:58You do feel terrible.
30:00It depends on who your friends are.
30:02They don't let you forget it, do they?
30:03No, we don't.
30:04You hold on to that reputation for a little while, and you make sure not to do it again.
30:10Your head dress is a bit low.
30:11Ah, yes, sir.
30:12Or does it feel strange?
30:13Strange, sir, because it's like two sizes too small.
30:14I'm just waiting for them to get my size back and stock it up.
30:15Okay.
30:16Fluffy, fat, fat.
30:17Yeah, I think there's probably a general point about fluff.
30:26I know everything we wear attracts fluff, including what we wear.
30:31It's a perfect example of head dress without any fluff.
30:40so it can be done.
30:42You definitely do get annoyed at them picking up tiny detail,
30:45but it's part of the job.
30:47Yeah, it's just little things like buttons not facing up the right way,
30:51which move when you're marching, so you can't really help it,
30:53but they're going to pick it up anyway.
30:55So it's just like trying to stay as rigid as possible
30:58while you're marching.
31:00Yep.
31:02Guard of Order!
31:04General salute!
31:06Pre-set!
31:09This time, the Jocks have smashed it.
31:13I didn't hear any pick-up points other than incredibly minor stuff.
31:18He seemed very happy with the presentation of the boys
31:21and their drill capabilities.
31:28Right, morning, troops.
31:29Just a really quick thank you, really, just to say thank you
31:31for all your hard work over the last two weeks.
31:33I know Spring Jewels is a bit of a challenge.
31:36It's a lot of time in our ceremonial kit
31:38and it's really a lot of time looking at that minute detail
31:41and just getting that attention to detail right.
31:44And again, your improvement over the last two weeks
31:47has been phenomenal.
31:49People forget in London how good we are up here.
31:52As a little tradition, we'll all get a guard support now
31:54and we'll toast the regiment.
31:59Gentlemen, to the regiment.
32:01The troops in the trenches are awaiting instruction,
32:15but the enemy are on the move and could strike at any time.
32:19So, for the Jocks, the night patrols are essential
32:23and they take shifts to give others a chance to rest
32:26before the fighting kicks off.
32:36Night patrolling, especially being an infantry battalion,
32:38is key because a lot of the enemy forces don't have night vision,
32:41so we have the upper hand straight away.
32:43We are quite effective at night,
32:44just with the capability that we have.
32:47So, when you've more slept and your nose tagging that,
32:49and you fucking hear a noise,
32:50what the fuck was that?
32:52It gives you a wee bit of life, doesn't it?
33:03But there is a wee bit of eerie moments
33:04because you just sat there waiting
33:05and you can hear people cutting about
33:07and you're like, oh, fuck, like...
33:22The orders have come through.
33:50It's time.
33:52The moment the Jocks spot the enemy,
33:54everything they've trained for will be put to the test.
34:02Time to wake up, son.
34:05It's twenty-five past five.
34:06Time to get up.
34:08Good morning, Bigot.
34:10How are we?
34:11Not bad.
34:15One on Alpha, this is one on Echo en route.
34:22Just a boy.
34:23She's just a girl.
34:25Can I make an animal on your hips?
34:27Can I make an animal on your hips?
34:39We have primary, secondary and tertiary positions.
34:42We'd put people out in the primary position
34:45and then we would defend from there.
34:47We would just keep an eye out for the new enemy movements.
34:49Just have them come back to our command point.
34:52Not only on one point.
34:53And then another one...
35:00It's quite a problem.
35:02It's quite a problem.
35:04Hey, what's up there is. They're going to fucking, they're flanking down to the left-hand
35:30side of the platoon. We're just waiting to go and bolster up, happy or not. Happy. Is there anyone staying here or are we all going to wait?
35:37Maka, are we all three of us abandoning this position? We'll wait for them to come through in the platoon.
35:45It's time for the jocks to show the enemy what they're made of.
36:00Then as soon as something does happen, it's just everything's like,
36:15there's a close in. There's a fucking down that one. Yeah, let's go.
36:31I need to use to fucking bounce forward. See where people are moving in the distance?
36:36Yeah, seen. I'm just going to fucking roll through there. Happy? Happy.
36:39Happy. Roger. Right, move.
36:54What's this in silent, violent, silent? Yes.
36:56Stop it! Stop it!
37:10So when we come into contact with the enemy, it does seem like it's a bit crazy, a bit carnage.
37:15But believe it or not, it is controlled carnage.
37:18The troops are up against an army of Swedish soldiers and coming under heavy fire.
37:23They need to push them back so not to lose ground.
37:26And as they're firing with blank ammunition for this exercise,
37:28it's the NATO referees that decide who gets hit.
37:31Down! Get us back in, mate!
37:36Let's go!
37:36Down! You're fucking dead, you cunt!
37:55Right, go!
37:56I'm fucking right, you're all dead! You're all dead! You's a fuck!
38:12I'm fucking right, you're all dead!
38:18In Caterick, the Scots are also being tested.
38:21They're up against a mob of fellow squaddies acting as rioters.
38:26It's the crucial test of their civil unrest training
38:29and senior British army officials will be assessing their performance.
38:34Right, that's us all in and not a huge amount of changes.
38:37We know that there's a barricade on route which blocks the road to vehicles,
38:42so if we're going to be pushing through that,
38:43we'll need to clear that barricade so we can allow vehicle movement through.
38:46The most likely course of action for enemies is that they continue to target UK forces,
38:49so they're both currently angry with us.
38:53The most dangerous course of action is that they then turn on each other
38:56because then we've got the opportunity for some really violent unrest.
38:59If that does become the case, we'll move into a separation drill, so bear that one in mind.
39:03Roger, let's control aggression, right? So yes, the people will be aggravated down there,
39:08all right, but they need to have their control within themselves as well, all right?
39:12So you, the team leader, they need to fucking keep an eye on that, right?
39:14Make sure people are not going overboard with what they're doing with the C-Pops.
39:20Everyone happy? Are there any questions at this stage?
39:25Nope. Cool.
39:28You need to stop antagonising the civis. We're a professional unit.
39:32We're there to restore public order, not to have a scrap.
39:36I completely agree with that point.
39:37You've got to remember the context of why we're doing public order.
39:39Your job is to make sure that you're maintaining public order.
39:42You're not the part of the disorder.
39:43Happy?
39:50Yeah, yeah, I get it.
39:51When everything's, when everything's carnage and the civ pop are down there
39:53and it's all kicking off, it can become confusing, but...
40:02I'm just going to make sure you're all in. Shield team one.
40:08Two.
40:08Three, one, three, three. Three's are alpha.
40:10Let's move up to green and blue spots. Two.
40:12Advance.
40:17Advance.
40:18Advance.
40:19Guys, get tight. Get tight.
40:20Pocky's shiny.
40:22Splat. Splat. Splat.
40:24This team is helping shift the stuff.
40:28You grab it off as soon as it comes through, yeah?
40:30Three's alpha. You're a bit ahead of three, three, son.
40:35Shield team three. Advance. Advance.
40:40Get through them. Get through them. Get through them.
40:45Three, three, alpha. Three's alpha.
40:47Make sure you hold out that junction of it.
40:50Who the fuck is you?
40:58One, two, three.
40:59Three, one, alpha.
41:00One of the factions now fighting with each other.
41:02Red spot, one, all of it.
41:06Three's alpha, one.
41:08Conditions met.
41:09For four, advance.
41:10Can you get the dogs from there up to three, two, please?
41:13Yeah.
41:14Three, two, dog.
41:15Never hold this gun.
41:16Five, two, three, split.
41:28Three, zero, this is three, two, alpha.
41:30That's a separate affected.
41:31They're continuing to hold.
41:33Halt! Halt!
41:33Three, zero, alpha.
41:34It looks like factions are dispersing,
41:36waiting for it all to cool down.
41:37Three, zero, alpha.
41:38This is three, two, alpha.
41:39Still about 15 to 20 writers on position over.
41:41Three, zero, alpha.
41:42Roger.
41:43Hey, you fucking silly 12!
41:44I think, regardless of gender,
41:46it's very important to be confident in your role.
41:48You're ready to go.
41:49You're ready to go.
41:50You're ready to go.
41:51You're ready to go.
41:52You're ready to go.
41:53You're ready to go.
41:54I think, regardless of gender,
41:56it's very important to be confident
41:57in your role.
41:58Erm, but I'm aware that I stand out.
42:01Right, where's your boss?
42:02I'm at the man.
42:02The boss.
42:03It's me.
42:04I'm the boss.
42:04If you're looking for the boss.
42:07I'm very thick-skinned.
42:08I don't let things get to me.
42:09Right, where the fuck's your craft?
42:10What are you doing here?
42:11We're just here to secure this location
42:13until you disperse.
42:14You.
42:15Who the fuck are you looking at now?
42:17Tell this fucking marble to fuck off.
42:19You have to be assertive,
42:22and you have to let your voice carry.
42:25That's something that can be a little bit challenging,
42:28especially when things get escalated.
42:31Look at you.
42:32He's fucking frozen.
42:33Howdy, Mum.
42:34You and me.
42:34You're fucking much bigger than me.
42:35Come on.
42:36I like to take a step back sometimes,
42:38just to kind of look at the bigger picture of things
42:39before making a decision.
42:41I don't have to shout to be heard.
42:43I would rather observe a situation,
42:44and then deal with it intelligently,
42:47rather than letting my emotions get the best of me.
42:49If you guys start to disperse,
42:50we don't have a reason to be here,
42:52so why don't you tell your guys to leave?
42:53Them boys fucking loving that house thing, yeah?
42:55So they can't go back to the inner house?
42:57You cunts are traipsed up and doing his fucking driveway,
42:59and he can't even get back in his own fucking house.
43:01As soon as I...
43:02Shut up.
43:02I'm talking.
43:03You're listening.
43:04And fucking everybody else has got to fuck off,
43:05just because you've came up with a plan.
43:07Get a fucking shake of yourself.
43:09Still, my boys will bite here,
43:10so you fuck off so they can get back in their house.
43:12How far down the road's his house?
43:14That fucking house right there.
43:15So that's what?
43:1610 metres.
43:17So if I give you 10 metres, I'll take these back.
43:19That's going to bring the situation down, yeah?
43:22Happy.
43:22Withdraw 10 metres.
43:27Bye bye.
43:28Bye bye.
43:31Right, hold.
43:34These are Alpha, this is 3-2 Alpha.
43:36That's all rioters on our position,
43:37now dispersed over it.
43:393-2 Alpha, Roger.
43:41Keep holding here, and then we'll start moving back
43:43once I get the go-ahead.
43:45Okay, 3-2 move now.
43:473-2, withdraw!
43:51Keep coming back.
43:53Right, keep moving.
43:54Roger, you can withdraw a bit faster than that.
43:57Okay, Laura.
43:593-2, let's move quickly now.
44:00Get them back through.
44:01All right, keep moving quicker, let's go!
44:02I think it's important that the gender perspective isn't put on everything that I do,
44:20and that's not the narrative that I want of my career.
44:23I chose to do this job because I wanted to do this job.
44:26I wanted to be part of Royal Regiment of Scotland.
44:30In each of those situations, I think I've managed to come across
44:33the way that is important that I'm here to do my job.
44:37It doesn't matter that I'm a woman.
44:39At the end of the day, I'm a person like everyone else you've ever worked with.
44:44I'm going inside for this debrief.
44:49So it's gone from strength to strength the whole time,
44:52which is absolutely great.
44:52You couldn't ask for a bit of chuckle on my belly for anything,
44:55or if you were actually changing the doctrine through your output.
45:01We received positive feedback from the directing staff on our evaluation phase,
45:06and we took the feedback on board from the first serial,
45:10which wasn't really as good as what we were hoping it was going to be at first,
45:15but once we took the feedback on board and put that into practice,
45:19the second and third serial that were conducted and the evaluation were of our superior standard.
45:24It makes you feel like what you've done has been worthwhile,
45:27and I would say not just for myself and other platoon commanders and the company commander,
45:32but even at the lowest level, like for the jocks to know that
45:35the training that they've done is very rewarding.
45:37The skills that I've learned would be ready to be implemented in a real-life situation.
45:42All of our boys would be comfortable in doing that in a real-life scenario,
45:45which is basically a testament to the training that we've conducted over the last few weeks.
45:50Troops really, really quickly.
45:52Ten times better than the one we did before.
45:53Really impressed with the way it went.
45:55Thank you very much.
45:56Fingers crossed we don't get the opportunity to do public order in Cyprus.
46:00We're doing other stuff, but we're all set for it, so thanks.
46:12In Estonia, Maka and the jocks on the front lines have come under heavy fire,
46:17but they're holding ground.
46:22Of course, this is silent, silent, silent.
46:24We're down!
46:30Stop it!
46:43Yeah, we've got it!
46:46He's a nothing!
46:48He's a nothing!
46:54He's a nothing!
46:57Let's go!
47:00Watch your legs!
47:02Watch your legs!
47:04Get some moves!
47:04On the move!
47:05On the move!
47:07Go, go!
47:18He has a picture!
47:20You take!
47:22You take!
47:23You take!
47:24It just kicks in, like, what you should be doing.
47:26Obviously, two ICs, corporals take control of what you're doing.
47:31You're feeding back up to the net, like, your comms, through your platoon commander.
47:35He's telling you, like, this is what I want.
47:40Kersey, McNeckin!
47:43Small arms fire!
47:44Location, front of cabos position!
47:48Fuck!
47:49Boss, Kersey and McBride are down.
47:51Outlast no position.
47:53Hey, two casualties.
47:54Yeah, I feel you.
47:57Sir, what am I doing with the two casualties?
47:59I pride myself on having a good mental resilient attitude where nothing's too hard.
48:12A 2-1-2-5 confirmed ETA, my location over.
48:15A gunshot wound left arm.
48:20Seven minutes out.
48:20The NATO referees have allocated a number of jocks as casualties and given them details
48:27of their simulated injuries.
48:29Crawford has been ordered to assist those who've been injured close to the front line.
48:34You're always going to take casualties.
48:38However, it's how you deal with those casualties, how they can stop that bleeding, how they can
48:43deal with that catastrophic bleed, how they can assess the casualty and send up the information
48:48that now if there's casualties, that's when you'll start to report upwards to myself.
48:54We'll come to extract that casualty.
48:57If we do need to get to somebody fast, we can rally through the tree lines,
49:02quickly manoeuvre your quad by getting back on and then fucking off and you can be in and out of there rapid.
49:08A casualty has occurred.
49:10You're put into the categories of either T1, which means the worst possible state the casualty could be in.
49:15He is a catastrophic bleed.
49:17He needs priority care.
49:19We need to get this casualty the fuck out of there.
49:21T2, which is lower down on the priority.
49:24However, he is still a priority.
49:25We still need to get him out.
49:27Yep. Or T3, which is walking wounded.
49:29A 2-1-2-5, my callsign at cas exchange point now break.
49:34From the point of wounding, I then need to get told.
49:37Where that casualty is, what's wrong with that casualty and what are you doing about it?
49:41A 2-5 alpha continuing.
49:43Once you are at my location, a one man plus cas, two me.
49:47Remainder push out for protection.
49:48How copy?
49:49Now I'll then spin up my chain of command and I'll then let them know.
49:52Roger.
49:54For SA, you are figures 350 metres away from me now.
49:57Over.
49:58This is what's happening.
49:59This is what I'm doing about it.
50:00Close.
50:01Behind the scenes, we're all tooling up.
50:02So the medics will get ready.
50:04The field ambulances will get ready.
50:07300 metres.
50:09And they can get their life saving and prolong life.
50:14Very happy days in here, Indra.
50:17Right, let's go.
50:19Right, take a seat, Matt.
50:23Right, let's go.
50:23Back brace me.
50:24Shot, car's empty.
50:28Yep.
50:28Over the next car, put gunshot wound on the left arm.
50:32Yep.
50:33So the boys have put a first field dressing on an FFD.
50:36Gunshot wound, lower left arm at 10.47 AM.
50:40Happy.
50:41They've perceived it to be a catastrophic bleed, therefore they've applied another one.
50:44From here, all the signs look good.
50:46It looks stabilised.
50:47As we're going to load you up onto the quad and we're going to get you back to that cas exchange point.
50:50You don't want the pain.
50:52Is the pain all right, Matt?
50:53Yeah.
50:53One to five, what is it?
50:54Five being the worst you've ever received.
50:55One's a stub toe.
50:56Three.
50:57Three, that's fine.
50:58Good stuff.
50:59Indra, start sanitising his kit.
51:01Get it back in the quad.
51:02Once the kit's in the back of the quad, that's when we'll move the casualty onto there.
51:04So what we'll do is pull one man in and start helping you do that.
51:07Happy?
51:08I'll take his ammunition but I'll keep his personal rifle with him.
51:18Okay, three minutes I want away from here.
51:22Andy, you happy?
51:23I'm going to be all right, brother.
51:26You good?
51:26Yeah.
51:27Right, let's go.
51:27Kit on.
51:31Crawford must get the most serious of the casualties out of the danger zone in his trailer.
51:35But it's up to the jocks on the ground to triage the walking wounded.
51:40So it does rely on the soldiers, left and right.
51:45This soldier is 18-year-old, come from the Arsene de Glasgow.
51:49He's gone through 24, 25 weeks of basic training learning how to kill somebody the most effective
51:57way and then you're flipping on its head and then you're like, right, you need to now save
52:01your mucker's life with a small set of skills that somebody's taught you in critical care
52:08and almost trauma, trauma medicine.
52:11And as you've seen from Afghanistan and forward conflicts, the boys make it work.
52:18And that sums up, in my head, how amazing that jocks are, how amazing that these young men
52:28that are almost sacrificing their lives are willing to do not just for their country,
52:32but to do for their muckers left and right.
52:34All of a sudden, there's another attack.
52:49He's dead! Dead! Dead!
52:51I fucking already swallowed you, Daphne!
52:53You're fucking dead!
52:54I'm going to die, you shit cod!
53:00I'm fucking out of here for you.
53:00Right, put your cazzes on. What's your cazz? What's wrong?
53:04Tell me, read it.
53:05Fucking read it.
53:06Bullitt wound left elbow.
53:07What?
53:08Bullitt wound left elbow.
53:10Right, self-assist.
53:12Self-assist, get your fucking ACBs on.
53:14Get a fucking tunic on you boys.
53:17You guys can both walk.
53:19Right, we'll sell tea, we'll get back to the fucking MDA.
53:22Okay, what we'll do is we'll just tack back and then we'll go through there, all right?
53:26You'll just get yours out.
53:27I'll do it.
53:34Just fucking do the right one, mate.
53:38Mate, did you like that? Full auto, just come in.
53:40Mate, we shot him.
53:41We shot him.
53:41I shot him fucking five times, you can't?
53:45Right, you're good.
53:45Right, get your helmet on, get your helmet on and then we're going to fuck off out here.
54:01Right, you're all right, you're all right, what?
54:03I think we've got our helmets.
54:04Yeah, we've been hit, mate.
54:05Fuck that, get your helmets on, mate.
54:06You're still in a fucking fire thing.
54:07Nah, nah, we're cars, mate.
54:08Oh, you cars, right, let's go then.
54:09Used to on me.
54:10Right, they're both our cars, I'm taking them back, I'm extracting back to my MDA.
54:14Happy with that?
54:16I think we've got our helmets.
54:17See, I haven't been hit, mate.
54:18Fuck that, get your helmets on, mate.
54:19You're still in a fucking fire thing.
54:20Nah, nah, we're cars.
54:21Oh, you cars, right, let's go then.
54:23Used to on me.
54:24Right, they're both our cars, I'm taking them back, I'm extracting back to my MDA.
54:28Happy with that?
54:29Boys, tactics are familiar for them.
54:31What?
54:31Tactical, the tactics side, very familiar for them.
54:34I'm just here to manage.
54:35Aye, I'm just, I'm just making you aware so I don't get fucked.
54:38What I've done then was, I know, I've walked in, they've not turned round so I've just went,
54:42Fuck it, full auto, there's four of them.
54:44I've took them all out.
54:45All that platoon to the left of you are now dead, yeah?
54:49All that platoon, the Estonians, which have come from the left, have now come dead.
54:51No hard feelings, we're both dead probably, aye.
54:53No hard feelings.
54:54Aye, good.
54:55Aye.
54:55Go, come on.
54:56Right, I fucking right, I fucking smoked them.
54:58Right, mate.
55:01Greenpeace and all that.
55:02Right, you too.
55:12Nine times out of ten, common sense will prevail in those situations.
55:19You can be trained up to a very high standard within the combat side and you can be trained
55:25up to a very high standard within the medical side.
55:29Common sense will prevail in a lot of it.
55:32Nothing is going to be exactly by the book.
55:34Tensions have reached boiling point in the war game.
55:42News of the heavy fighting has reached Stu, who is defending the battle group headquarters.
55:49Hey Kopi, we'll push 20 meters into here, mate.
55:51Once you hit the track, I need you to head north, yeah?
55:54And just hand drill this track all the way up.
56:02Just go firm and push into the left-hand side, mate.
56:12So if we push in, see if we can get a net entry in that way.
56:16Instead of coming straight across the road, what we could maybe do is go across and then push south.
56:20There's huge consequences, right?
56:31Because if battle group headquarters is getting taken out, and when I say taken out, I mean
56:36destroyed by enemy capabilities, then we're in a pretty bad place.
56:40There's a lot of pressure.
56:48If I get the whole force protection wrong, then absolutely it would live with me forever.
56:53I know fucking boys that are nuts.
57:01They're not afraid of anything, but they're fucking brown soldiers.
57:06From start to finish, it was effectively just a huge scrap.
57:09Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go.
57:15I did it, fucking...
57:16I did it!
57:17I did it!
57:19I did it.
57:21I did it.
57:29I did it!
57:31It was so unexpected.
57:33I did it!
57:35It's a good thing, but I'm not assholes!
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