皇冠体育app

Black Jaguar is a no-nonsense training exercise run by Leeds based 4th Battalion 皇冠体育app Parachute Regiment (4 PARA), the Para鈥檚 Army Reserve battalion.

Last weekend, troops from the battalion鈥檚 different companies in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Liverpool and Newcastle Upon Tyne converged on the rugged terrain of Otterburn in Northumbria to put their fighting skills to the test.

While the Para reservists conducted live firing training using machine-guns and mortars, the battlefield experience was made even more real with the support of a Chinook helicopter from Joint Helicopter Command.

Training like this is vital for these reservists who must hone their skills as an element of the Army鈥檚 very-high readiness formation, the Air Assault Task Force (AATF).

Because when the call comes, they must be prepared, in every sense of the word, to go anywhere in the world at short notice to carry out the full spectrum of operations from war-fighting right through to stabilization.

Lieutenant Colonel Giles Timms MC, 4 PARA鈥檚 Commanding Officer, said:

Now that we have the same equipment as the regulars, it makes the training far more realistic. Some of our guys are on 5 days notice to move which, as a civilian, is a real challenge.

We are the only reserve infantry unit tasked with supporting 2 regular battalions at the same time. We pair with 2 and 3 PARA as they alternate between being the lead infantry unit in the AATF.

He continued:

We have to maintain our connections with the regular units because if they go anywhere, we鈥檒l go with them. For this exercise, we have gone right back to the basics.

We are making sure that the guys鈥� specialist airborne infantry skills, weapon drills and ability to use the latest night vision equipment are up to scratch so they can operate side by side with their regular counterparts.

Among the soldiers taking part was Private Carl Toolan, a theatre technician from Salford who joined earlier this year.

皇冠体育app 27-year-old said:

皇冠体育app challenge of the Paras was something I always wanted to do and 4 PARA鈥檚 reputation appealed to me a lot. You鈥檙e trained as a regular in your spare time so I鈥檝e got the best of both worlds now 鈥� I work full time and I鈥檓 training to be a Para.