A lengthy simulation of recce-strike ops faced troops from 11 Brigade during the formation’s first run-out as a fighting force.
Some 1,400 personnel spent 41 days in the field amid the harsh terrain of Laikipia and Samburu during Exercise Bull Storm. Among the units taking part were 1st Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment and 3rd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, who were joined by supporting arms and 100 gunners from the Kenyan Defence Force (pictured). The package replicated a scenario in which the British troops arrived in-country as an advanced element before working with the host nation to defeat a fictional enemy.
It was the first major test of 11 Brigade in its new guise since ceasing security assistance duties and resubordinating into the Field Army. Bdr Lopeti Cama Tukana (RA), who had been training alongside his Kenyan counterparts, cited the hilly environment, heat and wildlife as the most challenging aspects of the drills. He added: “It’s been interesting to be part of a battlegroup, especially working with the Infantry and the Kenyans as their technology and procedures are slightly different.”
