It's been a privilege to observe Exercise Rhino Heart and the sense of purpose it’s galvanised in our soldiers,” comments Brig Lisa Brooks.
The commander of 19th Light Brigade is standing inside Tin City – a bleak and battered urban complex on Sennelager Training Area, Germany.
She is satisfied that this overseas outing has not only shown her troops’ ability to deploy by land across Europe and fight, but their willingness to do so as well.
“There’s no one on this exercise who doesn’t want to be here,” the brigadier tells Soldier as the crackle of gunfire rips across our concreted surroundings.
“We have self-employed people deployed with us who charge call-out rates of around £80 an hour back home, so they’re actually losing money by being here.
“But they want to come and serve their country. That’s powerful – and it creates a will to win.”
Badged as the largest deployment of British volunteers since the Cold War era, this package has seen the service’s only fully reservist brigade build on similar work done out here in 2024.
This time around, however, combined service support units such as the military police, Royal Engineer bridge builders and REME vehicle repairers have rocked up – as well as a sprinkling of international troops from Estonia and Canada.
A realistic and freethinking opposing force has also been created from within the brigade. The troops have essentially been split down the middle to create two battlegroups, one led by The Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry and the other by 4th Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment.
Not only has this cranked up the realism, but it has brought home to everyone the sheer volume of specialisms that must work together seamlessly in order to deliver a credible operational capability.
Even Brig Brooks admits to being taken aback when she steps
out among a tidal wave of coloured berets at a drumhead service
upon her arrival in country.
“I looked out at the 850-or-so soldiers in front of me and it took my breath away,” she tells the magazine. “Not just because of the number, but because of the variety of participating units.
“These soldiers all want to develop themselves, personally and professionally, and this exercise has allowed them to do new things and work with different capabilities they’ve never seen before, whether that’s through composite units, patrols or inside HQs.
“That has been a learning experience, and it’s been challenging.
“But behind almost everyone here is a civilian career. And in those careers they are used to dealing with different groups of people.
“We are training en masse, but the reality is that we will all go back to work on Monday morning and probably never work in exactly the same teams again.
“But the skills we learn will remain. It’s all about sets and reps.”
Out on the training area, every reservist Soldier chats with is digesting something new – and for many that is simply the experience of operating at battlegroup level.
“We don’t often do this kind of exercise,” says supermarket worker Rfn Elliott O’Brien from 8th Battalion, The Rifles. “I’ve never seen every component of a battlegroup come into one like this.
“It gives you a much clearer picture of how the army works and all the assets you have at hand on operations.”
Kgn Lucy Whelan (Lancs) agrees.
“It’s been nice to see people from other cap badges and I have learned a lot from just being here,” she adds.
“People are always telling you stuff about their role, and you get to see everyone doing their own thing – from the medics and intelligence staff to the engineers blowing doors off.”
For Jackal driver LCpl Jack Dawson (SNIY), a professional actor and playwright in civvy life, Rhino Heart has not been just an opportunity to mix, but to hone his trade without limitation. And a week of roadtripping across central Europe, with all the associated mechanical headaches, has certainly achieved that.
“It was quite a crazy drive over from Belfast, via Liverpool and Rotterdam,” the junior NCO recalls.
“We don’t get so much time on the vehicles in the UK because we are limited to what off-road tracks we can use. But I feel more confident now. Getting contacted earlier today in the village was exciting.”
Brig Brooks agrees the journey over to Europe was as much a part of the shake-out as any special-to-arm training.
“It set an expeditionary mindset in our soldiers, and we are going to need that,” she adds.
Out on the training area at dawn, the silence of a misty riverbank is broken by an irritating buzz overhead.
The yellow tree leaves flutter nervously, and a small UAS comes into view above the canopy – one of several being operated by both of the battlegroups.
Gunfire breaks out, and the attacking force – led by the SNIY – appears through the trees.
This is the very definition of peer-on-peer warfighting – with the two ‘enemies’ only distinguishable to each other by the differently coloured tape on their helmets.
The freethinking nature of their opposition makes things complex for the soldiers, with serials straying into unpredictable scenarios that even spring a couple of surprises on directing staff, especially inside Tin City where urban battles can be precarious – as the more experienced troops out here know all too well.
“To succeed in this built-up environment you need a troop ratio of about 8-1,” says WO2 Richard Wareing (Rifles). “In rural areas that figure’s more like 3-1.
“Put a sniper in one of these windows with a good arc of view, and they could hold a whole company up.
“Fighting like this can take a long time.”
But even for the ex-regulars who have learnt lessons the hard way, there have been new things to pick up on Ex Rhino Heart – not least how to bring small UAS into the battle effectively.
Experiments see the devices used for both defensive awareness and early warning roles.
Troops from the 4 Lancs defending force – a significant number of whom have now been trained as small UAS operators – use their Parrot Anafis and an Elbit Magni-X to identify and track forming-up points and approach routes, before relaying that information to their commander to help coordinate positions.
A Tes drone being operated by a team from defence contractor Saab – the one spotted earlier – is also keeping troops on their toes by threatening to drop its payload.
LCpl James Stevens (Lancs) was enjoying putting his newfound skills to the test in a tactical scenario.
“When I left the regulars last year I promised myself I’d never join the reserve, but found myself wanting to be back with my kind of people,” he admits. “I missed army life.
“I did my small UAS operative course in June and it’s been something new – a fun way to do soldiering.
“This is the way the world is going and there’s quite a few of us qualified on these devices now in the battalion – I think we’re into double digits.”
According to the boss, the collective capability of 19th Light Brigade stems from this kind of individual commitment from volunteers to do more and learn more.
“As well as a clear will to win, there’s been a determination from everyone involved to make this exercise brilliant,” Brig Brooks continues. “These soldiers want to do their bit. And by providing something like this, set against the backdrop of the increasing threat in Eastern Europe and a war in Ukraine, there has been no better time for reservists to serve their country.
“We need to play our part in Nato and demonstrate we are ready. And that resonates with us all – the desire to be the army reserve that our country needs.
“We will be there.”
