WO2 Dominic Virjee
A four man team from 3PWRR has recently returned from North Carolina USA where they provided training support to the Royal Bermuda Regiment.
The team, comprising a Captain, two Warrant Officers and a Corporal, took with them over 50 years of combined experience and a varied skill set from both regular and reserve service.
Working from Camp Lejeune, a USMC training establishment, the team conducted training for both the RBR main body and a Junior NCO Cadre across a variety of serials including blank field exercises up to COY level, bayonet fighting, CQB and urban operations, and live ranges for both rifle & pistol.
The training area available was huge, much larger than available in the UK, and support from the USMC including helicopter movement, Humvees and 7 tonne trucks; with a safety brief that included venomous snakes, Alligators, Bears and poisonous spiders.
3PWRR personnel further provided mentoring to Platoon Commanders & Sergeants within RBR and enjoyed training opportunities to increase their own skills including foreign weapons on ranges, and within a live fire ‘shoot house’ with the Bermuda Police Service ERT Firearms Officers, and US vehicle & heli’ familiarisation.
Exercise Island Warrior 2022 proved to be a positive and productive experience for all involved, the RBR could not have been more welcoming and their troops approached training with enthusiasm and a great willingness to learn and improve.
For our instructors this was a fantastic opportunity to refine teaching methods, share knowledge and ideas, and to work with another organisation in a different country in sometimes challenging environmental conditions.
Bermuda is a British territory and the Royal Bermuda Regiment is a reserve unit organised on a similar basis to our own Army Reserve. The regiment is building an increasingly strong relationship with 3PWRR, and this is the second time our troops have supported their training in the US, and they have sent their soldiers to join us on exercises in Thetford and Brecon; we look forward to working with them again soon.
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