The Scots Guards Have Been Making Their Final Preparations Ahead Of Their Deployment On Operation Shader

Members of 1st Battalion Scots Guards go through stages of decontamination after a chemical attack scenario during Ex SHADER TEMPEST.

Members of 1st Battalion Scots Guards go through stages of decontamination after a chemical attack scenario during Ex SHADER TEMPEST.

Ex SHADER TEMPEST was a four week pre-deployment exercise run from Bodney Camp on Stanford Training area in Norfolk. Having already completed a week-long exercise on Salisbury Plain, the Guardsmen embarked directly onto this moving from Wiltshire to Norfolk in their Mastiff armoured vehicles. The pre-deployment training started with a number essential soldiering skills serials, including several ‘live’ firing packages and basic field training.

Later into the exercise they switched to concentrating on what is termed as mission specific training, and in this case it is preparing the troops for whatever eventuality they could expect to be confronted by during their time in Iraq.

The Guardsmen were put through their paces learning how to react to indirect incoming fire such as rockets and/or mortar bombs as well as what to do if ‘contacted’, lastly they were taught how to respond if faced with a CBRN situation.