1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment training on the Salisbury Plain

Soldiers from The 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment have been fine tuning tactics and skills on Salisbury plain as the first new Light Mechanized Battalion.

The Battalion has been using Foxhound and Husky vehicles across a range of challenging manoeuvres aimed at sharpening their fighting skills.

Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Graham Shannon, said: “This is a new role for the Battalion and it is testing soldiers across the board. These vehicles provide a mobile and agile fighting edge… we are at the forefront of developing this concept.”

The training has certainly tested the soldiers. Ranger Colin Gribben said: “I’ve been trained to drive these vehicles but this is the first chance we’ve had to really get to grips with them.” Speaking more generally he said: “We have lots to do to both maintain the vehicles and keep fit so we can deliver a big punch to the enemy.” He added: “The training we’ve had has been really good and I feel confident.”

The Royal Irish will deploy to both Germany and Spain this year prior to taking its place among the UK’s high readiness units able to deploy globally at short notice.