Rutland-based soldiers have returned home to Kendrew Barracks after leading NATO allies on exercise across Europe.

The soldiers from 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment and Headquarters 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team are among 20,000 troops from across the NATO alliance that took part in Exercise Brilliant Jump and the Polish-led Exercise Dragon 24.

The two exercises were part of a larger ongoing series of NATO exercises entitled Exercise Steadfast Defender. It is NATO's largest military exercise series since the Cold War and demonstrates the unbreakable bond between NATO allies in Europe and North America, who have kept over one billion people safe for 75 years.

Soldiers from Kendrew Barracks led NATO allies in Poland. Image credit: MOD.

The first phase of Exercise Brilliant Jump was the deployment of The Headquarters of 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team (7LMBCT) also known as The Desert Rats and the 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, from Rutland to Central Europe. The soldiers flew into Sennelager to join their vehicles which travelled by sea from Marchwood near Southampton to Emden in Germany. 

Exercise Brilliant Jump provided experience in the co-ordination and deployment of forces from various countries that form part of NATO's Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (Land forces), (VJTF (L)).

The Headquarters of 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team took command of the VJTF (Land Forces) on 1 January 2024. The Task Force is headed up by Rutland-based 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment and includes troops from 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, 4th Regiment Royal Artillery, 32 Engineer Regiment, 6 Regiment Royal Logistics Corps, 3rd Medical Regiment and troops and capabilities from eight other NATO allies. 

The highly mobile VJTF land forces can deploy anywhere in the world within days in support of NATO allies and is the spearhead for NATO's Response Force.

The 7LMBCT Headquarters and Royal Anglian Regiment then completed a 1000km road move to the Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area in Poland where they joined Polish troops, as well as fellow VJTF troops from Albania, Spain and Turkiye, for the start of Exercise Dragon 24.

The Royal Anglian Regiment practised the skills required for fighting in woods and forests. Image credit: MOD.

The vast forests of Poland provided a unique environment  for the 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment to practise the skills required for fighting in woods and forests.

Dense forest can be a difficult environment in which to move and operate. Freedom of movement can be restricted, noise travels further and reduced visibility and difficulty with communication are just some of the issues and contact with the enemy can occur at much closer range. 

7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team (7LMBCT) Headquarters then led the multi-national forces of the VJTF(L) to the Vistula River for a wide wet gap crossing orchestrated by the German-British Amphibious Engineer Battalion 130. 

Recent heavy rain only made the crossing more complicated for the exercising forces, testing their ability to adapt to changing scenarios. 

Brigadier Guy Foden, Commander of 7LMBCT, the Desert Rats, said: "It's the first time that many in the Brigade have completed a really wide crossing of a major waterway, certainly a river of this width which is one of the major waterways in Europe. 

"This demonstrated NATO's ability to project a Brigade with relative ease across a major water obstacle. It shows the capability of both the British and German amphibious regiment, and also our French and Polish allies."

Soldiers have returned home to Kendrew Barracks. Image credit: MOD.

Every element of the VJTF on the exercise crossed the river including the main headquarters and its support units. The support units included the Royal Logistic Corps which ensured the fighting units had the logistical expertise they needed on the frontline. Also crossing the river were Spanish Leopard 2 tanks, US Abram tanks and German Boxer Armoured Fighting Vehicles.

Once safely on the other side of the river, the VJTF pushed forward toward its next objective, the Bemowo Piskie Training Area 300 kilometres away. A series of tank, artillery and dismounted exercises highlighted the international cooperation, camaraderie, and capabilities of the VJTF(L). 

The gunners of 4th Regiment Royal Artillery fired day and night before soldiers from the 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment engaged in urban combat, focusing on room and building clearance tactics, trench clearing and holding tactics.