ESPECIAL BRJP JULIO 2016 | TIERRA Nº 14 exhibition of the most advanced materiel the new VJTF is equipped with. He is accompanied by multinational personnel from his Staff and from Joint Force Command Brunssum, as well as by Gen. Cebrián, commander of the VJTF Brigade. The language used throughout the visit is English, although most of the people around us are Spanish. In the enclosure of the Battalion’s Command Post, Lt. Gen. Varela is shown the PCBON vehicle and the Tactical Chat, which greatly improves communications. The materiel exhibited includes a 81mm Cardom mortar, with a rate of fire of 12 rounds per minute and capable of adjusting fire and of self positioning, mounted on a VAMTAC and equipped with the state-of-the-art TALOS command and control system; a Spike anti-tank missile, which can penetrate even reactive armour, also on a VAMTAC; an ambulance which provides advanced life support; the latest individual first-aid kits, to facilitate selftreatment; the new combat backpack; the different configurations of the HK rifle (e.g. with the Leopold three-bynine magnification scope); and the Raven UAV, which can fly up to 10 km at an altitude of 1,000 feet, both autonomously and remotely controlled. Five VJTF stations After the static exhibition of materiel there was a dynamic exhibition in the training field staged by British and Spanish soldiers. It was divided into five stations showing different scenarios. In the first a British squad assisted a Spanish squad besieged by enemy forces. In the second, a patrol member injured during an ambush in the forest was evacuated – two of his colleagues took him to a sheltered area where a vehicle came to carry out a medical evacuation. In the third scenario two teams of precision shooters, one from Spain and the other from the UK, took out two sentinels, then the main action team neutralised a third watchman and collected the sensitive information they were after. The fourth scenario integrated aerial assets (Raven UAVs and Apache helicopters) and fire support (Cardom mortar). The fifth showed the recovery of a vehicle hit by an IED. At the end of each of the scenarios Varela approached the participants for a chat, in English or in Spanish, and asked them about their experience working together. There was not much time to prepare the exhibition but the result was beyond expectations. Capt. Alvarellos explained: “It is easy to cooperate because the language barrier is gradually being broken down and procedures are very similar.” Capt. Sam Pauls, commander of the British unit, confirmed his words and added: “We train with other countries in order to improve cohesion with a view to future joint operations.” 29
TIERRA EDICION DIGITAL 14
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