Soldiers from 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (5 SCOTS) swapped their ceremonial kit for the chance to deploy in Chinooks onto the snow-capped hills of Garelochhead.

Fifty troops from Balaklava Company were airlifted from Redford Barracks in Edinburgh and flown fast and low into exercises to engage with an enemy lying in wait.

It was a rare chance for the soldiers to use airframes of this kind and took place as part of a week-long training package called Argyle Hunter.

Captain Elliott Smith said this was an opportunity his soldiers relished.

“This was a return to core infanteering, undertaking offensive enabling actions, including ambushes, fighting patrols and hasty attacks, up and down hills, across rivers, involving casualties and captured personnel,” he said.

“Our previous exercises have focussed on defensive and urban operations and while we’ve had some limited opportunities to do some Puma flights, but this is the first time I’ve been able to plan airframes into a low-level exercise with two Chinooks.”Â

Balaklava Company, a light-role, dismounted infantry unit, but also tasked with delivering on State and ceremonial duties, managed to take advantage of 28 Squadron RAF’s exercise, Kukri Dawn – a helicopter pilot confirmatory training exercise combining underslung loads of Army weaponry, in tandem with resilience operations with Police Scotland.

Captain Smith said: “This fits into the bigger picture of our role.Â

“We’re a ceremonial company, but we need to take these opportunities where they come up.Â

“It was by happenchance the Puma squadron were up here conducting their training and doing this kind of thing is a training objective in itself, because conducting aviation moves is part of our core skill setÂ

“The thing we were pushing for in the serials was to not make it clear when they were going to end, by making use of the complex terrain or the addition of a changing enemy picture.Â

“It wasn’t about keeping things fixed by getting onto the objective, defeating the enemy, packing your kit up and off you go.Â

“There would be a case of new intelligence coming through, challenging the platoon commanders to get them thinking and pressure test their ability to calm the troops in the field.

“This scenario was set not only in a challenging and physical environment, this was arduous in terms of what the weather throws at you in Garelochhead in February.”

Balaklava Company started their cyclone training window in January, then progressed through section-level rural drills and then section-level urban drills, before conducting platoon-level defensive operations in Ripon and then shooting drills and making use of trench warfare systems in Catterick.Â

Captain Smith said: “The end state is we’re going to go on exercise for two weeks under 51 Brigade, which will validate us at company level and set the conditions for us to work with NATO partners.”

To read more, please click here.