Sixteen soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) became the first British Army troops to embed with Japanese forces during a major exercise last month.
The Scottish troops, who are based in Fort George near Inverness, operated as part of the 11th Security Force Assistance Brigade during Exercise Vigilant Isles in Japan.
They were joined in the Far East by soldiers from B Company, 1st Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles (1RGR) and 16 Air Assault Brigade.
“The British Army personnel trained alongside approximately 400 Japanese troops. During the functional live fire tactical training phase at Sekiyama, the 3 SCOTS soldiers embedded with a recce platoon from the Japanese 1st Airborne Brigade. The soldiers from Scotland operated a Parrot Anafi drone to locate ‘enemy’ troops.”
Corporal Fraser Hall, 3 SCOTS said:
“It’s been eye-opening to work with the Japanese, embedded with their recce forces and giving them drone capability on the ground. We’ve had to get used to their tactics and how they do things slightly differently. It’s been a really good experience in a beautiful country.”
The tall lanky British guy at the back. Looks like he is Tick Tocking. (Those who know, will know)
Haha! Trained soldiers should really not do that.
Japan really isn’t having a good new year at the moment.
JAL have demonstrated world class safety procedures and execution by getting 100% of hundreds of passengers out of the burning A350 so brilliant work by them.
Not so much by the terminal (airfield) controllers!
The 6.7 Richter scale quake seems to be a recurring problem.
I wish them well 🇯🇵🇬🇧
Japan is now a key part of containing Chinese expansionist ambitions.
The country will be on the frontline of any conflict with China and therefore embedding our militaries together is very sensible. Every likelihood before 2030 that there will be a war with China.
Dictator Xi has set 2030 as the year by which “reunification”- aka invasion of Taiwan will be completed by.
Whilst China is fortifying it’s economy. Diversifying supply chains and hardening themselves against sanctions and/ or a blockade by bringing all possible military industrial supply chains internally they are also mass producing long range conventional ballistic missiles to hit carrier battle groups and forward allied bases, airfields and dockyards. As well as continuing to build as many warships as possible and aircraft and drones in dizzying numbers.
Meanwhile the UK government are preparing for this inevitable conflict by doing precisely nothing. We will be Ethelred the Unready.
“Meanwhile the UK government are preparing for this inevitable conflict by doing precisely nothing.”
Far worse than that they’ve been shrinking our forces dangerously. RN Escort fleet will be down to 14 ships before the first new build replacements become operational, record low front line warplanes, tiny army.
Hopefully what we’ll learn from the FE is how to maintain credible defence against a rising, expansionist, superpower.
RN plans to return to basic minimum peacetime levels, not to a near war level.
Vaguely recall Unready being closer to ‘poorly counselled’ (‘read’ having similar root to now). So may have been as much a reference to the ‘wisdom of his cabinet’ as much as him. Thus the Saxon pun was irresistible. English humour making the best of it from an early age? Luckily, we can rely on far more foresight these days 😒
A. Why??
B. Why?
C. There will be NO WAR with China!