Reservists from 75 Engineer Regiment Royal Engineers have come to Germany for a two week bridge building training package on Exercise Loepard Star 1.
Concentrating on demolitions, construction of water points, various bridges and general tactics, soldiering and engineering skills, this exercise provides reserve soldiers the opportunity to get hands on experience over a wide area according to the British Army in a press release.
75 Engineer Regiment is an Army Reserve unit based in the North West of England and Germany. The Regiment has a unique role and provides the British Army’s wide wet gap crossing (amphibious bridging) and logistic bridging capability in support of the Land Component on both enduring and contingent operations.
With a mix of Regular and Reserve troops, the Regiment provides formed groups of Combat and Amphibious Engineers to operations helping all parts of the Armed Forces to Live, Move and Fight.
One of their main tools is the Medium Girder Bridge (MGB), a lightweight, man portable bridge and can be assembled without help from heavy equipment. In addition, it is also a deck type, two-girder bridging system capable of carrying loads up to and including Main battle tanks (MBT).
Another is the IAB – Infantry Assault Bridge – a lightweight footbridge for infantry and airborne troops that can be used to cross dry or wet gaps. One complete bridge set provides a clear span of 30 meters. With additional bridge modules and floats, even wider wet gaps can be crossed.
Manually launched and retrieved, the IAB is easily transported by hand, truck, fixed or rotary wing aircraft, and also provides a first response capability for civil defence and emergency units.
Another defence cut. This capability was once provided by 28 regiment RE.
Why are they even deployed in Germany? Time to pull out and bring the troops and their bases back to the UK.
save a few pounds there?
They are not. They are a TA Regiment located in the North West of the UK. Warrington if I recall.
The remains of the old 20th Armoured Brigade, parts of which are still based at Paderborn and Sennelager, are indeed in the process of moving once the Super Garrison around Salisbury Plain is complete.
Most garrisons of the British army have already returned to the UK.
This is obviously a plus for the uk economy.
Ironically, with worries over Russian moves on Ukraine and the Baltic, some want the trend to move back to the UK reversed.
I’d also add that the British Army and German army would regularly practise bridging the Rhine and River Weser ( I think ) with their M3 Rigs so this training deployment is standard.
@ Mr Bell.
It’s the way the Germany Constitution was Established by the Occupation Forces by the Allies after WWII. The ex-Soviet Union was Paid-Off by the Germans during the Reunification of East/West Germany in 12 September 1990. The “Other” Occupation Allies: Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, the USA, France and the UK were retained as a Buffer when Putin came to power…
Army reserves not TA anymore.. sorry to be picky
Nope fair comment!