Exercise Olive Grove saw the troops from A Company, 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment (2 Mercian) deploy to Al Quwayrah in Jordan on the 14th of January.
The British Army say that the exercise will run until today, after which the soldiers will return to their base in Cyprus.
“The training builds the British and Jordanian troops’ readiness for operations in the demanding conditions of the desert and shares each other’s skills.”
Major Mike Brigham MBE, Officer Commanding A (Grenadier) Company 2 Mercian, said:
“I’ve had 25 new soldiers join the Battalion who have never been overseas with the Army, other than Cyprus where we are based, and this is their first experience of an arid environment. We have to be ready to deploy anywhere across the globe. This environment is exactly what our soldiers need to be training in.”
Lance Corporal Archie Galbraith, 25, from Stoke-on-Trent, said:
“We are trained to expect anything and to be ready to overcome it. We will work with anyone who joins the Battalion and make them a better soldier. It’s been enjoyable training alongside and socialising with the Jordanian soldiers. The Brits have proven to be the better footballers but the Jordanians have been the better dancers!”
Go to it, this is what the UK army is about. Show the world the professionalism of our military. It’s a shame recruitment is lagging. Still good to see!
Loads of respect for the Jordanian armed forces and their King??