British airborne soldiers have wrapped up a challenging humanitarian and combat training period in East Africa, exemplifying their ability to be “comfortable in chaos”, a sentiment echoed throughout their recent missions.

This April saw the 3 PARA Battlegroup, straight off the back of major exercises on Salisbury Plain, heading to Sudan with the task to “provide security and logistic support to the evacuation of British civilians.”

Not resting on their laurels, the troops immediately switched gears post-Sudan, heading out to Kenya for “six weeks of training for high-intensity warfare.”

The rapid transition between such diverse missions underscores the unique responsibilities of the 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team, the British Army’s rapid-response ensemble. Spearheading this battlegroup is the 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, stationed in Colchester. They operate in tandem with a gamut of specialists, from artillery to logisticians, all of whom are trained to deploy by “parachute, helicopter or airlanding.”

Reflecting on the team’s adaptability and resilience, Lieutenant Colonel Will Hunt, the Commanding Officer of the 3 PARA Battlegroup, shared, “Sudan and Kenya were completely different situations, requiring different skills and mindsets. But in both situations what really stood out to me was every soldier’s willingness to work tirelessly to do what needed to be done and to be comfortable in chaos, which is what our role demands.”

Exercise Haraka Storm in Kenya was no walk in the park. Soldiers faced simulations of “high-intensity combat, with the equipment and vehicles they would be able to deploy by air with on an operation.” The training regime was progressive, starting with foundational drills such as “infantry practising their patrolling skills by day and night,” and engineers getting hands-on, “building bridges and defensive positions.”

This eventually scaled up to intensive live-ammunition exercises, culminating in a full-force operation. Their final trial? A gruelling “16-mile (25km) overnight march to assault an enemy position at the top of a rocky outcrop.”

Under a standing agreement with the Kenyan Government, up to “six infantry battlegroups per year carry out exercises in Kenya,” ensuring robust preparation for units on the brink of deployment or transitioning to high-readiness roles.

You can read more by clicking here.

George Allison
George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison

18 COMMENTS

  1. Britain’s military training facilities in Kenya have a long history and help to ensure that her soldiers have a broad range of experience in different climates and terrain along with other areas in Canada and the Middle East for example. Kenya must be a nice posting-beautiful country. On the subject of East Africa some of you may remember when soldiers of the Tanganyikan Army revolted shortly after Independence and were joined by counterparts in Kenya and Uganda. The three governments requested the British Military to intervene to restore order which they did succesfully although it did not prevent the rise of Idi Amin some years later. Towards the end of the 1960’s as the last of the retreat from Africa was in progress, the UK also sent soldiers up to Swaziland to deal with unrest there just prior to Independence. I may be wrong but am pretty sure they landed in Durban and travelled up to Swaziland by road?!

    • PS The RAF also moved a flight of Javelins into Zambia after Ian Smith declared UDI to supposedly counter any incursions into that country by the Royal Rhodesian Air Force. The pilots of the RAF and RRAF apparently greeted each other in the air and rumour had it that the British pilots would never have engaged their Kith and Kin in combat under any circumstances! At about the same time we had a visit by a Royal Navy Carrier to Durban-the last major RN visit to the city. She was well received but some of the “Pom” sailors were not so well behaved when they came into a shop where I was working my Saturday morning gig😉
      Gilbert and Sullivan comedy and some of the last hurrahs in Britains role as global policeman! 😃( OK enough stories for today Daniele!)

      • ABF PPS-the East African intervention was the action that inspired the Richard Attenborough movie Guns at Batasi- brilliant film.
        George/Daniele-I now promise to shut up!!🤓

        • Not at all Geoff. I know nothing of this history so I like your stories, never stop.

          Why are the Paras going round in, what to my eye is a Land Rover? I believe 16AA Para Bns have Jackal in their Recc Platoons, and so do the Pathfinders.
          Even if that is a BATUK vehicle and they’ve not brought theirs over, it is not a great image.

          • It is Tom. the one scene that sticks in my mind is when Attenborough in a fit of rage, smashes a portrait of the Queen on the mess wall and then shocked at what he has done, tries to put it all back together again!

        • Don’t stop – its both interesting and highly relevant. There are lesson here regarding foreign intervention and application.

          Politicians ignore this at their peril.

      • Morning Geoff, keep em coming mate…..

        I believe the SAS ( informed about possible impending deployment to Rhodesia) had similar ‘misgivings’, so strong were there feelings, that it was decided that deploying the regiment in any capacity was all together a bad idea in the end….

        Especially as a good few among the ranks of 22 were from Rhodesia at the time!

        The misgivings second only to the proposed full squadron raid on Argentina during the Falklands war, where survivors, (with zero chance of escape and evasion), would likely have faced decades in Argentine prisons, or more likely tortortured to death by the Junta in prison….

        That one came close to a full scale mutiny until the government blinked first!

        • C Sqn wasn’t it mate? The Rhodesian connection?

          That raid on Rio Grande was not necessary as I read that the SIS, along with French help, had limited the supply of Exocet. And there were other covert ops taking place that provided warning, be that subs off the coast or SBS teams in hides.

          Interestingly, some SAS did land in Punta Arenas, and their Sea King was burned on the beach, the pilots decorated afterwards.
          Whether that was one op of many gone wrong or deliberate to make the Argies look the other way.

        • Hello John! The reverse was the case with the Rhodesian Army where most of the top brass and much of the rank and file were British born or first generation from Brit parents. As to the Falklands as you know there was an aborted raid on the Argie air force base with the SAS contingent landing up in Chile 😬

    • Of course Kenya will only be an actual posting for the Permanent Staff there.

      BATUK (was called BATLSK) consists of around 100 permanent staff and reinforcing short tour cohort of another 280 personnel. Not sure how many of those are British Army, how many might be Kenyan Army and how many are civilian staff.

      https://www.army.mod.uk/deployments/africa

      • I was on holiday from Salisbury when the item was in the news Klonkie-July 1963. I had thought it was a few years later. I have been following up with some research. They flew in from Kenya funnily enough-Gordon Highlanders and included a couple of KAR Askaris it would appear as there is a photo of one in their distinctive uniform. I will send some links
        Cheers from Durbs

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here