Combat & Survival 09
Website: www.combatandsurvival.com
P16 Outdoor Survival WEATHER
Jason Polley explains the benefits of understanding the
weather and discusses indicators
P21 Preparedness WTSHTF!
Bob Morrison asks if YOU are prepared to survive if or when
the shit hits the fan
P28 British Forces SOUTHWEST WADER
Bob Morrison watches the last Commando landing before
the COUGAR ‘15 deployment
P36 Vehicle Focus POLAND’S MIGHT
Carl Schulze reports from Warsaw and the impressive
Miracle of the Vistula military parade
P42 Marching Ammo AUSTRALIAN CR1M
Gordon Arthur takes over our occasional series to report on
the ADF Combat Ration One Man
P46 Working Blades SIMPLE FOLDERS
Bob Morrison trials a UK-legal friction folder and an
interesting survival axe belt tool
P49 Alliance Forces 2 NOBLE JUMP ‘15
Bob Morrison reports from Poland on Phase 3 - Armoured
defence and counter-attack
P58 Kit & Camo LITHSOF JEGERIS
Bob Morrison focuses on a Special Operations Forces
Jaeger from Lithuania
P63 Outdoor Gear P09
TRIED & TESTED
Mike & Jean Gormley trialled boots,
sandals, bags and a head torch on
honeymoon in Africa
P70 Scale Models
ISRAELI ARMOUR
Ian Young lists the many excellent
1/35th kits of IDF heavy armour
now available
P05 : Comms
P56 : News
P68 : Security
Vicky Lindsay, Magazine Director
Editorial Department
Bob Morrison, Editor
Carl Schulze, Senior Correspondent
Gordon Arthur, Far East Correspondent
Jason Polley, Survival Specialist
Mike Gormley, Gear Tester
Robert Shaw, Security Consultant
Ian Young, Scale Models
Jitka Cajova, Editor’s Assistant
Ashley Lockwood, Designer
Advertising Department
Moira Spencer, Sales Director
Amy Williamson, Sales Executive
Mia Lawrence, Accounts Manager
Fran Smith, Admin & Subscriptions Manager
Marketing Department
Ciaran Jarosz, Head of Marketing
Daryl Crowther, Marketing Manager
Ryan Carr, Marketing Assistant
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P42
P49
December 15 Cover Image:
© Bob Morrison
© Hit Media Ltd 2015
Combat & Survival 03

The last month seems to have
vanished in a blur but, come
to think of it, so has 2015 as a
whole. The way print schedules
run I am actually penning this
page of the December issue at
the end of October, just before
flying out to cover the massive
TRIDENT JUNCTURE exercise
now running across the length
and breadth of the Iberian
Peninsula, so there are still
two months of the year to go.
Strangely, it seems like only last
month that I was out on a snowy
Hohenfels area listening to Lt.
Gen. Ben Hodges, USAREUR
Commanding General, and
other senior NATO commanders
discussing how the Alliance was
going to reassure the Eastern
European nations in response to
Russian expansionism.
N
ine months on from that
wintry January day the
C&S Team has witnessed
NATO ramping up and,
on the whole, we have been very
impressed. If being honest with
ourselves, however, we are not
at all sure that the UK Forces
are actually in a position to
deliver what Prime Minister David
Cameron has been promising.
Don’t get us wrong, when British
troops have deployed as part of
multinational formations on ma-
noeuvres the guys and gals have
done their best to punch their
weight but, just as on recent ops,
one gets the impression they are
sparring with one hand tied behind their
back and the other one wrapped up in a
duvet rather than a boxing glove.
When most other nations participate
on multinational training exercises they
appear to do so with full complements
of troops, vehicles and equipment. UK
Forces, on the other hand, often seem
to be sent out in smaller formations with
token numbers of tanks, fighting vehicles,
landing craft and helicopters etc. rather
than what one might expect, which
suggest to us that the defence cut-backs
have pared them back to the bone ... and
in some cases sucked out the marrow
too!
The latest rumour we are picking up,
seemingly coming from the top down
rather than the bottom up, is that if
the Royal Navy is to live according to
its means once the new carrier HMS
Members of 2 PARA descend onto
Hohenfels Training Area earlier this year
using their preferred method of delivery
[© Carl Schulze]
US Navy LCACs landing 26 MEU LAVs and
Hum-vees at Praia da Raposa on 20th October
at the start of TRIDENT JUNCTURE in Portugal
[GABIMAGEM-GABCEMA: SAJ FZ Pereira]
Queen Elizabeth is commissioned,
Britain’s amphibious capability will have
to be drastically reduced. Next year the
amphibious assault ship HMS Bulwark,
currently deployed on COUGAR ‘15 and
TRIDENT JUNCTURE, will be mothballed
once sister vessel HMS Albion comes
out of refit, but some suggest both of
these Albion-class vessels will have to
be withdrawn from service, along with
the current fleet flagship HMS Ocean, to
ensure full manning and resources for the
new carrier.
If Ocean, Albion and Bulwark do face
the chop, which many are predicting
will be announced in the Government’s
forthcoming strategic defence review, it
is likely that the Royal Marines will have
to rely more on helicopters, rather than
on a mix of landing craft and helicopters,
for future assaults. Britain’s Parachute
battalions still theoretically maintain their
overhead assault capability, but these
days they have been made more reliant
on Helos than Hercs for delivery onto the
battlefield, so bean-counters could be
justified in asking if there is really a need
for both Paras and Commandos. We
think there is, but only because we have
seen both types of formation deployed in
strength on major exercises.
On the positive side, not too long after this
issue hits the newsstands the Parachute
Regiment will again be able to proudly
wear their Pegasus badge, designed in
World War II by General Sir Frederick ‘Boy’
Browning’s wife Daphne du Maurier, which
depicts the god Bellerephon astride the
winged horse. When 5 Airborne and 24
Airmobile Brigades were merged to give
a primarily heliborne force the Paras were
forced to wear the Striking Eagle badge of
the new 16 Air Assault Brigade.
Although it would be very sad to see
the Navy restrict amphibious capability
and limit the Royal Marines to a primarily
heliborne role to allow the carrier to
function properly, having flown on one
and witnessed others in the distant past
it would be great to see the Paras able to
regularly exercise 15-ship Lead Airborne
Battalion Group parachute drops again.
Being a ‘glass half full’ person, I dream
of seeing Britain’s Paras and Marines
able to once again exercise on the same
scale they did on PURPLE WARRIOR ‘96;
possibly I am being overly optimistic. - BM
Combat & Survival 05
After completing a
mission during the
shaping operation
phase troops from
1st Battalion, 75th
Ranger Regiment
make their way to
a helicopter landing
site in order to be
extracted

Combat & Survival 09

On 26th August
1,314 NATO
paratroopers were
dropped onto
Hohenberg Drop Zone
on the Hohenfels
Training Area in 1
a total of six lifts
by eight Hercules
and four Transall
transport aircraft

This August and September 1: After a high value

the NATO Exercise SWIFT target has been
RESPONSE ‘15 saw some
arrested by German
4,800 paratroopers from
eleven nations training
EGB specialist forces
for Joint Forcible Entry of Luftlande brigade
Operations. Controlled by 1 he is escorted to
XVIII Airborne Corps of the a helicopter landing
US Army, the manoeuvres site for extraction
took place simultaneously 2
at locations in Bulgaria, 2: US Paras
Germany, Italy and M1151A1 Expanded
Romania. C&S followed Capacity Armament
the part of the exercise,
Carriers IAP/Armor
conducted on the Hohenfels
Training Area in southern
Ready provide
Germany, to bring you this security for one
exclusive report. of the approaches
to the STOL Strip

H
ohenfels Training Area, south- on the Hohenfels
ern Germany, 26th August, Training Area as
2015, 12:45 hours. One
reinforcements are
transport aircraft after another
passes low over the Hohenberg
flown in
Drop Zone and delivers its human
load. In turn the sky is filled with Images ©
US T-11, German T-10 and British Carl Schulze
LLP (Low Level Parachutes) that

10 Combat & Survival


slowly descend to the ground. In six
lifts, a total of 1,314 paratroopers are
dropped from seven C-130J Hercules
from the USA and the United King-
dom, one C-130H Hercules from the
Netherlands and four C-160 Transall
transport aircraft from Germany.
On approaching the ground the
paratroopers drop their kit containers
and prepare themselves to perform
the parachute landing fall. Once
safely on the ground the troops from
Germany, Italy, the Netherlands,
Poland, Spain, the USA and the UK
quickly get rid of their parachutes,
remove covers from their weapons,
shoulder their rucksacks and move
out to rendezvous points assigned
prior to the jump. For the troops of
the multinational Task Force DEVIL,
led by the 1st Brigade Combat Team
of the 82nd Airborne Division ‘All
American’, the massive airborne
operation marked the beginning of the
operational phase of exercise SWIFT
RESPONSE 15.
During the shaping operation phase US
Rangers and German EGB specialist
forces from Luftlande brigade 1 were
inserted by CV-22B Ospreys from UK-
based 7th Special Operations Squadron
Elsewhere on the 26th of August, and
on another part of Exercise SWIFT
RESPONSE 15, some 230 US, Spanish
and Italian paratroopers belonging to
Task Force BAYONET, centred around
the 173rd Airborne Brigade, almost
simultaneously conducted a parachute
assault onto Smardan Training Area
in Romania. This jump involved five
C-130H Hercules and one C-130J
Hercules of the US Air Force.
EXERCISE HARD FACTS
Exercise SWIFT RESPONSE ‘15 took
place at locations in Bulgaria, Germany,
Italy and Romania between 16th August
and 13th of September. Key training
was conducted at the Grafenwöhr and
Hohenfels Training Areas in Germany,
the Smardan Training Area in Romania
and the Novo Selo Training Area in
Bulgaria. The main aims of the exercise
were to demonstrate the ability of NATO
to rapidly deploy high readiness forces
within five days to conduct deterrence Above: From top of an Iveco 40.10WM light truck an Italian paratrooper
and defensive operations, to improve of the 183° Reggimento Paracadutisti Nembo provides cover with a
interoperability on all levels and to 7.62mm MG42/59 while his comrades evacuate foreigners
Combat & Survival 11
3
strengthen crisis management
capabilities.
The exercise saw the participation
of 4,800 troops from eleven
NATO nations, namely Bulgaria,
France, Germany, Greece, Italy,
the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal,
Spain, the UK and the USA, although
some nations only participated with
staff personnel or observers. Led by
the XVIII Airborne Corps of the US
Army, operational command of the
exercising troops was conducted
by the HQ of the 82nd Airborne
Division. Under this headquarters,
the participating Airborne forces
were formed into two brigade-size
Task Forces.
• Task Force DEVIL, the larger of
the two, was centred around the 1st
Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd
Airborne Division and operated out of
an Intermediate Staging Base (ISB)
at the Baumholder Training Area,
close to the German border with
Luxembourg.
• Task Force BAYONET centred
around the 173rd Airborne Brigade
operated out of an ISB situated at the
Aviano Air Base in Northern Italy.
Both Task Forces were supported by
Special Operations Forces assets
from the US, Germany, Italy and
12 Combat & Survival
German Waffenträger
Wiesel 1 weapon
carriers of Task Force
CERBERUS provide
cover while German
and US troops conduct
a NEO in the Kebirli
training village on the
Hohenfels Training Area
4
Bulgaria. Air transport for the Paras
was provided by six C-130J Hercules
and six C-130H Hercules of the US
Air Force, two C-130J Hercules of the
Royal Air Force, one C-130H Hercules
of the Royal Netherlands Air Force and
five C-160 Transall from the German Air
Force.
CONDUCTED IN PHASES
Ex. SWIFT RESPONSE 15 was
conducted in phases and started
with the Deployment, Reception and
Onward Integration Phase, on the 16th
of August. Under this, the participating
3: During SR 15 a forces moved from their home bases
Company Task Group to the ISBs in Germany and Italy. Once
formed around C deployed they immediately started
(Bruneval) Company to conduct familiarisation training
of 2 PARA was and combat proficiency parachute
jumps, while the HQ elements began
assigned under
to conduct mission planning for the
command of the
upcoming Joint Forcible Entry Operation.
183° Reggimento Simultaneously, equipment was
Paracadutisti Nembo
of the Italian Army
prepared for the heavy drop as well as
for the Follow On Air Land operation.
On the land exercise side, participating
4: Italian troops were issued with the MILES
paratroopers from laser-based duel simulation system
183° Reggimento and vehicles also were fitted with their
Paracadutisti Nembo equivalent equipment.
engage irregular
forces attacking the On 23rd August the Special Operations
STOL Strip - note Para Task Force’s Field Training Phase
in the foreground is kicked off in Bulgaria and on the 24th in
armed with a 5.56mm Germany. Under this, Combined Joint
Beretta ARX 160 Special Operations Task Force (CJSOTF)
assault rifle SR 15 conducted shaping operations
in preparation of the planned Joint
Left: Pallets of Forcible Entry Operation. Meanwhile, in
water and other Bulgaria US Rangers from 1st Battalion,
75th Ranger Regiment and Bulgarian
vital supplies
Special Forces from the 68th Special
were dropped in Forces Brigade conducted long range
by parachute from reconnaissance missions and gathered
C-130J Hercules information. In Germany the US Rangers,
transport aircraft of together with Italian Special Forces and
the US Air Force German EGB specialist forces from
Luftlande brigade 1, disabled enemy
air defence assets and targeted enemy
key leaders in order to dismantle the
enemy’s leadership structure.
5
The 2 PARA Company
Task Group included a
Fire Support Team from
7 PARA RHA a Close
Support Section from
9 Parachute Squadron
RE and personnel
from 156 Provost
Company
RMP

The elements of the CJSOTF SR 6

15 were supported by CV-22B
Ospreys tiltrotor transport aircraft
from the 7th Special Operations
Squadron of the US Air Force and
Chinook HC2 transport helicopters
from 18 Squadron of the Royal Air
Force.

MULTINATIONAL FIELD
TRAINING PHASE
With the Special Operations Forces
having done their work, it was now
the turn of the Airborne Forces.
On 24th August some 400 Italian,
US and Bulgarian troops of Task
Force BAYONET simultaneously
conducted two parachute assaults.
These were aimed at the Balchik
and Tenevo Airfields in Bulgaria,
known as Objective BRONZE and
Objective TIN. The aim of this
operation was to secure Helicopter
Landing Zones in order to both
allow the deployment of follow-
on forces and use of the sites by
12th Combat Aviation Brigade
to conduct follow-on combat
operations.
Training in Bulgaria carried on
through to the 27th of August and,
among other combat activities,
included two Helicopter Assault
Force (HAF) Raids and Gun Raids
involving 105mm M119A3 Light
Guns. The aim of these operations
was to disrupt the enemy’s lines of
communications and to deny him
key terrain. Some of the combat
missions saw the forces of Task
Force BAYONET deploy to training
areas in Romania, for example
as part of a parachute assault on
Smardan Training Area.
TASK FORCE DEVIL
In the meantime a Long Range
Reconnaissance and Surveillance
(LRRS) force, in the form of a
platoon from the Compañía de
Reconocimiento Avanzado of the
Spanish Army, had been deployed
by CV-22B Ospreys tiltrotor
transport aircraft of the 7th Special
Operations Squadron to the
Hohenfels Training Area in southern
Germany on 25th August.
The mission of the Spaniards was to
provide overwatch on the Hohenberg
Drop Zone, to conduct route
reconnaissance from the drop zone
to the objectives of the main assault
force and to establish observation
posts in the area of the STOL Strip
and Aghjabadi City. The STOL Strip
is a special airfield on the Hohenfels
Training Area allowing transport aircraft
to land and take off using short take
off and landing techniques. On 26th
August Task Force DEVIL jumped
in, its task being to conduct a Joint
Forcible Entry Operation and to secure
the STOL Strip in order to allow follow-
on forces to be flown in.
With the Hohenberg Drop Zone
secured, Task Force CERBERUS
went directly into action. Consisting
of some 630 German paratroopers
from Luftlande brigade 1, plus
150 Dutch paratroopers of the 11
Luchtmobile Brigade and 170 Polish
paratroopers of the 18 Batalionie
Powietrznodesantowym, the German-
led Task Force stormed Objective 40S,
and by doing so cleared the way for
Task Force FOLGORE.
Consisting of Italian and US
paratroopers, as well as a Company
Task Group formed around C
(Bruneval) Company of the 2nd
Battalion The Parachute Regiment,
this unit was given the task of
seizing the STOL Strip. While Task
Force CERBERUS and Task Force
FOLGORE seized their objectives Task
Force GERONIMO, formed around the
2nd Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry
Regiment of the US Army, including
7
5: German Paras of Parachute Infantry Companies from
Task Force CERBERUS Spain and Poland, to serve as a
deployed to Kebirli to reserve.
conduct a NEO - here
they are establishing It was not until early morning, after
a security perimeter fierce fighting between Task Force
around the registration FOLGORE and Opposing Forces
played by the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry
site for evacuee
Regiment, that the STOL Strip was
processing
finally in the paratroopers’ hands.
6: Directly after the
STOL Strip had been FOLLOW-ON AIR
taken transport aircraft LAND OPERATION
With the STOL Strip now in the hands
flew in to deliver of Task Force DEVIL, combat engineers
heavy equipment and went to work to prepare it for the first
reinforcements - this transport aircraft that would fly in heavy
ESK Mungo airborne equipment and reinforcements. Once
forces vehicle has the runway was repaired, the first
just been flown in by transport aircraft began to fly in. During
German C-160 28th August, for example, a total of 29
C-130J Hercules, C-130H Hercules and
7: Prior to conducting C-160 Transall flights from Germany,
a Non-combatant the US and the Netherlands landed
Evacuation Operation a on the STOL Strip, were unloaded and
German officer of Task took off again.
Force CERBERUS briefs
a member of the local In addition to supplies, the aircraft
police force - several brought in vehicles and additional
hundred role players troops. While the Follow-On Air
added realism Land Operation was ongoing, Task

Combat & Survival 13

 Force FOLGORE and Task Force Among the vehicles employed by the German Paras during SR
GERONIMO provided security for 15 were ESK Mungo airborne forces vehicles - these light, air-
the STOL Strip and had to fight off transportable trucks can transport up to ten paratroopers
several attacks by the Opposing
Forces. In the meantime, Task
Force CERBERUS prepared itself
for a Non-combatant Evacuation
Operation.

NON-COMBATANT
EVACUATION OPERATION
On 30th August Task Force
CERBERUS went into the village of
Kebirli in order to evacuate a large
number of foreign nationals that
were threatened by local separatists
and terrorist groups. Supported
by US troops, the soldiers of Task
Force CERBERUS first sealed
the village off and established a
security perimeter around it. Then a
processing centre was established,
where the people that had to
be evacuated were processed,
received medical treatment and had
their baggage checked for hidden
weapons and explosives.

8 9

Finally the civilians were evacuated to
the STOL Strip. During the NEO the
troops had to deal with a sometimes
violent mob of local civilians who also
tried to get onto the trucks in order to
be evacuated as well. With the NEO
completed, the multinational field
training phase of exercise SWIFT
RESPONSE 2015 was completed.
COMBINED ARMS
LIVE FIRE EXERCISE
Following the multinational field
training phase, some of the troops
involved in the exercise were put
through a Combined Arms Live
Fire Exercise (CALFEX) held at the
Grafenwöhr Training Area.
Between 1st and 5th of September
American, British and Polish
paratroopers conducted complex
live-fire training that saw mixed
platoons, including sections from
each nation, attacking an enemy-held 8: A C-160 Transall different procedures in the art of
village, breaching its defences and then transport aircraft conducting airborne operations with
conducting house-clearing operations. one nation conducting the heavy
of the German Air
The troops were supported by Apache drop prior to dropping the personnel
AH Mk 1 attack helicopters from 663
Force lands on the while the other drops personnel first,
Squadron, 3 Regiment Army Air Corps. STOL Strip of the secures the drop zone and then finally
Hohenfels Training inserts the heavy drop.
When their tasks were successfully Area bringing
completed, the platoons were then in supplies and Parachutes are also an issue.
extracted by Chinook HC2 transport reinforcements for Different nations jump with different
helicopters from 18 Squadron of the Task Force DEVIL parachutes, which in peacetime
Royal Air Force. With the CALFEX over, requires troops to conduct additional
exercise SWIFT RESPONSE 15 ended. 9: Prior to being ground and safety training, as well as
combat proficiency parachute jumps,
allowed to enter
A CRITICAL OVERVIEW the registration before jumping with another nation’s
While exercise SWIFT RESPONSE 15 parachute. Several other issues were
certainly demonstrated NATO’s ability site the civilian also discovered and for the Airborne
to rapidly deploy high readiness forces role-players due Forces of most NATO nations the
in order to counter a crisis, it also for evacuation road to full interoperability is still a
revealed many issues; a major one are searched by long one.
being communications, with radio and US troops for any
information systems of the different hidden weapons Footnote: We intend bringing you
member nations not being compatible. and explosives further coverage of 2 PARA in a future
Another issue, for example, was the issue of C&S

14 Combat & Survival

 Imagine you are planning
a lengthy journey,
perhaps partly travelling
by sea, maybe involving
a mountain climb. Have
you checked to see the
usual weather for the
time of year you will be
travelling? Do you know
how to read the signs and
forecast the likely weather
conditions once you are
there? Do you appreciate
the importance and
usefulness of knowing
what may lie ahead of
you?
BENEFITS
Understanding the weather and
knowing what conditions are a few
hours away, or further, can have
enormous advantages. Predicting
the weather will help decide
whether to stay put for a bit, or to
move on. Remember, you lose
body heat around twenty-five times
faster if wet, and avoiding the rain
could mean avoiding the risk of
hypothermia. No competent sailor
or mountaineer would set off into an
imminent storm if they could avoid
it by delaying their journey an hour
or so.
Having a fair idea of the weather
ahead will also dictate your
16 Combat & Survival
Main Image: 1
Can you read
the clouds and
the sky?
1: Never
undertake a sea
voyage without
knowing the
forecast, and
being able to
receive updates
2: Daisies open
up during good
weather, but
close shortly
before the rain
2 WEATHER INDICATORS
Images © Do not base a weather forecast upon
or via one indicator alone. The more signs
Jason Polley you refer to, and they more they agree
with each other, the more reliable the
forecast. Look at the clouds, the birds,
the wind, the effects air pressure is
having, and even the plants. Nothing
happens without warning, you just have
to heighten your awareness and be
preparations and kit. Suncream or able to see and interpret the signs.
waterproofs? Knowing when the
monsoon arrives in the area, the average Here are some indicators you should
temperature and rainfall, may all have a start noticing:-
bearing on your choice of transport and • Keep an eye on western skies;
your timing. Refer to guidebooks and weather usually moves from west
on-line information (e.g. weatherbase. to east, so keep a look out for
com) and don’t arrive anywhere approaching dark clouds.
oblivious to the region’s climate. • Rainbows in the late afternoon
3 Main Image:
indicate good weather ahead.
• Grey or misty mornings and red
evening skies are commonly followed
by fine weather; however, if the mist
hasn’t lifted by midday, it may turn to
rain.
• Generally, a wind from the west
brings good weather and a wind from
the east brings wet weather.
• Changes in air pressure, sounds
seem clearer and sharper shortly
before rain falls.
• The smell of flowers and vegetation
is more distinct before rain; this is
because many open up in readiness to
receive the rain - note, however, daisies
open up in fine weather and close
shortly before the rain falls and pine
4
Clear skies are
fine in the day,
but at night
mean it may be
very cold
3: Understand
the weather
as being able
to forecast
conditions
ahead can affect
the timing of any
operations, as
well as your kit
4: Carry a radio
and a smart
cones do the same. phone so you should be checked frequently to
• If smoke from your camp fire goes can get updated plot rises and falls in pressure;
straight up, it indicates good weather weather reports if a gradual drop in pressure is
in the field noticed, expect rain.
ahead; if it swirls around or descends,
• High, wispy clouds occur in dry
it suggests rain is not too far away - get
weather, and lower and bulkier
cooking fast!
clouds in wetter weather; the
• Watch the summer skies for high-
darker the cloud, the more water it
flying insect-eating birds like swifts and
has within it.
martins; good if they are seen darting
• Individual fluffy white clouds
about, but if they are absent it suggests
are OK until they start merging
rain is approaching as their food
together into large tower-like
(insects) drops down to a lower height.
masses, as this suggests rain.
• If atmospheric pressure starts
• Clear night skies may be
dropping it usually indicates rain is on
dry and great for a bit of
its way; in some people, this drop in
astronavigation, but often mean it
pressure produces pain in joints and
will be a very cold night; prepare
soft tissue.
accordingly, as in some regions
• Outdoor watches with barometers
Combat & Survival 17
 5 Main Image:
(e.g. deserts) it can drop to below
zero centigrade.
EXTREME WEATHER
Tornadoes: Violent winds of up to
400 miles per hour. Primarily occur in
the Americas and Australia. They can
often be heard before they are felt or
seen. Take evasive action by moving
out of its path and taking cover in the
ground floor of a brick building, away
from any windows.
Hurricanes: Strong wind and
rain, a super-storm of chaos and
destruction. Take evasive action as
per tornadoes, and listen to radio
broadcast for updates and the all-
clear.
18 Combat & Survival
descend until you are sure it is over.
Rain cannot
always be FURTHER INFORMATION
In addition to downloading one
avoided, but of the many weather forecast
it can be phone apps to ensure you receive
anticipated and regular updates during your
prepared for journey, know where and when to
find radio weather reports in your
5: Pine cones area. In remote areas your mobile
open in dry phone may lose signal, and so its
weather and usefulness. Have a Plan B.
close up as rain
Try these free and reputable
approaches.
websites at the planning stages:-
• metoffice.gov.uk
6: Knowledge • bbc.co.uk/weather
of the likely • cnn.com/weather
weather All offer reliable weather forecasts,
conditions will often for many days ahead, and for
affect your around the world.
Lightning: It is close enough to do decision to stay
harm if the gap between the thunder put for a while, Understanding the weather ought
or to move on to form part of every outdoorsman’s
and the lightning is less than a minute.
set of survival skills. Get better by
Avoid high ground and open spaces
reading Instant Weather Forecasting
where possible. If unavoidable, crouch 7: Rainbows in by Alan Watts or Weather for
low and put something between you the afternoon Hillwalkers and Climbers by
and the ground, such as a wooden indicate good dry Malcom Thomas – the latter being
box or coiled rope. Do not hold metal weather ahead recommended by the Mountain
objects, and if you find a cave go
Leader Training Board.
in deep and do not hang around
the mouth. Avoid using landline
The weather is more predictable
telephones.
than many think; though you
Tsunami: These are a series of huge
cannot always avoid uncomfortable
tidal waves caused by earthquakes
conditions, you can usually
out at sea. You need to move to high
anticipate and prepare for them
ground fast, grabbing a floatation aid
and so minimise any negative
if you can. Expect several gigantic
effects.
walls of water, not just one, so do not
6

Combat & Survival 19

When the shit hits
the fan, which
sooner or later
it quite possibly
will, would you
be prepared
and equipped
to survive in
the resulting
dangerous world?
[Model: Jitka]

Combat & Survival 21

 Intrastate Conflict: It is an undisputable [sic]
fact that in Europe such conflicts have so far
taken place only on the continent’s periphery
(Northern Ireland, the Balkans, the Caucasus). So
far terrorism has indeed proven to be the most
serious security challenge in the West, and police
forces have been able to handle it, with some
occasional assistance from the military. However,
this complacent attitude may have to be revised
in the future because a number of signs suggest
that the European Union will probably also
become a theater of fourth-generation conflicts.
Peter A. Kiss: Winning Wars amongst the People

22 Combat & Survival


Many of us like a decent fictional
apocalyptic drama, be that a movie
about the Earth in danger from a big
meteor strike or natural disaster or
a television series about fighting off
hordes of flesh-eating zombies. So
will a massive space rock hit our
planet in the future? Definitely. Will
a cataclysmic earthquake cause
mass destruction and fatalities? Yes,
maybe even today or tomorrow. Will
global warming cause record floods
and hurricanes? Certainly, and it is
already happening. Will zombies pose
a problem in the imminent future?
Probably not, but a pandemic could
cause deranged infected victims to
rampage.
T
he simple truth is that we do not Main Image: In the early 1990s
know precisely which disasters neighbour turned against neighbour
are likely to strike, nor when they in Bosnia - five years later those
will occur. Whenever Mother
who survived ‘ethnic cleansing’
Nature unleashes a natural disaster
were still trying to rebuild their lives
one charitable sector of mankind
responds positively and offers assis-
tance, a minority responds negatively
1: Nicosia on Cyprus was torn in
by becoming predatory, but in the
two on ethnic lines in 1974 - this
short term the majority become help- shot on what had been a busy
less victims. When mankind turns thoroughfare was taken 25 years
against itself and civil strife or warfare later but the situation remained
unchanged in 2004
breaks out, only the strong or the self-
sufficient have a tendency to survive
in any degree of comfort. Images © Bob Morrison
unless noted
History tells us the dividing line
Combat & Survival 23

2 3
between an orderly society and
total breakdown is incredibly
thin. One only needs to look
to the southern shores of the
Mediterranean and the Arab
Spring, which commenced
five years ago with Tunisia’s
Jasmine Revolution in
December 2010 then spread
through Libya, Egypt and
onwards, to realise that civil
unrest can quickly escalate
into anarchy. Even today
these three nations have not
returned to normality, though
Tunisia is more stable than the
others, and ripples generated
by the unrest can still be felt
24 Combat & Survival
throughout Europe, North Africa and
the Middle East.
Just a little further east, normal society
has pretty much broken down in parts
of Syria and Iraq, where atrocities
against civilians are commonplace.
Likewise across a broad swathe of
Sub-Saharan Africa, inter-ethic and
inter-religious fighting is causing
massive population shifts. Add in
the economic migrant factor plus
the steady rise of people-trafficking
across and around the Mediterranean
and our comparatively cosy and
orderly lives no longer look quite as
safe as they were at the end of the
Cold War.
Chimney smoke from the centre
house and the person in the street
are evidence of families trying to
eke out an existence in a village
in Bosnia ripped apart by civil war
2: We cannot live Over the last half century several
without drinking Mediterranean travel destinations
water - do you have within four or five flying hours from
a means of gathering London have been unexpectedly
plunged into civil strife or outright war,
and filtering probably
leaving the mass of the population
contaminated water? to flee or hunker down and survive
as best they can. Even when, or if,
3: Emergency the fighting and associated violence
lighting and passes through, the damage
communications left behind often takes years or
equipment should be decades to rebuild and even the
high on your list of basic infrastructure we expect to
survival gear be able to access at the flick of a
4
4: You have torches
and personal radios
but batteries soon
run out so ensure you
have a solar charger
5 capital Beirut, known at the time as
switch or the turn of a tap can
take an inordinately long time to
regenerate.
A little over fifty years ago the
United Nations was forced to
deploy peacekeepers onto
the holiday island of Cyprus,
legendary birthplace of the
goddess Aphrodite, to try to
prevent inter-ethnic violence
following Independence being
granted. A decade later Turkey felt
it necessary to invade the northern
half of the island to protect Turkish-
Cypriots from Greek-Cypriots
trying to align the young nation
with Greece and its military junta,
and four decades on the island is
still split in two with a Blue Beret
peacekeeping force in between.
Just a year later Lebanon and its
for Northern Europeans, were badly
the Paris of the Middle East or Paris damaged by artillery fire. As for
of the Levant, was plunged into an Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia,
horrific civil war fuelled by religious each was badly afflicted by war in the
differences. closing years of the last millennium.
Roll forward to the 1990s and While protecting yourself against
the Former Yugoslavia burst into zombie attacks may leave you open
flames as some of its component to ridicule, preparing for survival in
states tried to devolve from federal case civil disorder should break out,
government. When fighting broke or Mother Nature turns really nasty,
Cairo, less than a five hour flight from
Heathrow, one chaotic night in 2011
when law and order had totally broken
Main Image: The down - less than seven months later
fighting may have similar broke out in London [image by
stopped and British the late Yves Debay]
troops are now
providing security
but their job was
not to feed or
house the locals
who had to get by
as best they could
5: Respirators
may well be a
necessity but
remember to stock out in Slovenia in June 1991 British should not raise the eyebrows of
up on filters and tourists were caught on the ground at anyone with a full complement of
do not depend too Ljubljana Airport as they tried to flee brain cells and the ability to use
much on single use
and just a few months later more than them. Preppers are not nutters...
disposables either half the buildings in the picturesque they are merely those most
and historic walled city of Dubrovnik prepared to survive the unthinkable.
in Croatia, a major holiday destination Are you prepared?
Combat & Survival 25
 In late September, immediately Main image: A 1
prior to deployment on COUGAR
company of Royal
15 and a scheduled three month
exercise programme into the
Marines from 45
Mediterranean, elements of the Commando brought
Royal Navy’s Joint Expeditionary ashore by three
Force (Maritime) conducted a LCVPs secured
practice beach landing on Long Longs Sands in
Sands under Tregantle Fort Cornwall
in Cornwall. The amphibious
component of the UK’s Very
High Readiness Task Force,
1: A party of local
the JEF(M) then headed for media arrived
French Mediterranean waters to aboard HMS
participate in Exercise CORSICAN Bulwark by RAF
LION as part of the ongoing Chinook to be
creation of an Anglo-French briefed on the
Combined Joint Expeditionary
Force amphibious task group.
COUGAR ‘15 and
Following this exercise, the Royal
TRIDENT JUNCTURE
Navy force then joined NATO’s deployment
massive Exercise TRIDENT
JUNCTURE off Spain and
Portugal.

28 Combat & Survival


2 3
E
ach year one of the three Royal
Marines Commando infantry
battalions (40, 42 and 45 Com-
mando) takes on the Lead Am-
phibious Battle Group (LABG) role
and for COUGAR ‘15 it is the turn of
Arbroath-based 45 Cdo RM. Before
departing south, what is termed a
WADER exercise is mounted as a
final shake-down of those who will
be involved in forthcoming amphibi-
ous landings to ensure that all are
familiar with both the procedures and
the equipment on what is a complex,
2: The Commandos use both
armoured gunship and un-
armoured Offshore Raiding
Craft – this is one of the
former with twin GPMG in
the bow
3: The wheelhouse of the
standard ORC is at the
stern with seating for eight
Commandos forward and a
7.62mm machinegun mount
near the bow
three-dimensional scenario. This
compressed version of a landing,
run with token quantities of troops
and equipment rather than a full task
group, usually takes place on a Cor-
nish beach not too far from the fleet’s
Devonport base.
The beach chosen for this autumn’s
SOUTHWEST WADER was in
Whitsand Bay, beneath Tregantle Fort
on the Antony Training Area on the
Rame Peninsula. During World War II
this long sandy beach, just five miles
A brace of inflatables
used to recce the beach
prior to the landing can
be see on the ramp of
this LCU
An LCVP runs ashore – behind
it HMS Bulwark is moving
to her final position for the
landing phase
as the crow flies from Plymouth’s
naval dockyard, was considered
to pose a serious invasion risk and
mined ‘hedgehogs’ of piping were
laid in rows to prevent landing craft
coming ashore. Before the end
of the war shifting sands buried
some of these coastal defences,
which were only revealed again by
a severe storm in the 1990s and
as they were still dangerous Royal
Navy EOD teams had to deal with
them (I must look out my old photos
of this operation).
Combat & Survival 29
 The bow ramp of this LCVP Mk.5 is
being lowered as it approaches the
beach – note the two Commandos
manning GPMGs either side

This photo shows

To gain media coverage of
SOUTHWEST WADER the Royal
less than half of the
Navy invited over 100 local troops disgorged in
newspaper, local radio, local a few seconds by
television, and MoD in-house just a single LCVP
media representatives, to bid for
the twenty seats (and immersion
suits) on the RAF Chinook laid
on to fly out to HMS Bulwark for
a briefing and interviews then fly
back to Tregantle Fort. As C&S
magazine was not included on
the list and as all twenty turned
up for the flight from The Citadel
(to paraphrase the late Brian
Hanrahan, I counted them out
…) we were unable to attend the
briefing by the Commander of the
Landing Force. However every
cloud has a silver lining, and the
time period spent by local journos
offshore came in very handy for
photographing the Viking Mk.2
detachment from Royal Marines
Armoured Support Group (RMASG) 4: The three LCVPs from three LCVPs (Landing Craft five types of helicopters embarked
on their final Vehicle Personnel) to secure the for COUGAR ‘15 and TRIDENT
prior to them being back-loaded
beachhead at Long Sands before an JUNCTURE flew overhead to
onto an LCU (Landing Craft Utility) run – each can
LCU (Landing Craft Utility) brought demonstrate the aviation support
for the landing phase (see page transport up to 35 in the Vikings and then a second capability (see page 56).
34). Commandos plus LCU brought ashore JCB excavators,
their kit in addition including one fitted for track-laying Within a week of these photos
To demonstrate the amphibious to its 3-man crew which was tasked to provide a being taken, UK MoD formally
capability range of the JEF(M)
pathway over the sand for follow-on announced that both the RN
around 100 Royal Marines from
wheeled logistics vehicles. Following flagship HMS Ocean and the
45 Commando stormed ashore
this landing demo, examples of the landing ship HMS Bulwark had

30 Combat & Survival


left port on the COUGAR ‘15
deployment, on which they are
being accompanied by a Type 23
frigate and a Type 45 destroyer
plus a Point-class RO-RO ferry. Two
weeks after that, the fleet was off
Corsica preparing to participate in
a NEO (Non-combatant Evacuation
Operation). Working alongside the
French assault ship FS Dixmude,
Ocean, Bulwark and MV Hartland
Point put ashore 250 Commandos
using landing craft and helicopters
in a Combined Joint Expeditionary
In this wide shot more than
half a Commando Company
can be seen racing ashore to
secure the Cornish beachhead
Force (CJEF) training scenario.
Sardinia, for TRIDENT JUNCTURE
15, was the next objective. Further
major landings by 45 Commando
are scheduled for Spain and
Portugal.
In 2016 the Commander UK
Maritime Forces will take on the
role of Maritime Component
Commander for the NATO 7
Response Force and will be
responsible for providing rapidly
deployable maritime, amphibious,
5: The eagle-eyed may have spotted no magazines are fitted for this training
sortie but this meant gaudy blank firing attachments could be left off
6: With the beach secured by the Commandos the Vikings were then brought
ashore by Landing Craft Utility – in this case the LCU carried four
7: The upgraded and up-armoured Mk.2 version of the BvS 10 Viking can carry
a full Commando section plus all their kit, weapons and ammo
Combat & Survival 31
This JCB excavator is laying
trackway across the sandy beach
to allow wheeled vehicles to come
ashore without risk of bogging in
The Landing Craft Utility is
the heavy workhorse of the
amphibious landing capable of
transporting even Challenger 2
ashore from Bulwark
32 Combat & Survival
8: Two JCB Joint or Coalition Task Groups on
excavators came behalf of the Alliance. TRIDENT
JUNCTURE is the culmination
ashore by LCU – one
of the training and validation
fitted for track-laying process for COMUKMARFOR
and the other with taking on this demanding and
a bucket for earth- vital role. Deployed aboard the
moving and sapper NATO Response Force flagship
tasks HMS Ocean COMUKMARFOR,
Rear Admiral Tony Radakin,
9: The last JCB leaves commands a Battle Staff of up
the beach bound for to 140 personnel from the Royal
Bulwark and COUGAR Navy and Royal Marines plus
naval personnel from ten other
‘15 – next stop
NATO countries.
would be CORSICAN
LION then on to C&S has been granted Media
TRIDENT JUNCTURE Accreditation by NATO to cover
the massive TJ15 exercise,
Images © involving 36,000 personnel from
Bob Morrison around 30 NATO and partner
nations. We hope to meet up
again with the JEF(M) somewhere
on the Iberian Peninsula.
 The Hägglunds BvS 10 ATAV,
known as the Viking All
Terrain Vehicle (Protected)
or ATV(P) by UK MoD, which
entered service in 2005, was
developed by its Swedish
manufacturer specifically for
a Royal Marines requirement.
In 2012 BAE Systems,
who now own Hägglunds,
announced they had been
awarded a £38m contract
to regenerate the RM
Viking fleet by refurbishing
99 vehicles and bringing
them all to a common Mk.2
mine-protected amphibious
standard. A number of
the now upgraded Vikings
are currently deployed
on COUGAR ‘15 and
TRIDENT JUNCTURE. This
quartet of Mk.2 vehicles
was photographed on
SOUTHWEST WADER in
October.

34 Combat & Survival Images © Bob Morrison


1 2
Poland’s Festival of the Polish
Armed Forces is celebrated
annually on the 15th of August
and includes, among other
activities, a large military
parade held in the heart of
Warsaw. The background
for the celebrations is the
‘Miracle of the Vistula’, when
in August 1920 an inferior
Polish force routed superior
Soviet forces during the Polish/
Soviet War (1919 -21) and by
doing so set the course that
ultimately allowed Poland to
win the war and maintain its
independence.
36 Combat & Survival
T
his year’s Festival Parade, which
coincided with VJ Day 75th An-
niversary events elsewhere, was
more than just the 95th celebra-
tion of a remarkable victory, it was
also a strong signal from Poland,
in the direction of Russia, that the
country is determined to maintain its
freedom. Earlier this year while C&S
was covering NATO exercises in Po-
land their Ministry of Defence Press
Spokesman suggested to us that this
year’s parade would be something
special so we arranged a brief visit to
provide readers with an overview of
the many and varied military vehicles
taking part in it.
From 2002 onwards Poland received 128 Leopard
2 A4 MBTs from supernumerary German Army
stocks and another 14 were delivered recently.
Armament consists of a 120mm Rheinmetall Rh-
120 L44 smoothbore tank gun, a coaxial 7.62mm
MG3 A1 machinegun, a 7.62mm MG3 anti-aircraft
machinegun and two banks of eight 76mm smoke
grenade dischargers. Crew is four and the tank
has a combat weight of 55,150kg
1: The 152mm DANA-T self-propelled howitzer, which entered service
in 1983, is based on a Tatra T815 8x8 truck. Powered by a Tatra
T2-930-34 air-cooled diesel engine which develops 345hp allowing
a top speed of 80km/hr, the 5-man vehicle has a combat weight of
29,250kg, is 11,160mm long, 3,000mm wide and 2,850mm high. When
firing High Explosive long range ammunition the gun has an effective
range of 20,000m. Its turret can be traversed 220° and gun elevation
is -4° to +70°
.
2: The Zandarmeria Wojskowa (ZW), Poland’s Military Police,
operates a number of Defender 110 Land Rovers in different
configurations, including vehicles with soft top and station wagon
bodies
Images © Carl Schulze
 3

Armoured infantry battalions of the Polish Army field the BWP-1

armoured infantry fighting vehicle which entered service in 1973. Its
armament consists of the 73mm 2A28 smoothbore gun, a coaxial 7.62mm
x54R PKT machinegun and the 9M14M Malyutka AT-3 Sagger anti-tank
missile system. Crew is three and in the rear fighting compartment it can
transport eight infantrymen with their personal equipment.
Combat weight is 13,000kg and top speed is 65km/hr
4

Received by Poland’s President
Andrzej Duda, together with
Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz
and Defence Minister Tomasz
Siemoniak, this year’s parade
also involved troop contingents
from Canada and the USA in
addition to Polish forces.
FLYPAST
The parade was headed by a
flypast of formations of fixed
wing and rotary aircraft of the
Siãy Powietrzne, Poland’s Air
Force, and the Army Air Corps.
Rotary aircraft involved included
formations of Mil Mi-24W attack
helicopter, Mil Mi-8 tactical
transport helicopter and PZL W-3
Sokóã medium utility helicopters.
On the fixed wing side formations
of MiG-29 ‘Fulcrum’ fighter
aircraft, F-16 ‘Fighting Falcon’
multi-role combat aircraft, Sukhoi
Su-22 ‘Fitter’ attack aircraft, C-130E
Hercules transport aircraft, CASA
C-295 transport aircraft and M28B
‘Bryza’ utility transport aircraft were
involved.
The flypast was led by the
Biaão-Czerwone Iskry aerobatic
demonstration team of the Polish Air
Force with their PZL TS-11 ‘Iskra’ jet
trainers trailing red and white smoke,
the national colours of Poland. Also
participating in the fly past was the
Zespóã Akrobacyjny ‘Orlik’ aerobatics
team of the Polish Air Force with their
PZL-130 TC-II trainer aircraft.
MARCH PAST
Following the fly past was a march
past of hundreds of soldiers of
all services of the Polish Armed
Forces. It was led by the Batalion
Reprezentacyjny Wojska Polskiego,
the ceremonial battalion of the Polish
Left: The PT-91 Twardy main battle tank is based on the T-72M1, was
developed and manufactured in Poland and entered service in 1995. Crewed
by three, it has a combat weight of 43,500kg, is 9,530mm long, 3,700mm
wide and 2,190mm high. Main armament is a 125mm D-81TM smoothbore
tank gun. Secondary armament includes a coaxial 7.62mm x54R PKT
machinegun and a turret-mounted 12.7mm x108 NSV heavy machinegun for
anti-aircraft and close defence purposes
3: Units of the Wojska Specjalne also use Mercedes Benz 290GD 4x4s.
This vehicle is outfitted for long range patrol operations, as can be seen
by the number of spare jerrycans carried. A machinegun mount has been
attached to the roll bar of the vehicle and is fitted with a 7.62mm FN
MAG machinegun. For self-recovery purposes the vehicle is fitted with an
electrically operated winch
4: Modified Toyota Hilux 3.0 D-4D pick-ups are in service with GROM,
Poland’s prime Special Forces unit. The vehicles are discreetly armoured
and have machinegun mounts installed on their cargo bed, one being of
the rotatable ring mount type, the other facing backwards and being of the
swing arm type. Different weapons can be fitted such as the 7.62mm FN
MAG general purpose machinegun or the 5.56mm MINIMI light machinegun
5: Wojska Specjalne (Special Operations Command) operate a fleet of
M1165A1 HMMWV Ground Mobility Vehicles – Special Forces (GMV-SF).
Powered by a 6.5 litre V-8 turbocharged diesel engine that develops 190hp
at 1,700rpm these vehicles can reach a top speed of 113km/hr. Gross weight
is 6,124kg, payload is 2,572kg, and it is 4,930mm long by 2,180mm wide
by 1,880mm high to the top of the roof. Vehicles are fitted with a Gunner
Protection Kit and a Gunner Shield Kit to their ring mounts, which can be
fitted with different weapons such as the 12.7mm M2QCB heavy machinegun

Combat & Survival 37

 The 4-man 122mm WR-40 Langusta self-propelled multiple rocket launcher
system can engage targets out to a range of 42km. The launcher itself
consists of 40 tubes, all of which can be fired within 20 seconds. The
system is based on a Jelcz P662D.35-M27 6x6 truck with a top speed of
85km/hr. The vehicle is 8,600mm long, 2,540mm wide and 2,740mm high
and unloaded weight is 17,100kg
The 5-man 9K33 Osa SA-8 Gecko self-propelled surface-to-air missile systems
is highly mobile, amphibious, 6x6 driven system which has been in service with
the Polish Armed Forces since 1980. The missile system can engage targets up to
an altitude of 5,000m, flying at a speed of up 1,800km/hr and out to a distance of
10,000m. Combat load consists of six missiles. On-road the vehicle can reach a top
speed of 60km/hr, when afloat it can travel at up to 10km/hr
The Rosomak wheeled armoured infantry fighting vehicle features the HITFIST 30P
two-man turret fitted with a 30 mm Bushmaster cannon, a coaxial 7.62mm UKM
2000C machinegun and a smoke grenade discharger system with two banks of
six 81mm launch tubes each. Built under licence in Poland the vehicle is based on
the Armored Modular Vehicle (AMV) developed by the Finnish company Patria - for
more see the October ‘15 issue
38 Combat & Survival
The 18 Batalionie Powietrznodesantowym airborne battalion operates a
fleet of M1025A2 HMMWV armament carriers fitted with 7.62mm x54R PKM
machineguns. The Hum-vee has a crew of four, is powered by a General Motors
6.5 litre V-8 diesel engine developing 160hp and can reach a top speed of 113km/
hr. Kerb weight is 3,075kg and a payload is 1,597kg
The Rosomak Wóz Ewakuacji Medycznej is the ambulance variant of the 8x8 wheeled
armoured infantry fighting vehicle which features a raised roof over the troop
compartment. It has a crew of four, consisting of driver, vehicle commander and two
medics. Up to three wounded troops on stretchers and three lightly wounded troops
on seats can be transported. Like the wheeled armoured infantry fighting vehicle, the
ambulance is amphibious and can reach a top speed on roads of 100km/hr.
Wojska Specjalne employs a fleet of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All Terrain
Vehicles (M-ATV) manufactured in the USA by the Oshkosh Corporation. Powered
by a Caterpillar C7 engine that develops 370hp, the 5-man 4x4 vehicles can reach
a top speed of 105km/hr. Polish M-ATVs are fitted with the Objective-Gunner
Protection Kit (O-GPK) that offers protection for the gunner and incorporates a
mount for a 12.7mm M2QCB heavy machinegun
6 7

Main Image: In 2014 the Polish Army received the first of a total of
105 Leopard 2 A5 MBTs from supernumerary German Army stocks. The
60-tonne Leopard 2 A5 features the newer PERI R17A2 commander’s
sight incorporating a Thermal Imaging Module, electrical gun control
equipment, increased armour at turret front and forward turret sides, spall Armed Forces. They were followed BWP-1 armoured infantry fighting
liner, electronic firing mechanism, new driver’s hatch, vehicle navigation by contingents of various units and vehicles; WZT-3M and Bergepanzer
system, rear view camera and modified turret rear with additional stowage formations of the armed forces 2 A2 armoured recovery vehicles;
.
boxes spearheaded by colour parties; Rozpoznania Inzynieryjneg D Durian
among them were contingents of armoured engineer reconnaissance
the Wojska Ladowe (Army), Siãy vehicles, pulling UZR-3 mine clearing
6: The Skorpion 3 is the Light Protected Patrol Vehicle variant of the Tarpan .
^

Powietrzne (Air Force), Marynarka systems; Inzynieryjny System

Honker 4x4 light truck. It offers its crew a limited degree of protection Wojenna (Navy) and Wojska Minowania Kroton mine scattering
from small arms fire and mine and IED attacks. It offers space for a crew Specjalne (Special Operations systems; Rosomak wheeled armoured
of five: driver, passenger, machine-gunner and two additional troops in Command). infantry fighting vehicles; Rosomak
the rear. The ring mount of this vehicle is fitted with a 7.62mm x54R PKM Wóz Ewakuacji Medycznej armoured
machinegun DRIVE PAST ambulances; 152mm DANA-T self-
The parade was closed by a drive propelled howitzers; 122mm WR-40
7: Poland received several Bergepanzer 2 A2 armoured recovery past of some 200 wheeled and Langusta self-propelled multiple rocket
vehicles, based on the chassis of the Leopard 1 main battle tank, from tracked vehicles. Among other launcher systems; Iveco M40.12WM
types, the drive past included: ambulances; Jelcz 6x6 trucks, pulling
supernumerary German Army stocks. Gross vehicle weight of the 3-man Leopard 2 A4, Leopard 2 A5 and trailers with Bozena 4 remote controlled
vehicle is 44,700kg. Its recovery equipment includes a 20-tonne crane, PT-91 Twardy main battle tanks; mine clearing vehicles; Hibneryt Star
dozer blade and 35-tonne recovery winch and its top speed is 62km/hr

Combat & Survival 39


266 armoured trucks fitted with 23mm ZUR-23-2KG anti-aircraft
guns; 9K33 Osa SA-8 Gecko Self-Propelled Surface-to-Air
Missile Systems; M1097A2 HMMWV transporting Orbiter Mini
UAV systems; Tarpan Honker Skorpion 3; M1025A2 HMMWV
armament carriers; M-ATVs, Mercedes Benz Geländewagen off-
road vehicles; Arctic Cat and Polaris all terrain vehicles; HMMWV
Ground Mobility Vehicles –Special Forces (GMV-SF); Toyota Hilux
pick-ups modified for service with GROM; SCAM SM-55 4x4 light
trucks in different variants; the Jelcz 6x6 truck based Naval Strike
Missile (NSM) system; and Land Rover Defenders of the Polish
Military Police.
INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPATION
The US troops taking part in the parade included three Stryker
Interim Armored Vehicles of P Troop, 4th Squadron, 2nd Cavalry
Regiment and a platoon of paratroopers of the 2nd Battalion,
503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade.
8 9
40 Combat & Survival
.
Main Image: The 2-man Inzynieryjny System Minowania Kroton mine scattering system is based
on a Polish variant of the MT-LB and is fitted with four mine scattering systems, each with 20
launch tubes. In total the launcher can contain up to 400 MN123.1 or MN123.2 anti-tank mines,
which can be scattered between 30m and 90m away to create a minefield 60m wide by 600m
long in just 15 minutes
.
8: This Rozpoznania Inzynieryjneg D Durian armoured engineer reconnaissance vehicle is pulling
UZR-3 mine clearing system. The 11,810kg vehicle is a Polish variant of the MT-LB multi-purpose
amphibious APC. Armament consists of a 12.7mm x108 NSV heavy machinegun and an 81mm
smoke grenade discharger system. Top road speed is 60km/hr and it moves at 7km/hr when afloat
9: The Wóz Zabezpieczenia Technicznego WZT-3M armoured recovery vehicle is based on the
PT-91 Twardy main battle tank. Its recovery equipment includes a 280kN main winch with 200m
of usable cable, 20kN auxiliary winch with 400m of usable cable, rotatable crane with a lifting
capacity of 15,000kg and a 3,370mm wide dozer blade. Armament consists of a 12.7mm x108
NSV heavy machinegun and an 81mm smoke grenade discharger system

It has been said a million
times before, and it is very
doubtful that Napoleon
Bonaparte was the first to
say it, but an army really
does march on its stomach.
On the modern battlefield
there is even less chance
of living off the land in
the way that Napoleon’s
troop’s opponents were
often expected to do, so the
individual combat ration
pack is an essential part
of the kit carried by almost
every frontline soldier
today, be that in or on his
vehicle or in his pack and
webbing.
O
n operations and field exer-
cises the Australian Defence
Force (ADF) relies on the
Combat Ration One Man
(CR1M), which is a ration pack
designed to sustain soldiers for a
complete day. During the recent
Exercise TALISMAN SABRE, held
42 Combat & Survival
1 2
The complete contents
of a Menu B ‘rat pack’
are laid out - as can
be imagined, it would
in July 2015 at the Shoalwater Bay though some menus also contain an
be quite difficult to Training Area in central Queensland, alternative breakfast cereal such as
consume the entire as well as on previous iterations of the muesli. The CR1M has been designed
menu in 24 hours exercise, C&S had the opportunity to try to ensure that soldiers “receive
without constantly a number of these ‘rat packs’, as they adequate nutritional sustenance for one
eating! are referred to by Diggers. day” and, according to the information
sheet contained in each pack, it is
1: This is what the As the blurb contained in the self- recommended that users eat the
CR1M looks like before contained ration pack states: “The complete contents,.
ripping open the clear CR1M consists of two main meals,
plastic packaging, a number of light meal and snack Soldiers are also separately supplied
which is done early on components and sundry items.” In with hexamine tablets and a stove
so soldiers can remove total there are eight menus, designated to heat the brown-coloured retort
or trade items they do from A to H. The agency responsible pouches, but the fact that the author
for developing these is the Combat has never once seen soldiers using
not like or need
Rations Section of the Technical Cell, these is perhaps testament to the fact
Health Systems Programme Office; part that this method is not particularly
2: The two main meal of what was once called the Defence effective in producing piping hot meals!
retort pouches in Menu Materiel Organisation (DMO) before
B are braised beef with it was disbanded earlier this year and Of interest, the ADF’s meals are
gravy, and chicken pasta
rolled directly into the Department of manufactured across the Tasman Sea
with vegetables - the Defence. in New Zealand by a company called
instant mashed potatoes
Prepared Foods NZ, and packed by
could be eaten with It is usual for the two main meals to Multi-Pack Limited. Conversely, the
either be eaten for breakfast and dinner, New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF)

sources its meals from an
Australian manufacturer, which is
an interesting situation.
The ration pack is wrapped in a
clear plastic bag and is slightly
larger, but definitely much
heavier, than a regular tissue
box. The staple meals revolve
around either beef or lamb in
plastic sachets (retort pouches)
that are torn open after heating.
Of course, these main meals can
also be eaten cold if necessary.
Each menu contains one of two
soup varieties – either golden
pumpkin, or peppered steak and
mushroom.
Each menu varies slightly in
flavour or variety, but common
to each is a sports drink sachet,
biscuits (either cream crackers
3
or crispbread), fruit bars, fruit jam,
a cereal bar, candy and instant
noodles. Menus can either have
rice or instant mashed potatoes,
as well as a tin of fruit. Some
also have a packet of muesli with
skimmed milk that only requires
water to be added.
A whole range of extras such as
drink sachets (chocolate, coffee,
tea bags, sugar), a 50g bar of
chocolate, a packet of M&M’s
candy chocolate, chewing gum, a
tin of processed cheddar cheese
(that can be eaten separately or
melted and added to main menus
or crackers) and a beef steak bar
are found in every menu too.
Spreads such as concentrated
yeast extract (i.e. Vegemite
- extremely popular with
4 with the main meals
Australians), chocolate spread and
sweetened condensed milk are also
included, as are accessories like a
plastic spoon, a metal can opener
(known as a FRED, or Field Ration
Eating Device, which also doubles as
a spoon and bottle opener), tissues,
condiments (tomato ketchup, black
pepper, salt, Tabasco sauce). Also
To bolster the main meals, or to snack on during
the day, extra items such as soup, noodles and
beef jerky are included - also shown are sports
drink and chocolate powder sachet
3: Only two cans enclosed in the CR1M is a self-
are included in closing plastic bag, safety matches,
plastic bag, scouring pads, tissue/
this version of the
toilet paper, a menu sheet and
CR1M, one with rubber band.
diced fruit in syrup,
and the other with The inclusion of so many
processed cheddar snacks means soldiers can eat
cheese - cans are throughout the day, and this is one
easily opened with main difference that US military
the FRED personnel usually comment on.
Despite the fact that MREs are
4: Condiments single meals, they do not contain
as many snacks and sweet things
come in a plastic
as Australian combat ration packs.
bag, while other
accessories The CR1M was introduced into
ADF service in 1982,
originally contained in
cans. However, in 2002
the ADF moved to retort
pouches in the same
fashion as American
MREs, with advantages
in weight saving and
flexibility of carriage
in soldiers’ packs or
pockets.
The ADF also has at
its disposal the PR1M
(Patrol Ration One Man)
and the CR5M (Combat
Ration 5 Man). The
former is a lightweight
encompass matches, version of the CR1M, weighing
a plastic spoon, 60% of the 24-hour ration pack
described above. The latter comes
FRED, tissue/toilet
in a large box but it can be broken
paper and self-
up for easier transportation by
soaping scouring soldiers. However, in eight years
pads of covering Exercise TALISMAN
SABRE, the author has never seen
either the PR1M or CR5M in use.
Combat & Survival 43
 5

TYPICAL AUSTRALIAN RATION Main Image: Still

CONTENTS: Menu B, 2014-15 feeling hungry?
• Packet (250g) Braised beef with There are plenty of
gravy other snacks too
• Packet (250g) Chicken pasta with
vegetables
- Menu B offers a
• Sachet (25g) Golden pumpkin
bar of chocolate,
soup a couple of fruit
• Sachet (70g) Sports drink powder, bars, cream
orange crackers, M&M’s
• Pack (35g) Cream crackers chocolate, a
• Mixed fruit bar (20g) packet of sweets
• Tube (26g) Strawberry jam and a cereal bar
• Can (140g) Diced two fruits in
syrup 5: Four kinds of
• Blueberry and apple cereal bar
(50g)
spreads for the
• Sachet (60g) Instant mashed
cream crackers black pepper, salt, Tabasco sauce Golden pumpkin soup
potatoes or crispbread • Tube (85g) Sweetened condensed Menu C: Beef and black bean /
are provided – milk Lamb with rosemary / Peppered steak
• Packet (44g) Instant noodles
• Tube (50g) Chocolate spread and mushroom soup
• Packet (50g) Werther’s cream yeast extract
• Chewing gum (x2 packets) Menu D: Beef and pasta / Chicken
candy (Vegemite), jam, • Beef steak bar (25g) BBQ / Golden pumpkin soup
chocolate spread • Extras: self-closing plastic bag, Menu E: Beef minced savoury
Plus the following is common to all and condensed can opener, safety matches, plastic with vegetables / Lamb vindaloo /
menus:- milk bag, plastic spoon, scouring pads, Peppered steak and mushroom soup
• Drinks: Chocolate, coffee, tea bags toilet paper, menu sheet, rubber Menu F: Braised beef with gravy
• White sugar Images © band / Chilli tuna and pasta / Golden
• Chocolate (50g)
• M&M’s candy chocolate (49g)
Gordon Arthur pumpkin soup
Menu Variety 2014-15 Menu G: Beef Teriyaki / Chicken
• Can (56g) Processed cheddar Menu A: Beef BBQ / Chunky Italiano / Peppered steak and
cheese chicken with vegetables / Peppered mushroom soup
• Tube (15g) Concentrated yeast steak and mushroom soup Menu H: Lamb with vegetables
extract Menu B: Braised beef with gravy and rosemary / Beef, minced with
• Condiments – Tomato ketchup, / Chicken pasta with vegetables / spaghetti Golden pumpkin soup

44 Combat & Survival

 Britain’s knife laws, not to put too
fine a point on it, are best described
as Draconian and carrying a
folding knife with a locking blade
or anything other than a very short
blade without being able to prove
you have good reason for doing so

(self-defence is seldom seen as
good reason) can easily land you
in court. Almost anywhere else
in the world, if working outdoors
the carrying of a folding pocket
knife is seen as nothing out of the
ordinary and explaining that Brits
are regarded by some in authority
as being violent can generate
astonishment.
T
he cleverly designed and specially com-
missioned HH QUARTERMASTER Barney
McGrew is UK legal as it is what is known
as a Friction Folder, rather than a Locking
Folder, with a 72mm long (i.e. under 3”) SV35
Stainless Steel blade and a Tanto point. The
composite handle has one G10 and one Tita-
nium scale, making it very grippy, and the blade
is angled so that the knife cannot be consid-
ered a stabbing weapon.
One problem with Friction Folders is that they
can close on the fingers during heavy use, but
the designers have overcome this by including
a removable split pin, which can be inserted
through handles and tang when the blade is
open to secure it. Stow the partially open pin on
the pocket clip so you don’t lose it. See close-
ups for fine detail.
Our review sample was supplied by Heinnie
Haynes - to buy online go to heinnie.com

46 Combat & Survival


The KLAX Lumberjack from Klecker
is effectively an Emergency or
Survival Axe which can be carried
on the belt in a nylon sheath. A
purpose-designed handle is available
to buy, but any suitable length of
wood can be turned into a handle
by merely cutting a slot in it. We did
not have time to source a branch
for the photoshoot so merely used
a short length of broom handle. In
a matter of minutes we had turned
the KLAX into a useful chopping tool,
by slotting the dowel and slipping
on the axe head then tightening the
spring clamp.
A
lthough the 7mm thick Stainless weighs well under half a kilo and takes up little
Steel KLAX is predominantly an space, but it has many uses.
axe, with a 95mm curved chopping
edge, it is actually a composite belt Our review sample was supplied by Heinnie
tool with several other uses, including: Haynes - to buy online go to heinnie.com
Ulu knife blade, for skinning and cleaning
animal skins; straight cutting blade, for
honing and paring; gutting/cutting hook,
for food prep; hammer head; 6-size
hexagonal wrench slot; 1/4” hexagonal bit
driver slot; bottle opener; carabiner and
ruler.
The spring-loaded clamping system
which holds the axe head firmly on the
handle is operated by a simple knurled
ring, but for added leverage to get the
jaws to bite into the wood a nail or screw
can easily be slipped into one of the
holes. Preppers should like this tool, as it
Combat & Survival 47
This June over 20 NATO
allies and partner nations
conducted a series of training
manoeuvres in Europe under
the ALLIED SHIELD umbrella,
including: NOBLE JUMP, the
first training deployment of
Main image: Polish 1
Leopard 2A4 main
battle tanks during
rehearsals two days
prior to the main
´
demo at Swietoszów
^

Allied high-readiness units [NATO Pool Image:

under the new Very High Rafaã Mniedão]
Readiness Joint Task Force
framework; SABER STRIKE, 1: Norwegian
a significant land exercise in Telemark Battalion
the Baltic States; TRIDENT CV9030N
JOUST, a NRF command and
photographed during
control exercise in Romania;
and BALTOPS, the major Baltic
the rehearsal which
Sea naval exercise. In total, was blessed with
approximately 15,000 troops bright sunshine
simultaneously participated, [NATO Pool: A.
using military training areas Dwulatek]
in countries including Sweden,
Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.
C&S attended all three main
exercise phases held in Poland.

Combat & Survival 49

2 2: German Marders during
battle run rehearsals - as live
ammo was not being used
photographers were allowed
closer [NATO Pool: A. Dwulatek]

3 4 4: This Leopard racing forward from a

hide to the rear to join the attack flies
a green flag indicating its armament
was made safe

L
ast month we saw Czech 3: In this long
and Dutch Airborne troops shot the German
mount an air assault on an
Marders are on a
enemy Command Post, in the
second phase of the second of the
live-firing battle
three concurrent ALLIED SHIELD run as is indicated 5
dynamic demonstrations of mul- by the red flags
tinational cooperation in Poland, flying above their
and this month we look at Phase
.
turrets
Three of the action on the Zagan´
´
Training Area at Swietoszów. With 5: In this shot
^

the CP neutralised the conditions a Leopard is

had been set for follow-on forces to engaging green
relieve the air assault troops and to
pop-up infantry
prepare to block an expected coun-
ter-strike by an enemy Pro-Bothnian
targets with
militia armoured formation; by their its coaxial
very nature, being lightly armed machinegun - note
and equipped for rapid insertion, the APC target
airborne and air assault forma- behind the infantry
tions ideally need to be relieved
by heavier equipped troops within
24-48 hours of insertion.

50 Combat & Survival

6
9 9: A platoon of four German
For this third phase of the
demo a combined battlegroup,
assembled from elements of
mutually German and Norwegian
mechanised infantry formations,
moved forward to block the OpFor
(Opposing Forces) counter-
strike and set the conditions
for a Polish counter-attack with
main battle tanks. The German
troops, equipped with the Marder
6: A Marder goes firm behind a berm - an anti-armour team were about to AIFV (armoured infantry fighting
dismount and engage a hard target with Panzerfaust 3 vehicle), were provided by Panzer
grenadier bataillon 371 and the
7: Anti-Armour team from PzGrenBtl 371 live-firing Panzerfaust 3 - the Norwegian infantry were provided
launched warhead is out of shot [Bundeswehr: Dana Kazda] by the elite Telemark Battalion,
whose mechanised infantry
8: Supported by a brace of CV90s a Norwegian combat engineer team from the companies are equipped with
Telemark Battalion dismounts from an M113 APC the Swedish CV9030N AIFV and
Marders lays down a heavy
barrage of 20mm and 7.62mm
fire on the left flank to support
the Norwegians
tank company is equipped with the
Leopard 2A4.
Looking closer at the Panzer
Grenadier battlegroup during the
NOBLE JUMP 15 deployment,
in addition to the core PzGrenBtl
371 structure of three Mechanised
Infantry Companies plus a Support
Company it was reinforced by a
Recce Company, a Combat Service
Support Company, a Medical
Company and a reinforced Armoured
Engineer Platoon. In addition to its
Tank Squadron and Mechanised
Companies the Telemark Battalion
also included an Armoured
Reconnaissance Squadron and a
Combat Support Squadron; when
Combat & Survival 51
10 11 11: Both pop-up (middle ground) and
hulk (distant) targets were used - here
a wheeled APC is spectacularly struck
by a Polish tank round

12 13 13: The NATO artillery positions were

well off to the side - this is a Belgian
105mm howitzer towed by Dingo 2 [1
GNC: HptFw Gneiting]

10: Once the Norwegian operationally deployed it can also be forward to establish defensive positions. the Armoured Engineer vehicles bridged
Leopards had gone firm supported by a co-located Armoured Faced with an anti-tank ditch and defensive ditches and breached the
and Safe (green flags) Engineer Company, an Artillery Battery, a minefield the Norwegians suppressed minefield.
the Polish Leopards (red Medical Company and a Military Police the enemy with direct fire to set the
flag) passed through their Platoon. conditions for obstacle breaching and
lines to engaged OpFor follow-on counter-attack. On the left the With the minefield breach now clearly
On this defensive phase of NJ15 two German company engaged the enemy marked the Norwegians conducted
12: Simulated artillery Norwegian companies were used to between 400 and 1000 metres with their a Forward Passage of Lines with the
strikes on the NATO relieve the Air Assault troops and to 20mm cannons and coaxial machineguns Polish Tank Company and both German
battlegroup were used establish defensive positions to the while the Leopards and CV90s engaged and Norwegian formations went firm in
for dramatic effect but north-west to block OpFor. On our left armoured targets at distances between preparation for the follow-on operation.
real howitzer fire was and right flanks German and Norwegian 2500 and 3500 metres and the AIFVs With the militia counter-strike successfully
brought in on the enemy mechanised infantry companies crossed took out targets around 1200 metres blocked the brigade commander decided
positions their Line of Departure then moved distant with anti-tank guided missiles, as to launch a counter-attack to neutralise

14: The distant gun lines 14 15

seen from our position
with a Belgian 105mm
firing and smoking Polish
self-propelled howitzers
to its left

15: A well-coordinated
Belgian and Polish
artillery barrage falls on
the Pro-Bothnian militia
positions to suppress
them while the armour
advances

52 Combat & Survival

16

16: Polish Army Mi-24

Hind gunships got in on the
action too - the Hind can
carry an impressive load
of guns, rocket pods and
anti-armour missiles

17 17: The Hind in the

centre is popping
defensive flares as the 19
left hand helicopter’s
rockets impact on
trenches at the edge of
the sandy area

18: Inevitably the focus 20

18
during an armoured
assault falls on the tanks
and infantry fighting
vehicles but engineer
assets also play a major
part

19: The German

the remaining military capability of the
enemy. To do this he used indirect fire
from his Belgian and Polish artillery
assets, supported by Mi-24 attack
helicopters, before launching an attack
with Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks
from the 2nd Tank Company of the
1st Tank Battalion of the 10th Armoured
Cavalry Brigade.
The Polish Leopards advanced rapidly
through the minefield breach and
speedily neutralised the bulk of the
OpFor positions, assisted in mopping up
battlegroup also included
wheeled armoured
vehicles in various
support roles including
6x6 Fuchs and 8x8 Boxer isolated pockets of stiff resistance by
air support in the form of Polish and
20: The Norwegian Belgian F16 ground attack aircraft
infantry component was coordinated by a NATO AWACS.
Mission accomplished.
provided by the elite
Telemark Battalion - we From start to finish, encompassing
will focus on this soldier a SpecOps strike and then an Air
in next month’s Kit & Assault before the heavy armour was
Camo brought forward to defend and then
counter-attack, the action-packed
Images © Bob Morrison NOBLE JUMP ‘15 demo, including
unless noted the live-fire battle run at the end, was
wrapped up in under 55 minutes.
Now that is impressive.

Combat & Survival 53

 US Marine Corps
personnel cleaning
their SA80A2
assault rifles on
return to HMS
Ocean from a
successful raid into
Sardinia in the early
hours of October
25th [Crown
Copyright: L(Phot)
Des Wade]

As this issue goes to press the first official images are coming Images © Bob Morrison
out of the massive multinational TRIDENT JUNCTURE exercise
involving around 36,000 air, sea and land personnel from 30 NATO
and Partner Nations. The action kicked off in Trapani (Sicily)
and is taking place on military training areas across Spain and
Portugal, plus at sea in the Mediterranean and Atlantic off the
Iberian Peninsula, before concluding with a final amphibious
landing south of Lisbon. We will bring you coverage of TJ 15 in
future issues, but in the meantime these two early shots caught
our attention.

German M3 rigs from 901

battalion linked to form a
ferry to move armour across
the Tagus River at Tancos
in Portugal on October 26th
[DND-MDN Canada: Master-
Corporal Jonathan Barrette]

55 Combat & Survival

 As mentioned in the BRITISH
FORCES feature on page 28 on
the UK Joint Expeditionary Force,
the Commandos participating
on Exercise SOUTHWEST WADER
then deploying on COUGAR ‘15
and TRIDENT JUNCTURE were
supported by a mixed fleet of
helicopter. The Army Wildcat
pictured above is taking off from
Tregantle Fort flying senior officers
back out to HMS Bulwark; the RAF
Chinook to the right was taking off
from inside Plymouth Citadel to
fly a local media party out to the
ship; the Commando Merlin below
left has an underslung 105mm
Light Gun; the Army Apache was
providing ground support and the
Navy Merlin was on overwatch. A
powerful tri-service mix.

56 Combat & Survival Images © Bob Morrison

58 Combat & Survival
Combat & Survival 59

If you think the camouflage
uniform worn by this elite
Lithuanian Special Operations
Force (LITHSOF) Jaeger looks
a little familiar, you most likely
saw our KIT & CAMO feature
published exactly twelve months
ago. In that article the featured
infantryman serving with the Iron
Wolf Mechanised Infantry Brigade
during Exercise COMBINED
RESOLVE 14 on the Hohenfels
Training Area in Germany,
photographed by Carl, was also
wearing an M05 pattern uniform
first widely issued in 2005, hence
the designation, but actually
designed two years earlier.
LITHSOF personnel seldom
appear in front of the lens so we
grabbed this rare opportunity.
60 Combat & Survival
T
o briefly recap, although M05 Misko
(Forest) appears to be four-colour
only three distinct shades (reddish
brown, verdant green and black)
are used but deliberate misalignment of
the printed blocks allows the light col-
oured base material to edge the shapes
and provide an illusion of depth. This
is a similar effect to the ‘jigsaw’ pattern
used by elite Belgian forces such as the
Para-Commandos and by peace-keep-
ing troops deployed overseas, though
the Lithuanian camo is possibly better
described as being a hybrid jigsaw/leaf The tactical patch Operations Forces (LITHSOF) and
worn by the Jaeger forms the bulk of their operational
pattern.
assets; the other two components
on his left arm is
being a Special Purpose Service
The Jaeger (Jegeris in Lithuanian) the low visibility (i.e. Special Projects in SAS-speak)
pictured here was serving with the version of the VGJB and a Combat Diver Service (i.e.
Vytautas the Great Jaeger Battalion, insignia which SBS equivalent). During the opening
which is one of three primary incorporates the Special Operations phase of Ex.
components of Lithuanian Special
shield of Vytautas NOBLE JUMP ‘15 in Poland in June,
the Great with a LITHSOF worked in close cooperation
capital V plus a with Poland’s PARASOL and the
crossed sabre and Dutch Korps Commandotroepen
spearhead and . to apprehend high value targets
and neutralise insurgent and militia
initial JB (for Jegeriu
command centres.
^
Batalionas) beneath.
He is armed with The vehicle behind the Jaeger is a
the 5.56mm Heckler three-man LITHSOF Defender 110
& Koch G36C WMIK Land Rover armed with a
sub-carbine with 7.62mm FN MAG general purpose
EOTech sight plus a machinegun, on the dashboard
laser module and his in front of the commander, and
ring mount Heckler & Koch 40mm
secondary weapon
Grenade Machine Gun. The unit also
is the 9mm Glock 17 used the Arctic Cat WILDCAT 1000i
pistol. The ‘smiley’ GT 2/4x4 UTV (quad) and off-road
patches on right arm motorcycles during the dynamic
and helmet rear are .
display on the Zagan´ Training Area at
for identification ´
Swietoszów.
^
Images © Bob Morrison
 Product - UK Contact: Zamberlan/Zamberlan
Telephone/Web: 01665 510 660/zamberlan.com

I needed to take a very versatile 2 Main Image: In 3

item of footwear, as well as my places like this you
pair of sandals, for my African
journey. They would have to
need to be sure-
be able to be worn for long footed - the Zeniths
days in mostly hot (30-40C) proved to be very
temperatures and they had to good for grip
be light and really comfortable.
Conditions would be dry and 1: New and shiny -
sandy but could be wet and the Zeniths before
mucky. I would also have to use prior to our
long. They were very soon covered in
wear these for travel and nights
out so had to be a bit smart
African dust but I did not feel out of place Africa trip
by the time I got to go into a couple of
looking when out to dinner and
visiting the odd ‘posh spot’.
very posh hotels. 2: Zenith toe is
well protected and

Z
amberlan suggested the Zenith Mid
GTX from their Trail Hiking range.
They were spot on. I only got them a
few days ahead and was a bit con-
cerned at first, as these did take a little bit
of wearing in, which is unusual for a ‘soft’
boot. By the time I left, my confidence
was growing but they were very soon
feeling perfect. I was very happy with
the way they looked, especially once the
newness had worn off, which did not take
1 to keep water out. Both worked in my
I like the particular Vibram sole used on has very good grip
the Zenith. To me it looks right which, in
my experience, is often not far out. It has
good grips at the toe and heel, which
3: Most of the trip
is often where the slip occur. The instep was dry, dusty and
area is also well provided for to prevent hot but there were 4
a slip when you are only on this area of times when I was
the foot. It also offers good toe protection pleased the Zeniths
- so necessary when the going gets a bit are waterproof -
tougher. The split leather/Cordura upper here deep wading
is backed up by a light weight Gore-Tex
in the Okavango
membrane for good breathability and
when water came
experience. into the vehicle
Defender
Worthy of a mention here are the laces.
Quite often I find that laces come 5: Lacing system
undone. I know, you can double bow is designed to be
them but even with this some do not light and it works
hold. Zamberlan have clearly done their well - tongue and
homework here as these stay done up. cuffing are durable
Nice one.
and comfortable
I really can’t fault these boots for the sort
of trip I did in them and no doubt at all I
will use them much more in the future.

Combat & Survival 63


For my recent African trip I was
looking for a suitable daysack/
carry-on backpack to contain
and protect but not be OTT on
spec and weight and which
would not look like a bag full of
camera kit. The Gear Hauler did
the job very well indeed, proving
to be very aptly named for this
journey.
A
s I could only take two luggage
items on limited weight / size
restrictions (see also review on
Eagle Creek Duffel), I had to start
with light bags and this one is just over
a kilo. The bags had to be tough, ‘travel
proof’ and water/dust-resistant. The
Gear Hauler, for my use, was principally
a ‘camera bag’ but also had to take my
lap top some of the time as well as the
The Gear
Hauler is
aircraft
friendly - no
matter what
size of aircraft
64 Combat & Survival
5
It can get quite wet
at Victoria Falls so
water-resistance
proved handy for
protecting camera kit
normal ‘stuff’ you need for various days
out and when travelling.
6
A good many such bags, in my view,
try to be too many things in one; far
too many compartments and pockets
which I find mostly never get used or
do not fit my kit. The Gear Hauler is
good in the fact it has a very sizeable
main compartment and one other with a
sub-divider to take the likes of a laptop
plus a few pockets for small items. The
material is tough (a bit battered now on
mine) and water-resistant (tested!). There
are plenty of hand grips as well as pack-
away shoulder straps in their own zipped
5: The Gear Hauler 7
compartment. The main stowage section
opens right up with three-sided, sturdy,
went everywhere
lockable zips so is great to pack. There
with me on my
are two compression straps on both Africa trip - I
sides to keep the pack tight as required, would think Dr.
Livingstone would
have appreciated
one of these on his
expeditions
and a removable shoulder strap, which
6: In safari vehicles I did not really use and left off as a
the Gear Hauler was weight saver. In the base is a zipped
compartment which is very handy for the
an ideal camera waterproof jacket or warm top. This works
‘holster’ and when well as added protection for your valuable
the water came in it load and is easy to get at when needed.
kept things dry
My only slight complaint on this bag is
7: Packing for the there is no external drink bottle pocket.
journey home, Plenty of room inside but if a drink is
cameras, lap top and stowed internally there the risk of liquid
a rhino! leaking inside and it is more of a faff to
get at. Other than that, great.
 Product - UK Contact: Eagle Creek/Pro Agencies
Telephone/Web: 07795 904 043/proagencies.com

There are times when a Main Image: The

rigid bag and wheels are not
allowed; such was the case
Eagle Creek Duffel
on our recent trip to Africa as
is both practical
we were flying in small light and easy to carry
aircraft on some occasions.
Weight was also very important. 8: Both the Duffel
and Gear Hauler

M
y search for suitable travel bags
took me to Eagle Creek and
their No Matter What duffel, at
only 1.25kg, it fitted the job very
well indeed. I also like to have a bag
that shows up amongst a pile of others,
hence the bright yellow, but rest assured
other colours are available. Mine is a bit
less bright and clean now.
Having now returned from this trip this
duffel has proved to have been a great
choice. Weight and general usability
were ideal. It was humped and dragged
and jammed into small aircraft holds
and seats and onto trucks and even won
8 stowed in small
crossing the
Zambezi from
Botswana to
Zambia
9: Heading for
home from Victoria
Falls with both 10
the praise of a couple of pilots for being
Gear Hauler and ‘ideal’. Result!
Duffel
The NMW Duffel offers little protection to
10: For my the kit inside but as a robust, water and
Africa trip it was dust-resistant ‘container’ it works very
important my gear well indeed. Its closure is by a sturdy
could be easily lockable zip backed up by compression
straps and these, with a bit of cunning,
can be used to reduce the length if the
aircraft bag is not full. The carry straps are good
it works very well indeed as a general
stuff sack though perhaps best for
and backed up by a shoulder strap stowing grubby footwear, which was its
Images © which, if adjusted right, allows all three job on my trip. Both are made from the
or via to work together. very durable Bi-Tech material.
Mike Gormley
The Duffel also comes with a very handy I was very happy with NMW Duffel for
stuff pouch. This is designed to contain this trip and it will no doubt accompany
the rolled up bag when not in use but me again.

Combat & Survival 65

 Product - UK Contact: Teva/EMEA Customer Services Princeton Tec/Whitby and Co
Telephone/Web: 0208 334 2923/teva.co.uk 01539 721 032/whitbyandco.co.uk

11

I wore my Tevas a lot -

they were great on the
likes of boat trips where
grip was very important

When appropriate, I like to are super comfortable when worn for

wear sandals. As well as light
ones for loafing about I like
ones that are tough, durable
and grip well for ‘real’ use,
so with our trip to Africa in
mind I set about looking for
something appropriate – and
found these.
long periods. They are well cushioned His and Hers
for walking on most types of ground Teva Fi 4
conditions. The slightly turned-up toe sandals - no
and heel, as well as the raised sides, points for
give foot security and protection - guessing
especially if rocky. The sole looks and which
is very grippy, even on wet surfaces, legs are
and after this journey only shows slight
Jeans
scuffing so should be good for many

B
oth Jean and I took a pair of
Terra Fi 4 sandals. As this was
a lightweight trip they were one
of only two items of footwear
we could each take on a varied three
week expedition. This meant they
would get a lot of use. Long days, hot,
and sometimes wet.
Now back in the UK, I can
wholeheartedly report that these
were fully up to expectations. They
more adventures. The strap system is
simple but good, allowing full ventilation
(they are sandals after all) with full
adjustment by hook and loop fastening.
There is some sign of fraying of the
fabric but nothing to be concerned 11: The slightly turned-up toe and heel as well as the raised sides give
about. There is good internal padding foot security and protection
on all straps for added protection on
the skin contact areas. 12: The Princeton Tec Vizz head torch on its elasticated adjustable
headband
All in all I was very pleased indeed with
these for such a journey. 13: The central high power LED has a very good and usable beam

12 The two red LEDs are

ideal for discreet use and
for preserving night vision

I needed a good but small head torch to
take away but it had to have a red light
as well for discreet night work and so as
not to lose night vision. The Vizz worked
out to be perfect.
is perhaps surprisingly powerful and I used it quite
a lot to search for wild animals’ tell-tale eyes in the
dark and also to search for wild intruders (animal)
into camp at night.
Princeton Tec have

The Teva Fi 4 soles grip well and provide good
comfort - alongside is the Eagle Creek Duffel
stuff sack which works very well as a shoe bag
T he batteries lasted the whole three week trip with
quite a lot of use. I found I used the red LED and
a significant range
of lights but for me
the full beam main light the most, but it also has the VIZZ worked
variable low powered LEDs if needed. The main light very well indeed.

66 Combat & Survival

 When it comes to model 1: Hobby Boss
construction kits it is often also produce a
the case that certain subjects
get more than their fair share
Mk. IV Merkava
of coverage in terms of the
number of kits available, while 2: Merkava
others are often neglected. Not Mk. IIID model
so long ago it was tanks and from Chinese
armoured vehicles of the IDF manufacturer
(Israeli Defence Force) that Hobby Boss
seemed to be largely overlooked
by manufacturers in favour of
more popular subjects such as
Full size
WW2 German tanks. Thankfully
Merkava and
that is no longer the case and Achzarit
in recent times there has been images

a positive boom in kits of Israeli
tanks and armoured vehicles
being released by a number of
manufacturers, including quite a
few in the past twelve months.
1 modelling and there’s plenty of
W
© Gary Norris ith the IDF having some 2
very interesting, and
unusual vehicles, in their
inventory they make for
a good choice when it comes to
reference material available too.
The heavily modified Sherman
and Centurion tanks have fasci-
nated model makers for years, but
more recently it’s been the various
makes of the Merkava main battle
tank that have gained favour; this

70 Combat & Survival

3 4
home-grown tank being unusual
for having a front mounted engine,
unlike the vast majority of tanks
from elsewhere in the world. Main
Battle Tank derivatives have also
made it into plastic with the Achzarit
armoured personnel carrier, based
on the Soviet T-54/T-55 chassis,
being one example. More recently
the mighty Caterpillar D9R armoured
bulldozer has arrived, so there’s
plenty of scope to keep keen model
makers occupied for many an hour.
We have compiled a list of no
less than twenty-eight kits that
6
are currently available, but this
month we are just focussing on
the Merkava and the Achzarit (see
overleaf). While the recommended
retail prices shown are for guidance,
as with most things if you hunt
around you’ll find some real bargain
prices on the internet or at model
shows.
Space constraints have restricted
us just to listing 1/35th scale kits
this month and next, but there are
also a number of manufacturers
offering 1/72nd scale models of
IDF tanks and armour, if that’s
5
3: Hong Kong’s your preference. Quality and
Meng Models also detail wise some 1/35th kit
produce an early manufacturers are better than
Mk.IIID others, but nowadays the
differences are so small as to
make little or no difference and I
4: The assembled
think it’s fair to say that if you’re
Meng Merkava Mk.3
a reasonably accomplished
BAZ with Mine model-maker you should end
Roller up with some great models of
what are undoubtedly some of
5: This Merkava the most interesting subjects in
Mk.III BAZ from the world of armoured fighting
Meng comes with a vehicles. additionally, if you
Mine Roller want to super detail your model
there’s definitely no shortage
6: Tamiya from of aftermarket accessories
Japan were the available; it just depends on
first to produce a how much you want to spend.
Merkava in 1/35th
Next month we will look at
Left: The assembled 1/35th scale IDF Centurion,
Meng Merkava Sherman, M60, Tiran and
Mk.3D D9R Bulldozer construction kit
availability
Combat & Survival 71
 1

2 4

3
1: Box art for the Hobby Boss kit of the early version Achzarit
5
2: Assembled Meng 1/35th model of early version Achzarit

3: Meng also produce a 1/35th scale Achzarit early version

4: Meng’s late version Achzarit has a detailed interior

5: Assembled Meng 1/35th model of late version Achzarit

Maker Scale Vehicle Ref UK RRP

Academy 1/35 Merkava Mk II 13242 £32.99

Academy 1/35 Merkava Mk II with KMT-4 Mine Roller 1359 £29.99

Academy 1/35 Merkava Mk IID MBT 13286 £32.99

Academy 1/35 Merkava Mk III MBT 13267 £22.99

Academy 1/35 Merkava Mk IV MBT 13213 £32.99

Academy 1/35 Merkava Mk IV LIC MBT 13227 £32.99

Hobby Boss 1/35 Merkava Mk IV MBT 82429 £37.00

Hobby Boss 1/35 Merkava Mk IIID MBT 82441 £53.00

Hobby Boss 1/35 Merkava Mk IIID LIC MBT 82476 £53.00

Hobby Boss 1/35 Merkava ARV Tank 82457 £53.00

Hobby Boss 1/35 Achzarit APC (early model) 82457 £53.00

Meng 1/35 Achzarit APC (early model) SS-003 £34.99

Meng 1/35 Achzarit APC (late model) SS-008 £44.99

Meng 1/35 Merkava Mk IIID (early model) TS-001 £44.99

Meng 1/35 Merkava Mk III BAZ with Mine Roller TS-005 £49.99

Tamiya 1/35 Merkava Mk I MBT 35127 £20.00

72 Combat & Survival

 Next month Carl will be reporting on
EAGLE’S AMARANTE, the Anglo-French
Para manoeuvres aimed at increasing
interoperability of the new Interim
Combined Joint Expeditionary Force and
Bob will report on the 3 [UK] Division
Combined Arms Manoeuvre Demo on
Salisbury Plain and on SABRE STRIKE
on Drawsko Pomorskie live-fire ranges.
Hopefully our exclusive coverage of NATO’s
massive TRIDENT JUNCTURE exercise on
the Iberian Peninsula will also start in the
January issue, but as this page is being
prepared early to allow the Editor to be in-
theatre during the LIVEX phase this is not
quite cast in stone. As Carl headed for the
multinational DRAGON 15, which took place
on the nearest NATO training area to the
Kaliningrad and Belarus borders, straight
after EAGLE’S AMARANTE in Norfolk he is
recharging his batteries and writing up his
reports. We have a lot to catch up on over
the next few issues as it has been a manic
second half of the year for us.
Happy reading.

74 Combat & Survival