Exercise Hypogeal Bear

✅The centre of Leeds
✅2km of underground tunnels
✅Patrolling through knee-high drain water
✅One of this year's more unusual Army exercises

A photo thread 🧵
1/11 Exercise Hypogeal Bear was run by Sgt Mottley of 21 Engineer Regiment. It involved Army units (including 2 @RAnglians and 4 @TheParachuteReg) working alongside West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Its the sort of exercise @SpencerGuard, @JaysonGeroux and @Stu_Lyle advocate.

Wagner Group operations in Africa, and the trail of associated civilian deaths in Libya, CAR and Mali.

A thread of nine articles from the last two months How Russia Is Slaughtering Civilians on the African Front
"Eyewitnesses say the Russians spread through the alleys of Moura with soldiers from the Malian army... numerous civilians died in the hail of bullets."
@FritzSchaap
spiegel.de/international/…

1963, Cambridge, MA. A psychologist is about to run an experiment with profound impacts on how instructors view students and leaders view their people.

Bob Rosenthal is about to discover the #Pygmalion Effect.

A thread about unlocking #potential for leaders and instructors But first, h/t to @rcbregman. You can find this and other lesson on human nature in 'Human Kind'. I highly recommend it.

And to people like @UpSkillYourLife, @dklineii and @SahilBloom, all of whom have touch on this before.

Female engagement teams, working with allies and the value of getting information from across the population.

An update on the UK operation in #Mali courtesy of @CO_QDG.
1/11

@ExCO_MOG @olivier_salgado, @sabrinamkarim @SharmanStone @EScottKakures @CO_QDG @ExCO_MOG @olivier_salgado @sabrinamkarim @SharmanStone @EScottKakures The @TheWelshCavalry Task group have been building on the success of previous rotations, employing a female engagement team to enhance their ability to understand #Mali and its culture.
2/11

On 31 Jan we said farewell to Captain Raymond Savage.

A veteran of the #Leicestershire Regiment, he fought in Norway, Malaya, and Singapore before building the Thai-Burma railway.

When he died at 102 last year he was known as 'the last man standing' - for many reasons.
1/10 Each year for Tigers Weekend Raymond would attend the service, march past and lunch in #Leicester. This involved him driving from Devon to Leicester and back the same day. He did this well into his nineties.

But of course his amazing story deserve to be told from the start.

If you are interested in following someone who opens your eyes to what some of our adversaries are doing, then I highly recommend @CalibreObscura. They write articles and threads on non-state armed groups, their TTPs and their #weapons.

Here's a thread of their best work:
1/ @CalibreObscura How about this: an interview with one Abu TOW, of the most prolific and well-known rebel #ATGM operators in Syria, or indeed globally. He's fired 140 ATGMs - and claims 133 hits.
2/
calibreobscura.com/fighting-with-…

The @BritishArmy recently selected its next batch of RSMs.

Here’s a thread about the most inspirational RSM that ever lived.

He fought in N Africa, dropped at Arnhem, saved countless lives in a POW camp, and became the first Academy Sgt Maj at @RMASandhurst.

RSM JC Lord, a🧵 Fighting with @3PARA in Tunisia he showed just how rigid he was in setting his standards. And in keeping a cool head:

Been wondering about how the UK LRRG sustains itself over 1,500km and three weeks of patrolling?

Wonder no more.

For @ThinkDefence, @TheRLCThinkers,
A thread on LRRG sustainment. This thread has too many heroes. But two stand out – the BGLO (Maj W) and the A1 Echelon Commander (Capt S).

One organises it, the other carries and distributes it. Nothing can happen without these two.

#Miltwitter can be an echo chamber.

So if you are interested in #peacekeeping or the protection of civilians in conflict…

here’s a🧵 of 8 accounts I found useful to follow over the last year that will help prepare you for human security operations. Who: @CivCenter
Centre for Civilians in Conflict

• reports
• analysis
• links to the wider protection of civilians community

Useful thread: how #COVID19 affected civilian protection activity around the world.

https://twitter.com/CivCenter/status/1466368379564998661

An update from UK ops in #Mali: Two weeks ago an armed group committed an atrocious killing of over 50 civilians in the villages around Outagouna. The #Malian Army and Nigerien troops from @UN_MINUSMA were first on the scene. We were not far behind.

A 🧵

theguardian.com/world/2021/aug… The 🇬🇧LRRG is 250-strong, but it isn’t designated as a QRF.

Yet we can move fast and stay deployed on the ground for a month at a time, providing security for longer than most.

Medevac is one of the most common training events of the @UN_MINUSMA mission rehearsal we are doing.

Here’s a bit more about the medical chain we’ve got. 1/11 First, every team has a Team Medic. Normally you’d train 1 per 4 person team, but given we’ve gone for 1 in 2. Double the medical provision.

Team medics provide care in the first 10 minutes.
2/11