Image Gallery: October 2008
03 October 2008
Quick Reaction Force drills
Infantrymen from 8 Platoon, Combat Team Charlie run through Quick Reaction Force (QRF) drills as part of the ANZAC Battle Group training during Cooperative Spirit 2008. Platoons are put through their paces in Situation Training Exercises (STX) in a number of activities before engaging in company/combat team level STX and finally the Brigade/Battle Group Field Training Exercise (FTX). In the QRF training, 8 Platoon are the short notice callsign that has been tasked to respond swiftly to threat forces occupying buildings in an urban area. They roll in to the scene mounted in US High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV or ‘Humvees/Hummers’) and once security is established around the scene, buildings are searched, the threat is engaged and enemy is captured or killed.
Approximately 180 personnel drawn mostly from the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR) in Townsville have deployed to Germany on Cooperative Spirit 2008 (CS08). CS08 is a multinational exercise intended to test interoperability among the American, British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand Armies (ABCA).
The 1 RAR contingent comprises of a Battle Group HQ and Combat Team Force Element and will be combined with a company from the 2nd/1st Battalion Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (2/1 RNZIR) to create the ‘ANZAC Battle Group’ during the exercise. They will conduct operations in the field, under stressful battlefield conditions, complete with a sophisticated opposing force and realistic training scenarios in a world-class training facility.
CS08 is being conducted by the United States at the Joint Multinational Readiness Centre (JMRC), located in Hohenfels, Germany, between 11 Sep and 10 Oct 08. Around 1800 troops from ABCA Armies are taking part in the activity. The month-long exercise aims to develop skills common to ABCA armies and increase interoperability for combined operations, offering significant opportunities to train soldiers in a combined (multinational) environment.
| 20080919cs08_004 Photo by SGT B. Wesley Lewis (US Army) 8 Platoon, Combat Team Charlie, ANZAC Battle Group, the QRF mounted in HMMWV’s arrive on the scene to a village during Cooperative Spirit 08. (Date taken: 19 September 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080919cs08_011 Photo by SGT B. Wesley Lewis (US Army) CPL Robert Munro from 8 Platoon, Combat Team Charlie, ANZAC Battle Group, takes up a firing position next to his vehicle as the QRF arrives on scene during Cooperative Spirit 08. (Date taken: 19 September 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080919cs08_014 Photo by SGT B. Wesley Lewis (US Army) PTE Matthew Bovell from 8 Platoon, Combat Team Charlie, ANZAC Battle Group, provides machine gun covering fire from his vehicle during Cooperative Spirit 08. (Date taken: 19 September 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080919cs08_018 Photo by SGT B. Wesley Lewis (US Army) An enemy insurgent fires from a building window at 8 Platoon, Combat Team Charlie, ANZAC Battle Group, during QRF activities at Cooperative Spirit 08. (Date taken: 19 September 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080919cs08_025 Photo by SGT B. Wesley Lewis (US Army) PTE Daniel O’Connor from 8 Platoon, Combat Team Charlie, ANZAC Battle Group, takes a look at the scene behind a building during QRF activities at Cooperative Spirit 08. (Date taken: 19 September 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080919cs08_029b Photo by CAPT Marie-Noelle Blanchet (Canadian Army) PTE Michael Rodwell from 8 Platoon, Combat Team Charlie, ANZAC Battle Group, takes a sight picture on enemy forces during Cooperative Spirit 08. (Date taken: 19 September 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080919cs08_031 Photo by SGT B. Wesley Lewis (US Army) PTE Matthew Bovell from 8 Platoon, Combat Team Charlie, ANZAC Battle Group, provides machine gun covering fire from his vehicle during Cooperative Spirit 08. (Date taken: 19 September 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080919cs08_067 Photo by SGT B. Wesley Lewis (US Army) LT Robinson (right) and PTE Daniel O’Connor from 8 Platoon, Combat Team Charlie, ANZAC Battle Group, assess the situation after their QRF has been called in during Cooperative Spirit 08. (Date taken: 19 September 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080919cs08_083 Photo by SGT B. Wesley Lewis (US Army) (Front right to left) PTE Daniel O’Connor, PTE Cameron Hardie, CPL Robert Munro and PTE Ivan Mazourenko from 8 Platoon, Combat Team Charlie, ANZAC Battle Group, prepare to enter a building during Cooperative Spirit 08. (Date taken: 19 September 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080919cs08_085 Photo by SGT B. Wesley Lewis (US Army) (Right to left) PTE Daniel O’Connor, PTE Cameron Hardie, CPL Robert Munro and PTE Ivan Mazourenko from 8 Platoon, Combat Team Charlie, ANZAC Battle Group, mount the stairs as they enter a building during Cooperative Spirit 08. (Date taken: 19 September 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080919cs08_090 Photo by SGT B. Wesley Lewis (US Army) (Front left to right) PTE Mitchell Lane, PTE Max Munday and LT Justin Robinson from 8 Platoon, Combat Team Charlie, ANZAC Battle Group, prepare to search a room during Cooperative Spirit 08. (Date taken: 19 September 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
| 20080919cs08_100 Photo by SGT B. Wesley Lewis (US Army) PTE Michael Rodwell from 8 Platoon, Combat Team Charlie, ANZAC Battle Group, orders an enemy insurgent to the group for searching during Cooperative Spirit 08. (Date taken: 19 September 2008) Low-Res | Hi-Res |
 |
