After a long couple of years under various Covid-19 restrictions, 23 Parachute Engineer Regiment were finally able to deploy on Exercise EAGLE POWDER 22, the 2-week-long regimental skiing trip in March 2022. This AT expedition involved deploying 2 groups of service personnel, 47 in total, to Tignes France to partake in training in alpine skiing at various levels. The exercising troops of various abilities came out with either SF1 or SF2 quals or valuable continuation training ahead of more advanced qualifications.
This exercise was designed to expose our sappers to risk and fear in a controlled an enjoyable manner, while boosting regimental cohesion and offering the opportunity of a life experience that many would find difficult to finance independently. One sapper wrote: “Skiing was never something I thought about doing but I think I’ve caught the bug now already! I never imagined that it would be as tough as it was but it was so much fun and I can go back home now and be the only one from my ‘civvie’ mates that’s had this experience.”
The exercising troops flew from Gatwick into Lyon on the Saturday morning of each week to then undertake the long drive by coach up into the Alps to Val Claret, Tignes, for training to begin the next morning. The 2 groups that went each got a full 5 days of training from their instructors in separate syndicates based on ability. From a very mixed group, all troops were brought up to a level were they were able to ski down red and black slopes and ski off-piste. The more advanced groups went and collected more specialist ski equipment on the Wednesday of each week to learn mountain skills which involved nordic ski touring to relatively untouched corners of the resort and ‘cutting lines’ in untouched off-piste slopes. These groups particularly enjoyed avalanche rescue drills in which our instructors ran training serials using transceivers in order to simulate rescuing a skier trapped under an avalanche.
The troops were then given their last day to free ski, now that they were all competent and confident to hone their skills and independence at the sport as well as having their evenings free to socialise with each other and with holiday makers.
This exercise was in a large part facilitated by generous funding from The Ulysses Trust, enabling the Regiment to not only take part in basic alpine skiing but also to hire specialist equipment in order to train in avalanche rescue, snowpack analysis and ski touring. This was a critical training objective for the 14 personnel who undertook and passed their SF2 qualification and who can now go on to more advance training on their way to potentially become instructors.
This AT trip had an extra significance in the fact that it brought together the 4 squadrons which make up the regiment including 299 Para Engr Sqn (the regiment’s reserve force) and 70 Sqn QGE (the newest addition to the regiment under the integrated review). This inclusion of the 299 and 70 Sqn helped to build on relationships already recently strengthened on Exercise EAGLE SAPPER, the regiment’s annual ‘soldier first’ exercise in which the regular squadrons involved were fleshed out by colleagues from the reserve force.
Exercise EAGLE POWDER was enjoyed by all and 23 Para Engr Regiment are very grateful for The Ulysses Trust enabling and amplifying the training and opportunities for regimental cohesion that the exercise presented.
