Members of the 7th Light Mechanised Brigade and the Scots Guards took over a DFDS vessel from North Tyneside and the brigade had karaoke, a cinema and bingo for entertainment, but no alcohol.
You would normally expect to see rats on a ship….
But 1400 British army soldiers, including the brigade nicknamed the Desert Rats, left the UK today for a huge military exercise in Europe on a passenger ferry.
Members of the 7th Light Mechanised Brigade and the Scots Guards, who were recently on operations in Oman, took over a DFDS vessel from North Tyneside.
Nicknamed the Desert Rats, the brigade had karaoke, a cinema and bingo for entertainment, but no alcohol. They were heading for a NATO exercise in Sennelager, near Paderborn, Germany, where they will work alongside French soldiers for 6-8 weeks.
READ MORE: What’s left of Iran’s stockpile of weapons revealed in new intelligence reportREAD MORE: Fears Iran war will explode again as defiant Tehran shuns peace talks despite Trump’s threats
The MoD stressed that using a civilian vessel had nothing to do with any shortage of navy ships. The exercise tests the UK’s ability to use civilian transport infrastructure if NATO’s Article Five is triggered. The agreement is the cornerstone of the alliance.
It established that an attack against one ally is considered an attack against all members. It has been invoked once in NATO history following the 9/11 terror attacks on the United States in 2001.
It was believed to be the first time our troops had used a passenger ferry in a military exercise since the last Gulf War. Charlie Gilmore is company commander of Right Flank, Scots Guards; they had around 100 troops on board.
He said: “The purpose of the exercise is to show that we, as part of NATO, can project a large force at pace out into Eastern Europe. You can see the reasons why we would do that now.
“It seems unusual to use civilian transport. But it’s not unusual when we look back at history. We used it in the Falklands War and the Gulf conflict.
“There’s also a strong reason behind it. It shows a kind of flexibility. If we were to rely on the strategic airlift, provided by the Royal Air Force, with 1400 people, it would take seven aircraft to do that.
“This shows that we can move by air, sea, or rail. The Royal Navy does not have a passenger ship to carry 1400 personnel. You could embark us on a Royal Auxiliary ship, but that is not really what they should be used for. This is absolutely about showing that the UK government can force project into Europe using a variety of efforts.”
He added: “We have spent the past couple of years travelling around the world to Oman, Kosovo, Kenya and Kuwait. That was done by air, so it will be good to see how this works.”
The MoD said transporting this number of troops by air would require multiple RAF Voyager aircraft, highlighting the strategic importance of civilian ferry use.
