BILLED Great Britain | Exercise Jaguar I | Kingdom of the Netherlands

[Jamie]

EXERCISE JAGUAR MINISTRY OF DEFENCE BRITISH ARMY / ROYAL AIR FORCE / ROYAL NETHERLANDS AIR FORCE / ROYAL NETHERLANDS ARMY

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TRAINING DIRECTIVE
AUGUST 1995
TOP SECRET​

[1] OVERVIEW

[1a] BACKGROUND​

[1b] OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVES​

[2] BELLIGERENTS
[3] ORDER OF BATTLE
[4] OPERATION STAGING AREAS
[5] CAMPAIGN REGISTER

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[1] OVERVIEW

[1a] BACKGROUND
Discussions took place regarding a join exercise between the Netherlands and United Kingdom to provide integration training for air assault units.

[1b] OPERATIONAL OBJECTIVES

1. Respond to numerous QRF Incidents with a joint UK/NL Task Force.
2. Engage in Conventional Conflict.
3. Integrate equipment from both parties.

[2] BELLIGERENTS

Blufor United Kingdom Netherlands Opfor Unidentified Milita

[3] ORDER OF BATTLE as of APR1995

[300] 1st Battalion, the Parachute Regiment [A, B & C Company]
[6] Boeing Chinook HC2, 7 Squadron A Flight [PEGASUS001 through PEGASUS006]​

[4] OPERATION STAGING AREAS

DESIGNATION	LOCATION	STATUS
RAF Fairford	RAF Fairford	Active

[5] CAMPAIGN REGISTER as of APR1995

Campaign	Location	Objective(s)	Dates	Status
Exercise Jaguar	United Kingdom	Join QRF Training between the UK and NL.	AUG1995-Present	In Progress

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An invitation was extended to the Netherlands (@Dutchy ) to confirm the details above for the exercise, inviting them to begin their deployments to RAF Fairford in Southern England. During this time, the Paratroopers and Chinook were deployed to the airfield in preparation, Chinooks flying in whilst the Paratroopers were transported from their local bases via coached, rented out for the purpose of transport.​

 

[Jamie]

@Dutchy

 

[Dutchy]

Upon receiven the operational directive the 11th Infantry Batallion from the 11th Air Mobile Brigade would make their final prepartions. The unit would ensure all equipment was in good condition and properly stowed away prior to departure. The Battalion would depart from Complex Schaarsbergen and receive a police escort as they made their way to Gilze-Rijen Air Base. Upon arrival the troops would disembark and load their equipment on the waiting Chinook aircraft from the 322 Transport Helicopter Squadron. In addition to the transport helicopters the A Wing and B Wing of the 331 Attack Helicopter Squadron would be part of the training operation. The aircraft had been refueled and resupplied prior to the arrival of the troops and once all personnel and equipment was safely aboard the squadron would take off and follow Air Traffic Control instructions as they headed for British airspace.

Upon nearing British airspace they would identify themselves and request guidance to RAF Fairford. If granted the squadron would safely fly over England before landing at RAF Fairford where the troops would disembark and await further instructions from the British units leading the exercise.

@Jamie

 

[Jamie]

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Following the UK law for air traffic management, the Dutch Aircraft were provided with the instruction and approach routes into RAF Fairford. The designated airfield for this exercise. Monitoring their activity as they came into arriving, ground vehicles were prepared containing supplies to provide fuel to the aircraft due to the consumption they had used on the way in. Whilst the base Commander discussed with the Dutch Commanding Officers and escorted them to the mess hall; where the British Paratroopers already sat down and in queues to get their food. This was an opportunity for both forces to merge together and begin to make friendships. Something the British were interested in. Meanwhile, from the Parachute Regiment, Captain Oliver was incharge of the exercise and he had invited the leading member of the 11th Air Mobile Brigade to the command center to discuss the exercise which was due to begin tomorrow.

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@Dutchy

 

[Dutchy]

Dutch military personnel, which up until the recent dissolution of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, has always been close with their British counterparts. Joining them in the mess hall was like seeing old friends and they quickly started conversations about a wide range of topics, most jokingly used the awful British weather as a conversation starter.

In the background, Majoor Thomas Boelens who was accompanied by his staff would make their way towards the command center. Entering the room he would salute the Captain and offer a handshake as he introduced himself. "Major Boelens of the 11th Infrantry Battalion, a pleasure to meet you Captain."

@Jamie

 

[Jamie]

The combined forces of British and Dutch Personnel were sure to get along, embarking in mutually-beneficial banter, enjoying the food that was put out for the force while Captain Oliver extended his own hand to meet the Major. "Pleasure to meet you, Major. Welcome to RAF Fairford." he smiled, indicating to a table that was holding a map of a huge training area in the UK... namely, Salisbury Plain. Oliver stepped over it. "I won't keep you hanging around. We'll give everyone until morning and then we'll begin but I'd like to go through it with you. Moreso to get your input and thoughts. Given we are all air assault units with our Chinooks at the ready, the objective will be to conduct an air assault on a nearby mock town. However, to do this, we have a number of objectives first.

...Firstly. There are artillery positions on the outskirts, two, to be exact. We will need to conduct a night raid simultaneously on these positions before our men can advance. For the purposes of integration, I'd like to see British and Dutch forces split together, so one team would attack position 1 with a mixture of Dutch and British Chinooks and Soldiers. Same for position 2. This would need to be a night raid in my opinion to minimize the risk.

Once those artillery positions are compromised, which they are around 16km from the target city, we can move onto objective two. This would be a combat march over the terrain to a small village. We know it has quite the force there to fight against us but attacking the city first would give these forces to attack us from behind. The issue here is if we aren't quick enough, the city could deploy reinforcements. So we would need to take the village, and hold it. This is when we can conduct intelligence gathering on the main objective, three, to take control of the city. We would be able to utilize the Chinooks if needed, and decide an action plan on the ground based on the intelligence we get given."

@Dutchy

 

[Dutchy]

"This is a well thought out training exercise, if I may say so Captain Oliver," the Major would respond after carefully studying the details of the operation. "My suggestion would be to utilise the Boeing AH-64 Apaches during the assault on the artillery positions. The Apaches would be the first wave and would be equipped with air-to-ground rockets in order to destroy the artillery pieces and do as much damage as possible to the positions. In the ensuing chaos we could safely land and deploy our airborne units to clear the remaining threats and secure the positions."

"I also advocate for not using the Apaches in a first wave assault on the target city in order to simulate a desire to avoid civilian casualties as well as unnecessary destruction of the city. However, if necessary the aircraft could be called in to conduct precision air support missions."

@Jamie

 

[Dutchy]

@Jamie

 

[Jamie]

Captain Oliver simply nodded, appreciating the compliment of the training exercise before listening to the suggestions posed by his Dutch equal. "I agree that Apache support would be significant for taking the artillery positions. I would suggest we do the attack at the same time, whilst your Apaches move in for the Artillery, our combined infantry units can fly straight for the city. The Apaches could then divert to the city to support, whether through intelligence or combat, and our forces would have already been in the engagement. Having the move in together would mean our Chinooks would essentially have the attack helicopters as protection for the journey. The Apaches would split for the artillery and the Chinooks make their air assault on the target. Perhaps."