NATO Multimedia

Urban operations are a core skill of infantry units, and British Army troops assigned to NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup in Poland aren’t letting themselves get rusty.

Soldiers from the British Army’s Black Horse Troop of the Royal Dragoon Guards, currently deployed to Poland as part of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Battlegroup, conducted a week-long exercise focused on manoeuvring in an urban environment. Troops assigned to NATO’s eFP Battlegroups regularly conduct training courses like this, sharpening their skills while learning how to work alongside Allied soldiers. The eFP Battlegroup in Poland is led by the United States.

Footage includes soldiers preparing for training, breaching and clearing rooms and buildings in an urban environment, as well as an interview with eFP Battlegroup Poland Commander Lt Col Craig Broyles.

During filming all Covid-19 precautions were observed, including social distancing and wearing of masks.

---SHOTLIST—
(00:00) CLOSE UP: UK SOLDIER LOADS A MAGAZINE WITH SIMUNITION ROUNDS

(00:06) CLOSE UP ON EFP BATTLEGROUP POLAND AND BRITISH ARMY BADGES

(00:12) WIDE SHOT: UK INFANTRY MOVING THROUGH URBAN TRAINING ENVIRONMENT

(00:27) MEDIUM SHOT: UK INFANTRY THROWING GRENADES INTO A BUILDING

(00:41) CLOSE UP: UK INFANTRY MOVING THROUGH A BUILDING IN FORMATION

(00:49) MEDIUM SHOT: UK INFANTRY KICKING OPEN A DOOR

(00:58) SEVERAL SHOTS: UK INFANTRY FIRING SIMUNITION ROUNDS INDOORS

(01:06) SEVERAL SHOTS: UK INFANTRY PREPARING TO ENTER A BUILDING

(01:24) SEVERAL SHOTS: UK INFANTRY CLEARING ROOMS

(02:03) GO PRO SHOT: UK INFANTRY SOLDIER CLEARING A ROOM

(02:20) SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - eFP Battlegroup Poland Commander Lt Col Craig Broyles (US Army)
‘What we do on a daily basis is we train together. And like on a particular Monday, we get up, do PT [physical training] like every unit. We'll go out to the range, we shoot, we practise, we practise communications. We really practise working together. Because in NATO, it's important that each nation can operate alone. But we never fight alone. So our biggest focus is really understanding how each other work. I help make sure that we can communicate with each other and that we fight together as a team. And again, everything we prepare for is defensive in nature.’

‘Really what we do mostly is practise communicating with each other. We run drills. One of the things we do is an emergency and deployment readiness exercise; that's when we're on no-notice. We practise kind of like a fire drill where everyone gets ready, then we move out and be ready to respond it for a crisis. Again, everything we do here is defensive only in nature. We will practise defense missions and how we would respond in the event of any attack.’
‘Here in NATO we say ‘stronger together’. And it's because each of the nations, we have a capability that without each other, we're not near as strong. Each one of us can give that little portion, like a basketball team. And so together, we really are stronger. And as we work together and we practise together, we become a committed fighting force to defend NATO and defend Poland. And that's what we're the most committed to do.’

END