Soldier – August 2019

G

IVE us our money, you bastards.

We want it NOW!” screams a

furious thug into the face of an

impassive British soldier.

Keeping composed under such

pressure is a considerable challenge, not

least because the “thug” is CSgt Michael

Little (SG) – a former Infantry Battle School

instructor with the pugilistic presence and

lung power to intimidate just about anybody.

The simulated riot unfolding involves a

small group of UK Armed Forces personnel

working in a fictitious foreign country.

They are trying to reason with a large

angry mob who haven’t been paid by a locally

based British contractor. And the workers’

frustration has boiled over into physical and

verbal threats against anyone associated with

the UK.

“This feels very real, the role players are

fantastic and really get into it,” Maj Steph

Manning-Degobertiere (RA) tells Soldier, as

one of her colleagues dries his bleeding nose.

http://www.soldiermagazine.co.uk AUGUST 2019 37

Words: Steve Muncey Pictures: Graeme Main

Operational liaison and

reconnaissance teams are

called upon when there’s a

crisis brewing abroad – so they

have to be ready for anything

In the

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