Remembrance troops put through their paces at HMS Excellent before Cenotaph role
5th November 2024 at 5:28pm
Watch: Remembrance troops put through their paces at HMS Excellent before Cenotaph role
Personnel at HMS Excellent have been practising to make sure they are ready to lead commemorations at the Cenotaph for Remembrance Sunday.
Forty-eight members of the Royal Marines Band Service lead 65 Royal Navy sailors and officers, 31 Royal Marines and eight members of Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service, in London.
But now, HMS Excellent resounded to the sound of boots and music, as sailors and Royal Marines prepared for their role.
Warrant Officer Class 1 Glynn Moffet is State Ceremonial Training Officer for the Royal Navy and told BFBS Forces News talks start “within the state ceremonial training group around March” in preparation for the event.
“But actually, the culmination of training starts three weeks before delivery of the National Act of Remembrance,” he said.
Watch: Princess Royal lays wreath at 80th Operation Market Garden commemoration event in Arnhem
From ships and submarines to bases and barracks, all personnel want to be at the nation’s focal point of remembrance.
And many have very personal reasons for volunteering.
Marine Benjamin Dixon, 40 Commando, said his “great-grandfather served in World War Two so it’s a perfect opportunity to remember him”.
Meanwhile, Royal Navy Chief Petty Officer Adam Jamieson said his great-uncles were in the RAF.
He explained one of them was a prisoner of war, while another was shot down in the North Sea.
“He’s commemorated at the Runnymede Memorial, so straight away that’s one reason for wanting to do it,” he said.
Three weeks of hard training is almost at an end – but they’re more than ready for their role leading the nation in remembrance.
Petty Officer naval nurse Soriana Mackie said personnel were “feeling and remembering about how important it is for us to be here”.
“To be marching, not just to be here as part of the Royal Navy, but to be representing the Queen Alexandra Royal Navy Nursing Service,” she said.
The Royal Navy’s flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth has set sail from Portsmouth naval base after a quick turnaround of only three days.
The 65,000-tonne aircraft carrier headed back out to sea having only returned home on Friday following a 10-day period of training with the Royal Air Force and personnel from Britannia Royal Naval College.
HMS Queen Elizabeth will now be taking part in routine training and for some defence engagement before her expected return before Christmas.
BFBS Forces News live-streamed on YouTube the departure of the aircraft carrier, which you can watch back in full below.
HMS Queen Elizabeth recently completed routine training and sea trials which saw her crew take on different roles, work with Chinook helicopters and host visitors from BRNC Dartmouth.
She also worked closely with the Type 23 frigate HMS St Albans during her Fleet Operation Sea Training.
During her time at sea, she also worked with the Chinooks from the RAF’s 7 Squadron, which gave members of the lower deck crew the chance to work on flight operations.
USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) sails with Royal Navy Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales (R09) during the NATO-led maritime vigilance activity Neptune Strike 24-2, Oct. 24, 2024. US Navy Photo
The Harry S. Truman and U.K. carrier strike groups are currently in the North Sea participating in NATO exercise Neptune Strike (NEST) 24-2, a week-long exercise that began on Oct. 24 and wraps up Thursday.
The exercise will span the North, Baltic, Mediterranean and Adriatic seas with air operations across central Europe and air-to-ground actions in the Baltic Sea Region.
“NEST 24-2 will demonstrate the complex integration of joint high-end maritime strike capabilities. NATO will take operational control of multiple aircraft carriers and expeditionary strike groups in support of deterrence and defense of the Alliance,” reads a NATO release.
Neptune Strike series is part of Project Neptune, conceptualized in 2020, and aims to enhance the pace and flexibility of command and control of naval strike and amphibious forces. It also provides the blueprint for integrating multinational strike or maritime groups for contingency and defensive operations over long distances.
The main objectives of the exercise, according to the release, are maintaining freedom of navigation and maneuver in NATO’s area of operations, securing strategic maritime chokepoints, conducting deterrence and vigilance and increasing the interoperability in operational domains (e.g. air-land-integration), as well as fostering NATO’s capabilities to enable wide-reaching multi-domain operations.
“It is a long-planned activity conducted in compliance with international laws and standards, and scheduled independently from any current developments in the Middle East. It is defensive in nature and not directed towards any third party,” reads the release.
Around 20 surface vessels and submarines, Special Forces and numerous aircraft are participating in NEST 24-2 with some 15,000 supporting personnel, according to the release.
In the Mediterranean, Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO, which oversees the exercise, embarked its staff on the command and control ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC-20) to demonstrate the ability to deploy a self-sufficient mobile command element anywhere, at any time.
Two Expeditionary Strike Groups (ESG) will carry out amphibious landings as part of the drills. Amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD-1) and amphibious landing dock ship USS Oak Hill (LSD-51) together with their embarked 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) Special Operations Capable (SOC) elements will form one ESG while the other ESG will be the Turkish Navy Anadolu ESG.
The release did not state the composition of the Anadolu ESG only stating that amphibious assault ship TCG Anadolu (L-400) along with an embarked Turkish Marine battalion and its surface escorts are participating. Turkish frigate TCG Gelibolu (F-493) and corvette TCG Burgazada (F-513) are taking part in the exercise with Anadolu, according to a Turkish Ministry of Defence social media post.
Italian Navy’s Cavour Carrier Strike Group will take part in some portions of NEST 24-2. The Cavour CSG, consisting of carrier ITS Cavour (550), frigate ITS Alpino (F594) and multipurpose combat ship ITS Raimondo Montecuccoli (P432), is currently homeward bound following a deployment to the Indo-Pacific
The Mediterranean-deployed Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) and Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group Two (SNMCMG2) are also taking part in the exercise. SNMG2 is led by Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Charlottetown (FFH339) with Spanish Navy frigate ESPS Cristóbal Cólon (F105) and fleet oiler ESPS Cantabria (A15) and Hellenic Navy frigate HS Aigaion (F-460) joining. SNMCMG2 is led by Romanian Navy minelayer ROS Vice Admiral Constantin Balescu (274) with other ships being Italian Navy minehunter ITS Alghero (M5556), Spanish Navy minehunter ESPS Tajo (M36) and Turkish Navy minehunter TCG Akcakoca (M286). SNMCMG2 carried out mine countermeasures operations in the vicinity of Sazan Island, Albania, in support of the Anadolu ESG as part of the exercise.
The Harry S. Truman and UK CSGs earlier joined together during the Royal Navy-led exercise Strike Warrior 2024, which wrapped up on Sunday, according to a Royal Navy release. The UKCSG consists of carrier HMS Prince of Wales (R09), destroyer HMS Dauntless (D33), frigates HMS Portland (F79) and HMS Iron Duke (F234) and an Astute-class submarine. Fleet oilers RFA Tidespring (A136) and RFA Tidesurge (A138), both operating independently of the UKCSG, participated in the joint sail with the Harry S. Truman CSG.
The Harry S. Truman CSG is made up of carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) with embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1, cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG-64) and destroyers USS Stout (DDG-55) and USS Jason Dunham (DDG-1090. Stout and Jason Durham detached from the CSG to conduct operations in the Barents Sea with Portuguese Navy frigate NRP Dom Francisco de Almeida (F334), which is part of Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1), filling in.
Dzirhan Mahadzir is a freelance defense journalist and analyst based in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. Among the publications he has written for and currently writes for since 1998 includes Defence Review Asia, Jane’s Defence Weekly, Navy International, International Defence Review, Asian Defence Journal, Defence Helicopter, Asian Military Review and the Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter.
USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) sails with Royal Navy Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales (R09) during the NATO-led maritime vigilance activity Neptune Strike 24-2, Oct. 24, 2024. US Navy Photo
The Harry S. Truman and U.K. carrier strike groups are currently in the North Sea participating in NATO exercise Neptune Strike (NEST) 24-2, a week-long exercise that began on Oct. 24 and wraps up Thursday.
The exercise will span the North, Baltic, Mediterranean and Adriatic seas with air operations across central Europe and air-to-ground actions in the Baltic Sea Region.
“NEST 24-2 will demonstrate the complex integration of joint high-end maritime strike capabilities. NATO will take operational control of multiple aircraft carriers and expeditionary strike groups in support of deterrence and defense of the Alliance,” reads a NATO release.
Neptune Strike series is part of Project Neptune, conceptualized in 2020, and aims to enhance the pace and flexibility of command and control of naval strike and amphibious forces. It also provides the blueprint for integrating multinational strike or maritime groups for contingency and defensive operations over long distances.
The main objectives of the exercise, according to the release, are maintaining freedom of navigation and maneuver in NATO’s area of operations, securing strategic maritime chokepoints, conducting deterrence and vigilance and increasing the interoperability in operational domains (e.g. air-land-integration), as well as fostering NATO’s capabilities to enable wide-reaching multi-domain operations.
“It is a long-planned activity conducted in compliance with international laws and standards, and scheduled independently from any current developments in the Middle East. It is defensive in nature and not directed towards any third party,” reads the release.
Around 20 surface vessels and submarines, Special Forces and numerous aircraft are participating in NEST 24-2 with some 15,000 supporting personnel, according to the release.
In the Mediterranean, Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO, which oversees the exercise, embarked its staff on the command and control ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC-20) to demonstrate the ability to deploy a self-sufficient mobile command element anywhere, at any time.
Two Expeditionary Strike Groups (ESG) will carry out amphibious landings as part of the drills. Amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD-1) and amphibious landing dock ship USS Oak Hill (LSD-51) together with their embarked 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) Special Operations Capable (SOC) elements will form one ESG while the other ESG will be the Turkish Navy Anadolu ESG.
The release did not state the composition of the Anadolu ESG only stating that amphibious assault ship TCG Anadolu (L-400) along with an embarked Turkish Marine battalion and its surface escorts are participating. Turkish frigate TCG Gelibolu (F-493) and corvette TCG Burgazada (F-513) are taking part in the exercise with Anadolu, according to a Turkish Ministry of Defence social media post.
Italian Navy’s Cavour Carrier Strike Group will take part in some portions of NEST 24-2. The Cavour CSG, consisting of carrier ITS Cavour (550), frigate ITS Alpino (F594) and multipurpose combat ship ITS Raimondo Montecuccoli (P432), is currently homeward bound following a deployment to the Indo-Pacific
The Mediterranean-deployed Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) and Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group Two (SNMCMG2) are also taking part in the exercise. SNMG2 is led by Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Charlottetown (FFH339) with Spanish Navy frigate ESPS Cristóbal Cólon (F105) and fleet oiler ESPS Cantabria (A15) and Hellenic Navy frigate HS Aigaion (F-460) joining. SNMCMG2 is led by Romanian Navy minelayer ROS Vice Admiral Constantin Balescu (274) with other ships being Italian Navy minehunter ITS Alghero (M5556), Spanish Navy minehunter ESPS Tajo (M36) and Turkish Navy minehunter TCG Akcakoca (M286). SNMCMG2 carried out mine countermeasures operations in the vicinity of Sazan Island, Albania, in support of the Anadolu ESG as part of the exercise.
The Harry S. Truman and UK CSGs earlier joined together during the Royal Navy-led exercise Strike Warrior 2024, which wrapped up on Sunday, according to a Royal Navy release. The UKCSG consists of carrier HMS Prince of Wales (R09), destroyer HMS Dauntless (D33), frigates HMS Portland (F79) and HMS Iron Duke (F234) and an Astute-class submarine. Fleet oilers RFA Tidespring (A136) and RFA Tidesurge (A138), both operating independently of the UKCSG, participated in the joint sail with the Harry S. Truman CSG.
The Harry S. Truman CSG is made up of carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) with embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1, cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG-64) and destroyers USS Stout (DDG-55) and USS Jason Dunham (DDG-1090. Stout and Jason Durham detached from the CSG to conduct operations in the Barents Sea with Portuguese Navy frigate NRP Dom Francisco de Almeida (F334), which is part of Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1), filling in.
Dzirhan Mahadzir is a freelance defense journalist and analyst based in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. Among the publications he has written for and currently writes for since 1998 includes Defence Review Asia, Jane’s Defence Weekly, Navy International, International Defence Review, Asian Defence Journal, Defence Helicopter, Asian Military Review and the Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter.
Remembrance troops put through their paces at HMS Excellent before Cenotaph
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5th November 2024 at 5:28pm
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