French lesson for para in landmark agreement

Lance Corporal Alan Rogerson, of 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, has been undertaking joint training with the French Army on Exercise Gaulish Eagle, as a result of the Defence and Security Co-operation Treaty signed in November 2010.

The two-week exercise at an urban warfare training centre in north-east France saw 3 Para train with the tanks of the 1er Régiment de Hussards Parachutistes, with the aim of improving the ability of the two armies to operate together.

L/Cpl Rogerson also used the Giat Famas assault rifle, the standard weapon of the French Army, and learnt French tactics and techniques for operating in built-up areas.

The 21-year-old section commander, who leads a team of eight infantry soldiers, said: “It has been a challenging exercise because it’s different to the normal training we do, but my section has risen to the challenge.

“We’re using French weapons and their approach to fighting in urban areas is slightly different to how we operate, which is interesting.

“As paratroopers, we’re not used to working with tanks so that has been something new to learn as well.

“Communicating with the French troops has been a challenge at times, but we’ve got by with a few words of French and lots of hand signals and sketch maps.”