by Staff Sgt. Jo A. Hoots
29th Infantry Division Public Affairs
FORT PICKETT -- As NATO steps up its involvement in the Marcalan conflict, the United Kingdom has
sent over an infantry company to assist Maryland’s 1/115th infantry soldiers in the war effort. A 130-man
Territorial Army (TA) company from Wales -- the 3rd Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers -- specializes in
Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain (MOUT). The unit trains in urban assault tactics and the skills
needed for operations in developed urban areas. They’ve been training with the Maryland unit since it
deployed to Marcala five days ago.
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Maj. Llewelyn Williams Company Commander, 3rd Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers.
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“The training is excellent -- these guys have laid on good stuff,” said Company Commander Maj.
Llewelyn Williams. “It (this training) enables different NATO units in this operation to get used to
different tactics.”
The 20-year TA veteran observed that more similarities than differences exist between American
and British training. The biggest challenge for his company has been learning to operate in weather to
which they are not accustomed. “The heat -- we don’t have anything in Wales like the temperatures here,”
said Williams. “We’ve had eight soldiers go down and we’ve learned to drink water like we’ve never
drank before.”
The company, made up of three rifle platoons, a headquarters platoon and a reconnaissance section,
has been working with the Maryland unit to assimilate the infantry tactics used by the National Guard.
Although the Welch company’s primary expertise lies in MOUT, since their deployment to Marcala,
they’ve conducted assault and ambush operations as well.
Members from Williams’ unit have brought their experiences from numerous conflicts to this
effort. His soldiers have served in Northern Ireland, Desert Storm, Bosnia, Belize, Cyprus and other hot
spots around the world. Fitting into the American unit’s mode of operations has not been a problem. “We
all work to the NATO doctrine,” said Williams. “It helps the company here to see there’s no major
differences. We can slot into what they’re doing and we can become a larger force and work as a NATO
alliance.”
Spec. Michael Mosely from 1/115th has been fighting side-by-side with Williams’ troops. The Fort
Washington, Md., native has been in the National Guard for six years. He said, “We’ve learned a few
things about their tactics such as the way they set up their perimeter -- clear the terrain -- actually, their
tactics are very similar to ours. This is the first time I’ve worked with soldiers from another country. With
an experience like this, you learn different things about people -- like they like hot tea with their dinner.
Their dialect -- slang -- is very different from ours. But they definitely like to have fun, which motivates.”
