British soldiers ‘ready to fight’ for freedom against Russia
BRITISH troops are “ready to go and fight” Russia in a “lethal” way if called upon, the head of an elite unit has said.
Brigadier Nick Cowley, Commander of 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team, admitted his soldiers bore a “huge responsibility to make sure we are ready because we may need to go and fight for our freedom”.
“It’s very present and I think it’s something we need to keep reminding ourselves about,” he said.
In North Macedonia, where Brig Cowley’s troops are leading Nato’s Swift Response exercise, he warned that the war in Ukraine represented the absence of “freedom”, which he said the West has “taken for granted” in recent years.
“We have assumed the international order would remain or even that liberal democracy would spread,” he said. “I think that is being threatened and that is really focusing our minds.”
As part of the exercise 3,000 personnel from eight different nations, including 2,000 British troops from 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team, predominantly built around the 2 Para Battlegroup, will work together on North Macedonia’s rugged Krivolak training ground.
They will work to secure and defend a foothold in the simulated hostile territory, and then take the offensive.
It is the first time such a mass joint exercise has been conducted in North Macedonia, which joined Nato in June 2020.
In the face of the conflict spreading out across Europe, Brig Cowley said he is currently ensuring he “can offer the Government options, with 16 Brigade, and other defence options”.
He said his priorities are “showing we are agile, showing that we are ready to go and fight, we can be lethal and responsive, which means that as and when discussions are going on at Nato, or in UK defence or in the Government, I’m giving them as many tools as they’ve got should they wish to change their policy”. Brig Cowley also said that “as long as I keep doing that to the best of my ability, I hope that if we do get tasked to do anything, be that in Europe or outside of Europe, I can deliver mission success on behalf of the Government, secondly to make sure I give them maximum number of options”.
His 16 Brigade was last year involved in the operation to evacuate British nationals and Afghan allies from Kabul after the Taliban seized control.
The next deployment may be closer to home.
Brig Cowley said: “Ever since we came out of Iraq and Afghanistan we viewed Russia as a pacing threat. We wanted, alongside our Nato allies, to make sure that we are ready to operate if required in a Nato context in Europe.
“I think this exercise has got more focus because of what’s happening in Ukraine.”
While Brig Cowley stressed the international exercise had been planned before the Feb 24 Russian invasion, the message that the Kremlin will take from it is one of “Nato unity”. “I hope that that would show any adversary that we really can come together in a really complex environment, set up something that is credible and then go off and do operations,” he said.
While there is no intention to put British boots on the ground in Ukraine, if Russia were to advance into a Nato territory, Article 5 of the alliance’s constitution states that “an attack against one ally is considered an attack against all allies”. Asked if Brig Cowley’s troops would be ready to fight the Russians in such an instance, he said: “Absolutely – 16 Air Assault Brigade is all about readiness.
“Our soldiers are physically very fit, mentally strong, their bergens are packed, they are fully jabbed up, their weapons are zeroed and that is 24/7. For me readiness is an obsession and everyone is focused on it.
“This, as Nato readiness, would be my number one message.”
Lieutenant Colonel David Middleton, 2 Para’s Commanding Officer, added Operation Swift Response was “the largest and most significant exercise we have done, based on the current situation which you can’t ignore”.
“It’s a timely activity based on what’s going on,” he said. “We are reassuring our partners and focusing on the Nato solidarity aspect, which is a by-product of the Russia situation.
“Nato has never been more important and never been more relevant for the security of Europe.”
Major Drew Houston, 7 Para’s G Battery Commander, said that Nato was in a “better place” because of the war in Ukraine.
“The threat has been brought into sharp focus which focused the mind that this is a tangible threat,” he said.
“We are training against an enemy that is understood, so it reinforces our tactics.”