UK Defence Infrastructure Organisation supports Wessex Storm exercise on Salisbury Plain.

Thousands of troops have been involved in one of the largest military training exercises to take place on the Salisbury Plain Training Area (SPTA): Exercise Wessex Storm. Exercise Wessex Storm takes place multiple times a year and involves approximately 1,500 to 2,000 troops from the British army, and sometimes personnel from the Royal Air Force (RAF) over two weeks. Coming to a close last month, the exercise saw the culmination of weeks of planning and on-site support for DIO’s Defence Training Estate (DTE) staff on SPTA.
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The aim of Exercise Wessex Storm is to provide troops with realistic, varied training focused on fighting in built-up areas and preparing for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear warfare, as well as fighting in woods and forests (Picture source: British MoD)

The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) plays a crucial role in supporting the UK's armed forces by building, maintaining, and servicing the infrastructure needed to support defence. This includes managing and maintaining land, buildings, and facilities. The DIO is responsible for ensuring that the defence estate is fit for purpose, sustainable, and efficiently managed, supporting the military capabilities and readiness of the UK armed forces

Planning and managing an exercise of this magnitude takes months of organisation and behind-the-scenes work, and it’s the DIO’s DTE staff that enable this to happen. From an initial brief, the team are responsible for locating the right training area to meet the needs of the exercising troops, (in this case, SPTA, which is the size of the Isle of Wight!) and allocating a specific location on the training area for each unit to exercise, and managing any conflicts should anything change. The team also enables the logistics, food and accommodation for the troops and other supporting teams once they arrive on SPTA. Once the training is underway, the team ensure that the individual elements of the exercise run smoothly, efficiently, and safely by offering on-site guidance and support.

It’s not only troop safety that is a priority during an exercise of this size: there could be implications for the public too, as the exercise takes place across the entire plain for two weeks and involves a lot of troops, fast-moving vehicles and pyrotechnics.

The aim of Exercise Wessex Storm is to provide troops with realistic, varied training focused on fighting in built-up areas and preparing for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear warfare, as well as fighting in woods and forests. There are also opportunities to practice casualty evacuation without helicopter support.

Over 1,500 soldiers from the 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team (LM BCT) took part in the exercise. 7 LM BCT is the army’s deployable Light Mechanised Brigade. The brigade consists of a light cavalry regiment, and four light-mechanised infantry battalions with supporting artillery, engineering, logistics, and medical regiments integrated into a BCT. During the exercise, the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (SCOTS DG) were challenged to prove their readiness to respond to international threats, supported by a company from the Royal Yorkshire Regiment, making up the combined arms Battle Group (BG). Soldiers from 3 medical regiments and one Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineer (REME) also took part to provide realism.

At over 38,000 hectares (94,000 acres), Salisbury Plain is the UK’s largest training area and offers first-class and diverse training facilities that enable the British Army to meet its training requirements and prepare for operations worldwide. The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) plays a crucial role in supporting the UK's armed forces by building, maintaining, and servicing the infrastructure needed to support defence. This includes managing and maintaining land, buildings, and facilities. The DIO is responsible for ensuring that the defence estate is fit for purpose, sustainable, and efficiently managed, supporting the military capabilities and readiness of the British armed forces.

Defense News December 2023