Edinburgh soldier returns from intensive urban warfare training aimed at sharpening close quarter co

Warrant Officer Connor Grant from Edinburgh has returned home after successfully completing a week-long intensive training course designed to test his Close Quarter Combat skills.Connor is one of 80 soldiers from The Royal Regiment of Scotland to take part in the course, which saw them develop their mental and physical strength and agility in coping with coming under fire in a built up area. Completing the course for the first time, the Edinburgh soldier has shared his thoughts on how vital the training was, especially when it comes to modern warfare.

• Around 80 soldiers from The Royal Regiment of Scotland have recently returned from taking part in a week long, intensive training course designed to develop and enhance their Close Quarter Combat (CQC) skills.

• The training, which took place at the purpose built urban training facility at Whiny Hill, Catterick, saw the soldiers undergo multiple training exercises to test and sharpen their ability to cope with coming under fire in a heavily built up area.

• Skills such as breaking into enemy occupied settlements, room and building clearances and safely securing surroundings were just some of the areas the soldiers were trained in.

(Warrant Officer Connor Grant, 4 SCOTS, The Royal Regiment of Scotland)

• Warrant Officer Connor Grant, who hails from Edinburgh and took part in the course for the first time, spoke of his experience. He said: “Much of our training takes place in rural terrain, so this exercise was vastly different. The enclosed environment teaches you to consider multiple scenarios at once, such as what might be on the other side of a door or who could be shooting at you from a top floor window - and then have to filter the consequences.

“Mental agility is key in these situations, so it’s really important for us to learn how to manage different scenarios to ensure we’re always fully combat ready.”

• Lieutenant Alexander Lambert of The Royal Regiment of Scotland, said: “When it comes to modern warfare, our infancy soldiers are constantly facing conflicts within built up, urban areas. These environments can be difficult to scope out and recce which is why we train in dedicated facilities created to resemble the settings our soldiers would be likely to encounter in real-life scenarios.

“The skills developed here are vital, and this training gives our soldiers the unique opportunity to showcase their decision-making skills in an environment where the situation can change without warning.”