North-East soldiers are honing their battle skills in the jungles of Central America. Sarah Hamilton joined the Coldstream Guards in the mud and humidity of Belize

FROM the deserts of Afghanistan to the jungles of Belize. Soldiers of 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, from Doncaster to Gateshead, Sunderland to Leeds, have been dodging venomous snakes, battling through heavy rains and blazing sun, in two-month Exercise Mayan Warrior.

Over October and November, some 392 troops are honing their skills in the challenging environment of the former British Honduras, training with around 100 of their counterparts in the Belize Defence Force (BDF).

Normally based in Victoria Barracks, Windsor, the Coldstream Guards combine their ceremonial duty at Buckingham and St James’s Palaces, the Tower of London and Windsor Castle, with their combat task as a Light Role Infantry Battalion. Recruits span the North-East to the South West.

Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel James Thurstan said: “The jungle tests people both physically and mentally. It’s a real chance to stress-test, a real test of the soldiers' mettle. And it’s a really good opportunity for leaders at every level to [see] how we work as leaders.

“Belize is an extremely good location to train. It gives you the opportunity as an infantry battalion to practice leaving Britain, flying in all our freight and logistics; the ability to operate a reach overseas.”

After four days with camp-based lessons to acclimatise, the soldiers spend five days in the jungle’s ‘basic’ training area revising skills such as finding water, food and how to light a fire, before a further five days in an ‘Intermediate’ section where training intensifies with live firing and close target recce in a more ‘Jurassic Park’ jungle environment. It culminates in a final battle scenario.

Belize was a former British colony known as British Honduras. It became independent in 1981. There are fewer British forces out here now but the commitment of BATSUB (British Army Training and Support Unit Belize) is expected to increase. BATSUB is based at Price Barracks, which is about 10K outside Belize City and houses 2 Regulars and 1 Reserve regiment of the BDF.

To the West and South, Belize is bordered by Guatemala, which continues to claim ownership of Belize.

The unique environment presents its own challenges to soldiering – fighting through swamps, manoeuvring along thick jungle, heat injuries including exhaustion, insect bites and the constant threat of venomous wildlife. In fact, soldiers had a zoo visit so they knew what to be aware of.

Exercise locations in the central and eastern part of the country are tied to where the hospitals are in case of casualties.

Lance Corporal Tony Fowler, 31, from Washington, near Sunderland, explained: “Some of the young guys are not used to this, they have never experienced Afghanistan, they come to a place like this which they are unfamiliar with, how much water they should be drinking, they think they have acclimatised but as soon as the heat comes in they feel it the most."

And as another soldier said: “Everything wants a bit of your blood here, even the grass cuts you.”

But it wasn’t just about jungle fighting. A 16-person Short Term Training Team (STTT), from Catterick, North Yorkshire, delivered a suite of courses tailored for the BDF. This included a four-week Fighting Commanders Course about leadership and management, and a skill-at-arms course for 25 soldiers from LCpl to Sgt. STTT’s Captain Mark Bagguley said: "We are leaving DNA to spread through their ranks.”

Brigadier General David Jones, commander of the Belize Defence Force (BDF), which is made up of just over 1,000 soldiers, welcomed the ‘bond of friendship’, adding it would send a message to neighbouring Guatemala, which continues to claim Belize as its own.

“The British Army sharpens our skills and we give them an excellent training opportunity,” he said.

"It's a good thing for Belize. It says we have very good friends who are willing to partner with us and train with us. So they might have second thoughts in trying to do something belligerent towards Belize if they know we have close international partners who are making good use of the facilities.

"They might think twice about trying anything - Belize has a vested interest from other countries."

But it’s not all mud and bugs for the Coldstreamers as they have time off during their training at idyllic San Pedro before coming home.