British troops train in Morocco

The exercise takes place in the desert and mountains of Morocco and also offers the British military the opportunity to work alongside their Moroccan counterparts.

This year saw 180 soldiers from the Royal Gibraltar Regiment and 205 RAF and Army Air Corps troops training alongside 115 members of Morocco's La Deuxieme Brigade d'Infanterie Parachutiste.

Major Ivor Lopez, the overall exercise controller, said:

"This exercise is unique. The desert, with its high temperatures and rugged terrain, makes for some extremely challenging and utterly realistic conditions.

"We are able to 'live fire' our weapons and we are spoiled for choice when it comes to brilliant locations to train in all the different infantry skills needed in today's counter-insurgency environments."

The training is centered on Ram Ram camp, a collection of huts situated just to the north of Marrakesh.

As well as having scores of vehicles, the exercise is supported by eight helicopters of the Joint Helicopter Force - five RAF Chinooks and three Lynx helicopters from the Army Air Corps.

The Moroccan authorities make huge areas of countryside available for this military training, ranging from arid deserts to the High Atlas mountains, and so the helicopters are an invaluable means of moving both men and equipment.

The exercise began at the start of October and the first people to arrive in Morocco were the Quartermaster, Captain Stuart Bensadon, and his logistics staff (the 'G4 team'), whose task is to provide everything that could possibly be needed to make the exercise a success.

Having crossed the Straits on the once-a-week ferry from Gibraltar to Tangiers, it took nearly 35 hours for the regiment's 36 vehicles to drive the 300 miles (483km) from the port to Ram Ram camp.

Delays caused by breakdowns and punctures on the drive down from Tangiers meant that the drivers had to spend the night sleeping at the side of the road.

Having finally arrived at the camp, the Quartermaster and his staff needed to construct a tented town, equip it with electricity and sanitation systems and prepare kitchens able to provide over 400 people with water and three cooked meals a day.

At this stage plans were already in place for weapons and ammunition to be flown in, for huge quantities of water to be delivered daily, for communications to be established and for the necessary medical support to be established.

By the time the soldiers, airmen and helicopters arrived, a large patch of red earth and a few huts had been transformed into a small town of tents, all covered by camouflage netting.

Major Lopez said:

"When we got out here to Marrakesh, I actually felt I could relax - even though the exercise hadn't even begun.

"It's just getting everything out here that causes all the headaches!"

Captain Bensadon added:

"A simple example is sanitation. There is no sanitation here when we first arrive but, in time for the first day of the exercise, I need to have enough showers and portaloos for 400 people, both men and women.

"For the infantry troops, the exercise trains them for the real thing - in effect it is a rehearsal. But for my staff, this is the real thing - we don't just rehearse cooking a thousand meals a day!"

The exercise, now well underway, saw both the British and Moroccan troops learning from each other. For example, soldiers from Gibraltar have been improving many of their own infantry skills but they have also been training their Moroccan counterparts in such specialist skills as sniping.

The quality of the exercise has attracted the attention of senior military officers and there have been visits from, amongst others, Air Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, Chief of Joint Operations; Commodore Adrian Bell, Commander British Forces Gibraltar; and Brigadier Richard Dennis, Director of Infantry.

Brigadier Dennis said:

"This exercise is an opportunity for the Royal Gibraltar Regiment [RG] to hone its skills to the required standard.

"The relationships that the RG have built with the Moroccans not only guarantees the continuing success of Jebel Sahara but it also gives the regiment the relevant skills in mentoring other nations' forces.

"The icing on the cake is having the Joint Helicopter Force [JHF] out here. For them this represents an excellent opportunity to practise their skills in austere areas and it also means that the RG's exercise can achieve so much more than if it didn't have access to JHF air assets."

Wing Commander John Watson, the JHF commander, explained why the exercise is of benefit to his unit:

"Morocco is an ideal location for the JHF's operational training - both for aircrew and ground crews.

"The excellent relationship that the RG enjoy with the Moroccans has allowed us to adapt and shape the exercise to enable us to gain maximum benefit.

"It has also been the basis for another exercise we now carry out with the Moroccan Air Force."

The success of Exercise Jebel Sahara is also shown in the fact that Lieutenant Colonel John Perez has been appointed to the Order of Wissam Al Istihkak Al Askari (the equivalent of a British knighthood) by His Majesty The King of Morocco.

Lt Col Perez is the first non-Moroccan ever to be presented with this prestigious award.

The citation makes mention of 'all the efforts which Lt Col Perez continues to deploy to improve the co-operation between the Moroccan and British forces in general and, in particular, between the Royal Gibraltar Regiment and La Deuxieme Brigade d'Infanterie Parachutiste (2BIP)'.