The TA unit deployed to Otterburn Training Area, the largest in Northern England, for a two week intensive course working with the 105mm Light Guns, which weigh two tonnes and are operated by a crew of six. They can be carried around the battlefield by a medium-sized vehicle, or by Puma or Chinook helicopters, and fire shells to distances of up to 17.2 kilometres.
Covering 60,000 acres (24,000 hectares), Otterburn is one of the biggest military training areas in the UK. It has been a firing range since 1911 and can accommodate up to 1,600 troops in hutted camps.
Gunner Elaine Green, who serves in the Regiment's 216 Battery, explains the reality of firing a live weapon:
"On the gun, I am what's known as a 'layer' - I position the barrel at the correct bearing and elevation ready to fire, and then I fire it. It's just a great adrenalin rush when you fire it. It's quite shocking, but you come back for more, so it must be good!"
Also at Otterburn was Gunner Ryan Rainey, who joined the TA a year ago and this was the first time, after completing the necessary courses, that he'd been able to live fire the 105mm Light Gun.
"The adrenalin going through you is unbelievable," he said. "You just go numb when it fires. It's one of the reasons I joined the TA - you couldn't get experiences like this in civilian life. You get to do things like this and get paid for it - it can't get any better."
TA soldiers serve the military on a paid, part-time basis, combining their military service with their everyday civilian lives and 'day jobs'. The TA is an integral part of the British Army, representing over a quarter of its manpower.