Paras on Mayan Warrior

• Combat Camera Team

2 PARA on Exercise Mayan Warrior

British Army Parachte Regiment 2nd Battalion (2 PARA), A Company, on Ex Mayan Warrior (Crown Copyright, 2019) [news][1180]

British Army, Parachute Regiment, 2nd Battalion (2 PARA), A Company, on Ex Mayan Warrior (Crown Copyright, 2019)

British soldiers conduct a river crossing during a patrol. Paratroopers are training to survive and fight in the challenging conditions of the jungles of Belize. A Company, 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment is taking on the hot and humid weather, thick vegetation and wildlife on Exercise Mayan Warrior.

Across the six-week-long (20 Mar-30 Apr) exercise the soldiers will be living in the jungle for extended periods, developing their ability to look after themselves and their kit in arduous conditions, while learning how to tailor their infantry skills to the demands of the jungle.

The training is to ensure that the Colchester-based paratroopers have the skills to operate in any environment as part of the Air Assault Task Force, the British Army’s airborne rapid reaction force, which is held ready to deploy at short notice on operations anywhere in the world.

Military Units Featured

The Parachute Regiment

The Parachute Regiment is the airborne infantry regiment of the British Army. Paratroopers are trained to conduct a range of missions, from prevention and pre-emption tasks, to complex, high intensity war fighting. Watchwords are professionalism, resilience, discipline, versatility, courage and self-reliance.

2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (2 PARA)

2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (2 PARA) is part of the parachute infantry component of the British Army’s rapid response formation, 16 Air Assault Brigade. 2 PARA are based at Merville Barracks, Colchester Garrison, UK.

Military Equipment Featured

L85A2/L85A3 Assault Rifle

British Army Equipment - Weapons - SA80 L85A2 L85A3 [thumb]

British Army Equipment – Weapons – SA80 Family, L85A2/L85A3 Assault Rifle

The L85A2 is the British Army’s standard issue assault rifle. It can be fitted with SUSAT, ACOG, Elcan SpecterOS 4X or Thermal Viper 2 sights. The LLM-Vario Ray laser aiming module and the L123 Underslung Grenade Launcher (UGL) can also be attached. The L85A1 began to replace the L1A1 as the standard rifle from 1987 onwards, with the L85A2 replacing the L85A1 (by upgrade) from 2001. In 2016,  it was announced that the L85A3 upgrade would be adopted to extend the life of existing weapons to 2025. The L85s in service are currently being upgraded to the new A3 standard.

Photographer

Corporal Jamie Hart.