On Tuesday December 8, an exercise took place in which airmobile soldiers were dropped on the Rucphense Heide in the Netherlands. The soldiers were dropped on the heath with a Chinook and a Cougar helicopter. The Luchtmobiele Brigade (Air Mobile Brigade) is one of the strongest offensive weapons of the Dutch armed forces. It is the ideal cooperation between air and ground units of the Royal Netherlands Air Force and the Royal Netherlands Army. This collaboration is not special in many armies, but it is a collaboration in which two worlds come together. The helicopters involved are from the DHC (Defense Helicopter Command) of the Royal Netherlands Air Force and in this case all come from the nearby Gilze-Rijen Air Base. The unit of the 11th Airmobile Brigade (11LMB) are from Schaarsbergen near Arnhem. When these units cooperate during military operations, the 11LMB is renamed as the 11th Air Maneuver Brigade, indicating that both the Air Force and Army are cooperating in the operation. The Army unit involved in this action was the Alpha Company of the 11th Airmobile Battalion. This battalion is known as the “Garderegiment Grenadiers en Jagers” (Guard Regiment, Grenadiers and Hunters) and was founded during the reign of King William I on July 7, 1829. The current battalion is a merger between the Garde Jagers which had close relations with the Garde Grenadiers. The units were merged by the Royal Decree on September 22, 1994 into the Garderegiment Grenadiers en Jagers as part of the Air Mobile Brigade. In 1849, Prince William III was crowned as the King of the Netherlands. The name "King's Company" for the 1st Company of the Battalion Grenadiers probably originates from that year. This tradition was taken over by the Alpha Company of the 11th Airmobile Regiment which is part of the 11LMB. The Alpha Company is therefore referred to as the “King's Company”. In addition to being deployed as part of the Air Assault, the Kings Company is also specialized as a Parachute Unit, abbreviated “Para’s”.
The military training area on the Rucphense Heide was designated as enemy territory during the exercise. The military therefore had to carry out their assignment in a simulated enemy environment. During the exercise, the airmobile soldiers would also encounter resistance from enemy forces. The Cougar and the Chinook were accompanied by an Apache attack helicopter while approaching to drop the soldiers. After the airmobile units were dropped, they would search the area looking for enemy troops on their patrol. During these actions, the soldiers walk in lines through the woods around the heathland, where they have to move themselves as quietly as possible. During a quest like this one, an enemy threat is constantly present. The military personnel involved in this action are therefore on their highest alert levels during this patrol. During the training the soldiers of the King's Company were also attacked several times by hostile units. To make the scenario even more complete, a Cougar was also deployed during the action to remove wounded soldiers (not visible in this video). The helicopter landed in a small space after which the injured were quickly removed from the scenario. After all hostile treats had been eliminated during the exercise, the retreat could be started. All military personnel would withdraw to the defined landing zone. Collecting in these landing zones is usually very fast and coordinated. This is very important, because in a real scenario the aim is for the helicopters to be grounded as short as possible, because a helicopter is a vulnerable machine when the aircraft is on the ground. The entire assault action would last a total of more than two hours, with the soldiers on the ground being supported by the continuous presence of an Apache helicopter, which can accurately follow all movements on the ground and add firepower to the battlefield if necessary.
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