Hi, I’m Major Alistair Rule and I’m one of the Training Safety Officers at the Salisbury Plain Training Area. I blogged for the first time back in January last year and now I’m back to let you know about a new project DIO has recently finished here.
Major Alistair Rule, Training Safety Officer at Salisbury Plain Training Area [Crown Copyright]Most of the defence training estate across the UK and abroad is open land, suitable for practicing infantry manoeuvres, fighting with armoured vehicles and so on. However, soldiers and Royal Marines also need to be prepared to fight in urban areas, including in such close quarters as within city streets and houses. This is known in military lingo as Fighting In Built Up Areas (FIBUA) or Fighting In Someone’s House (FISH).
Royal Marines from 40 Commando break through a smoke cover to assault a building during FIBUA training (Fighting in a Built Up Area) at Copehill down on Salisbury Plain - by POA (Phot) Sean Clee [Crown Copyright]
Copehill Down Village
There’s a purpose-built facility at Copehill Down on Salisbury Plain, known as the FIBUA Village. It was built in 1987 during the Cold War and was designed to replicate a German village.
Soldiers from 1 YORKS enter a building in Copehill Down Village as part of a training exercise. [[Landmarc Support Services 2015]It's a very popular feature, with thousands of troops and dozens of units using it every year. In fact it’s one of the busiest training features on our training estate.
Soldiers in armoured vehicles training at Copehill Down Village. [Landmarc Support Services 2015]That said, we’ve been making improvements to it here and there over the years but there are always improvements we can make so the recent investment in developing the village has been very welcome. Together with our contractors, Landmarc Support Services, we’ve added compounds, alleyways, tunnels, and high-level walkways, which together add a lot more options for exercising troops.
Soldiers from 1 YORKS training on high level walkways at Copehill Down Village. [Landmarc Support Services 2015]That work cost £325,000 and another aspect of the work, the construction of a shoot house, cost £190,000. The shoot house enables personnel to practise their low-level urban skills, such as house clearance, using simulated ammunition. The benefit of this is that it allows for more realistic live training without the need to provide large danger areas.
The Village in Action
The best way to understand the village is to watch it in use. Forces TV filmed a recent 1 MERCIAN training exercise at the Village and BFBS radio also attended the exercise and reported on it. They should give you a good flavour of the Village and the new features - we're very pleased with the new facilities.
The work has recently been completed and I’m pleased to say that units are already making good use of the Copehill Down facilities, both new and old. Just a couple of weeks ago, the Yorkshire Regiment tweeted about how useful Alma Company of 1 YORKS had found their sessions in the village, which is a great testament to all the hard work of DIO and Landmarc in upgrading and maintaining the facilities.
Alma Company of 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment found their training at Copehill Down very useful. [via Twitter]
Insight into our work at the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, or DIO for short. We’re part of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and look after the military estate, both in the UK and overseas.
![Major Alistair Rule, Training Safety Officer at Salisbury Plain Training Area [Crown Copyright]](https://insideDIO.blog.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2014/01/Major-Alistair-Rule-Training-Safety-Officer-SPTA-e1389347245532.jpg)
![Royal Marines from 40 Commando break through a smoke cover to assault a building during FIBUA training (Fighting in a Built Up Area) at Copehill down on Salisbury Plain - by POA (Phot) Sean Clee [Crown Copyright]](https://insideDIO.blog.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2014/01/Royal-Marines-from-40-Commando-break-through-a-smoke-cover-to-assault-a-building-during-FIBUA-training-Fighting-in-a-Built-Up-Area-at-Copehill-down-on-Salisbury-Plain-by-POAPhot-Sean-Clee-e1389347926259.jpg)
![Soldiers from 1 YORKS enter a building in Copehill Down Village as part of a training exercise. [[Landmarc Support Services 2015]](https://insideDIO.blog.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2015/07/20150630-Soldiers-from-1-YORKS-using-new-facilities-at-Copehilll-Down-FIBUA-2-Landmarc.jpg)
![Soldiers in armoured vehicles training at Copehill Down Village. [Landmarc Support Services 2015]](https://insideDIO.blog.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2015/07/20150630-Soldiers-in-armoured-vehicles-training-at-Copehilll-Down-FIBUA-1-Landmarc.jpg)
![Soldiers from 1 YORKS training on high level walkways at Copehill Down Village. [Landmarc Support Services 2015]](https://insideDIO.blog.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2015/07/20150630-Soldiers-from-1-YORKS-using-new-facilities-at-Copehilll-Down-FIBUA-1-Landmarc.jpg)
1 comment
Comment by noel ryan posted on
very elite brave bunch of soldiers