AN ARMY Reservist from Ellesmere Port joined paratroopers practising for their high readiness role on Salisbury Plain.

Warrant Officer Tim Wiseman has been with 4th Battalion The Parachute Regiment (4 PARA) for 29 years. His deployments have included Iraq, Afghanistan and the Falkland Islands.

Exercise Black Panther, a Battalion exercise testing reservists from all over the country, including soldiers from 4th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, saw them deploy onto Salisbury Plain to carry out their High Readiness role in an urban training environment.

The Air Assault Task Force (AATF) is prepared to go anywhere in the world at short notice to carry out the full spectrum of operations; from war-fighting right through to stabilization. The exercise tested troops to the full including tasks such as planning attacks on enemy positions, first aid and casualty extraction as well as exploiting enemy intelligence and information. 

The two groups of 50 soldiers started the exercise by practising their method of entry skills followed by room clearance drills. During the day, the troops also completed the urban assault course.

The soldiers received orders to complete an attack on Copehill Down’s mock village. They moved to a safe base area to rehearse the attack planned for dawn the following day and reconnaissance patrols were sent out. 

Major Pat Kearse, Executive Officer 4 PARA, said: “Exercise Black Panther was conducted as part of our annual training cycle to enable 4 PARA personnel to fight in an urban environment. For our personnel on the High Readiness Reserve commitment, it is crucial that they are ready to integrate with the Regular Battalions at short notice, and Exercise Black Panther, as one of five Battalion annual training weekends, has enabled them to deploy anywhere in the world and conduct this kind of complex operation”.

Tim, an honours graduate in public administration, is married with an eight-year-old son. He enjoys sky diving, scuba diving and skiing, all of which he learned in the Army, and has participated in adventurous training in Egypt, Cyprus, Gibraltar and France.

He and a number of 4 PARA soldiers will soon join others from 16 Air Assault Brigade to conduct parachuting trials on the A400 aircraft.

Tim said: “4 PARA and the Army Reserve have provided me with the skills to manage any situation, not just in the Army, but also in my civilian and family life”.